Edible-Alpha® Podcast

In Edible-Alpha® podcast #92, Tera chats with Henry Aschauer, co-founder of Forage Kombucha and Forage Kitchen in Madison, Wisconsin. What began as a single healthy fast-casual restaurant on State Street has expanded to include two more local eateries plus a budding beverage brand now sold in nearly 800 retail doors across 18 states.

In launching Forage Kitchen in 2015, Henry and his partners hoped it would be the first of many locations. After some slight menu tweaking, the restaurant became a hit, attracting a broad clientele with its fresh-made salads and grain bowls—and proving that the concept worked. This paved the way to open a second outpost in March 2019 and a third in September 2019.

Originally, Forage Kitchen crafted its own juices and lemonades but brought in kombucha from elsewhere. “Maybe being young and naïve, we began to tinker with the idea of making our own, not knowing full well what that entails,” Henry explains. Once his team developed a HACCP plan and got the proper regulatory clearance, they began brewing and bottling kombucha in the Forage Kitchen basement and selling it to customers in January 2017.

Just like the restaurant, the fermented tea beverages were also a hit. Plus, producing and serving them onsite allowed them to trial different flavors in a real-life setting, giving them excellent feedback. They secured a distribution partner and established retail sales outside of Forage Kitchen.

To build capacity and grow the brand, Henry and partners looked to move kombucha production into a dedicated facility. Additionally, intent on offering a convenient, approachable and affordable—yet still high-quality—kombucha, they switched from bottles to cans. They contemplated the co-packer route, which is notoriously difficult for small beverages brands, especially those involving fermentation, but no suitable partner emerged. Ultimately, they found production space locally and began self-manufacturing in October 2018.

From there, Forage Kombucha grew tremendously, having expanded capacity and added a few more regional distributors to widen its territory beyond Wisconsin. After banner kombucha and restaurant sales in 2019, Henry expected sustained growth in 2020—but a certain virus had other plans. Though COVID-19 pandemic hit the restaurant industry hard and made it tough for beverage brands to land new retail accounts, both Forage Kitchen and Forage Kombucha managed to grow.

Now that the pandemic is winding down, Henry says more doors are opening on the retail front. Currently, Forage Kombucha is in the process of gaining USDA Organic certification, which should broaden its appeal further. Henry and Tera talk about the valuable interplay between the restaurants and kombucha business, in terms of consumer recognition, brand proposition and cash flow management. He hopes the future includes an even broader reach, additional Forage Kitchen locations and more brand-aligned beverage launches.

In Edible-Alpha® podcast #91, Tera talks to Rod Ofte, a fourth-generation farmer and wearer of many hats, whose latest venture is a small USDA-inspected meat-processing plant outside Viroqua, Wisconsin. Nordik Meats opened last July, right in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rod and Tera discuss the business’s wild first year plus the state of local meat processing nationwide.

Like a lot of farm kids, Rod initially didn’t want anything to do with agriculture. He went to West Point, worked for Mars in Germany for 14 years and traveled the world. But when it came time to start a family, he and his wife moved back to southwestern Wisconsin, bought a farm and began raising grass-fed beef. Next, Rod started a food and beverage consultancy and became general manager of the Wisconsin Grass-fed Beef Cooperative (WGBC), owner of the Wisconsin Meadows brand.

Through these experiences, Rod grew frustrated by the dwindling availability of local meat processing for small producers and co-ops. He wanted to help reduce farmers’ pain—and costs—by getting involved with processing in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin, but capital constraints held him back. Finally, in December 2019, Rod and a few other WGBC members and partners purchased the shuttered Driftless Meats plant.

With a closing date set for April 1, 2020, the partners began due diligence. By March, COVID-19 was storming the nation, upending the food supply chain and exacerbating longstanding issues in the meat business. Suddenly, processors were in higher demand than ever. Nordik began booking appointments in advance, smartly requiring a reservation deposit, which provided capital for building up the facility, website and other infrastructure. Upon opening July 1, the plant was booked solid nine months out.

Nordik Meats handles hogs, lamb, sheep, goats and some beef and offers slaughter, cutting and value-added production. Demand for appointments has since cooled, just as it has for most meat processors. But as Rod tells Tera, the pandemic-spawned demand had been overblown, primarily a product of ranchers overbooking slots for fear they wouldn’t find processing when they needed it.

Next, they discuss the seasonality of the business, which poses challenges—i.e., maintaining revenue, retaining skilled workers—for meat processors everywhere. Rod then gives his take on how the pandemic has impacted consumer behavior and buying patterns, such as more home-cooking, increased demand for local meat and greater acceptance of cuts once deemed less desirable, and whether these trends will last.

Finally, Tera and Rod talk about the problems with meat processing, which largely stem from massive corporate consolidation and the many obstacles faced by small players and potential new entrants. Yet despite these challenges, Rod believes it’s possible for small-scale meat processing to reemerge a la the current microbrewery renaissance. In closing, he offers sage advice for food and ag entrepreneurs looking to tackle this space.

Jessica Roosa of This Old Farm shares her journey from organic farming to starting and scaling a 100% traceable meat processing business.

In Edible-Alpha® podcast #89, Tera is joined by Ryan Wagner, Justin VerMeer and Spencer Schaller, the trio behind Driftless Provisions, an artisanal salami company based in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Since launching in 2017, the guys have grown the business steadily and smartly, recently taking production in-house.

Ryan got the idea for a premium salami company several years ago, having realized the charcuterie market in Wisconsin was wide open. After business school, he moved to the Driftless Area, a hilly region in the state’s southwest corner that’s dotted with small, sustainable farms, and invited his pal Justin to join him. While working as the business manager at the acclaimed Driftless Café, Ryan met Spencer, the sous chef, who had started an in-house butchery there. Together, they developed a charcuterie program at the café, giving Ryan his salami-making start.

Because fermenting and dry-curing salami is a complex and precise multiweek process, it took some time and tweaking to develop a product for market. Meanwhile, Ryan and Justin raised money via Kickstarter and learned what launching a charcuterie company—a high-barrier-of-entry business—would entail (Spencer didn’t join the company officially until 2021). They also dialed in their brand proposition to convey the Driftless Area’s ethos of respect for the land. This influenced many decisions, including basing the company in Viroqua, a town of about 4,400 surrounded by family farms, and sourcing only humanely raised pork.

To cure and dry the salami, Ryan and Justin would need a USDA-certified meat processing facility with multiple climate-controlled environments—an astronomical cost. Given the working-capital constraints, they felt it would be smarter to start with a co-packer, a decision that influenced the smaller gauge size of their salami.

Working with co-packers on a highly nuanced product is never easy, and Driftless Provisions cycled through a few in the first few years. However, contracting out manufacturing allowed them to get their products out there, first at farmers markets and then at retail. This, in turn, helped them build up their direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, which proved fortuitous once COVID-19 hit. It also let them prove their concept to future investors.

After switching co-packers mid-pandemic, Driftless Provisions caught a break. A space once occupied by a cheese manufacturer opened up at the Food Enterprise Center of Viroqua, a 100,000-square-foot multi-tenet facility. Since it was climate-controlled already, the company didn’t have to spend a ton of money to retrofit the space. After raising about $230,000, they brought in equipment from Italy to set themselves up for long-term success. They expect they can reach up to $600,000 in sales before needing to upgrade the space.

Now, with the pandemic winding down, business is ramping up, especially on the retail side. Ryan, Justin and Spencer look forward to being able to demo and sample again, as charcuterie requires consumer education. They are also experimenting with other meats besides pork and exploring complementary revenue streams. We see many great things ahead for this company!

In Edible-Alpha® podcast #88, Tera talks with Katie Mleziva, founder of Real Food Brands, host of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast and instructor for our upcoming Building a Brand That Stands Out training course. FFI is a strong advocate for locking down your brand strategy early on so it can be systematically and intentionally engrained in all areas of your business. As a brand strategist, Katie helps natural food and beverage companies do this through defining, aligning and activating clear, consistent brand strategies that resonate with consumers.

Before striking out on her own, Katie worked in brand management and marketing for Kraft and other Fortune 500 companies, which informed the concepts she teaches now: “I took those big-business ideals, streamlined them down and resized them for small entrepreneurial startups and emerging brands looking to scale up.”

Next, she and Tera discussed the importance of branding for food companies. Basically, unless a brand establishes an emotional connection with consumers and why it’s special, shoppers may see it as just another brand of cheese, cookies, kombucha, [insert any product here]. Katie said entrepreneurs are often so engrossed in their products and business operations that they don’t truly think through how their brand benefits consumers—or know how to convey that benefit through branding. She helps them to think externally so they can transition from just having great products to owning a strong brand. As FFI Founder Tera Johnson often highlights in our Boot Camp your business is more than your products!

But to do that, food, farm, and beverage entrepreneurs must first lock down their values and vision—know who they are as a brand before attempting to sell it to others. Then, Katie stresses the three C’s: consumers, competition and company. Brands should identify their target consumers based on demographics and psychographics and determine how exactly the brand benefits them. Next, they should look at what their competitors are doing and saying to ensure their brand offers a suite of attributes that truly stands out from the competition.

Based on consumer needs and the competitive landscape, companies can establish a few main brand pillars, qualities such as sustainability or locally sourced ingredients. Katie explained the importance of aligning brand strategy around those pillars: “If your whole brand strategy is the north star, this is the light that shines on the path to say we’re on right path. If we’re building everything around these pillars, we know we’re sticking to what we said we wanted to do in terms of overall vision.”

Another important element is brand voice, which should be consistent throughout marketing, messaging, packaging, and internal and external communications. Cohesive voice gets the team on the same page and lets consumers know what to expect.

After defining (or refining) and aligning the brand strategy comes activation—how the company executes based on its business goals. This involves everything from posting on Instagram to creating an advertisement.

This work can be challenging for entrepreneurs, yet it is definitely worth tackling. That’s why Katie is so passionate about coaching brands through the process. We look forward to working with her on our three-day Building a Brand That Stands Out workshop May 19 to 21. Hope you can join us too!

In Edible-Alpha® podcast #87, Tera is joined by Stacy Peterson, founder and CEO of Connoils, a manufacturer, distributor and wholesale supplier of oil and oil powder ingredients for food and beverages, dietary supplements, personal care and pet food. As a seasoned entrepreneur—and one who works on the ingredients side of food—she provides valuable insights for listeners.

Kicking off the conversation, Stacy shared the history of the company she launched in 2007. It all started when her then-employer, Cargill, decided to discontinue its line of nutritional oils, eliminating her job along with it. Seeing an opportunity to keep serving those customers while ensuring her own employment, Stacy proposed forming an independent company to acquire the product line. Cargill agreed and sold her its remaining inventory at a discount.

So, with an established product line and customer base, Stacy began her entrepreneurial journey. At first, she was a one-woman show. She worked out of her home, stored inventory at the food-grade storage facility where her husband worked and relied on contract manufacturers for oil encapsulation. As the business grew, Stacy began hiring help, and after a few years, moved the company to a 7,500-square-foot facility to bring more of the work in-house. Connoils eventually outgrew that space too, building a brand-new 25,000-square-foot facility in Big Bend, Wisconsin, last year, complete with solar panels on the roof.

The new space better allows Connoils to be a one-stop shop for its customers, offering manufacturing, spray-drying, encapsulation, bottling, private-labeling, white-labeling, R&D consultation and shipping. The company’s portfolio now includes about 200 types of oils in multiple formats, including canola, avocado, sesame seed, evening primrose, CBD, medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and fish oils, sourced primarily from the U.S. and Mexico.

Like all businesses in the food space, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Connoils early on, with some customers delaying product launches and orders ramping up for ingredients used in sanitation products. Domestic sourcing has proved fortuitous, given the ongoing logistical problems with international supply chains.

Looking forward, Stacy sees more growth ahead for Connoils, especially in MCTs, CBD, immune health products and pet nutrition. She is currently mapping out strategies to boost efficiencies and continue scaling smartly. To wrap up the interview, Stacy offered her best advice for food entrepreneurs just starting out, including the importance of mentorship, collaboration and joining business groups such as Vistage.

Tune into the full podcast!

In Edible-Alpha® podcast #86, Tera sits down with Eric DeLuca, founder of Leverage Point Consulting, a market development firm focused on land-based, sustainable and socially responsible enterprises. Eric also serves as one of the Food Finance Institute's Food Systems Expert-in-Residence, instructing the Scenario Planning immersion training. With vast experience in organizational and food-systems development, strategy and finance, he helps food and farm businesses strategize and secure funding to scale.

One of Eric’s areas of expertise is scenario planning, a proven method by which companies map out multiple potential futures and craft action plans for each. The idea is that by considering and strategizing around various outcomes, businesses will be better prepared to navigate “unforeseen” events, such as a drastic decline in market demand, a devastating drought, a significant capital loss or a global pandemic.

After sharing the fascinating history of scenario planning, Eric delved deeper into what it is, first by saying what it is not: a crystal ball. Rather than predicting the future, it involves examining all plausible futures with a pragmatic, unbiased eye and then telling a story around them. While it’s tempting to focus on scenarios a company wants to happen, it’s critical to consider all scenarios that could happen. This involves ditching the rose-colored glasses, testing long-held assumptions and viewpoints, and really thinking through outcomes both positive and negative.

Scenario planning would behoove most any business at any time, but the COVID-19 crisis has made it especially crucial. Eric and Tera met in 2018, when he completed FFI’s Value-added Food & Farm Business Consultant Certification Training. They further reconnected through the Edible-Alpha® Consultant Huddles last year, which led them to team up to develop a Scenario Planning training program to help scaling food and farm businesses in this time of crazy uncertainty.

In discussing the pilot cohort they led, they remarked how beneficial it was for the participants to step away from their day-to-day to strategize in this way. Entrepreneurs spend so much time working in their business—especially these days, with the pandemic still throwing wrenches—that they struggle to find time to work on their business. But in the boot camp environment, each participant was able to move from the tactical thinking they use to run their companies and put out fires every day to thinking more strategically. This shift then greatly impacted how they described their business models and brands.

Next, Eric shared his recent experiences working with advisory boards and funds and how their priorities have shifted in response to the pandemic, recent social justice reckoning and intensifying threats of climate change. He said there is now more emphasis on diversity, inclusion and ensuring that funding and business assistance opportunities feel accessible to all and truly match the needs of potential recipients.

Listen to the podcast to hear the full discussion on scenario planning. For more info on FFI’s Scenario Planning program and to be considered for an upcoming cohort, click here.

In Edible-Alpha® podcast #85, Tera talks with John Wepking about building Meadowlark Organics, a diversified small-grain farm enterprise on 800-plus acres in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin. Their conversation shows how mentorship and sweat equity can lead to a successful farm transition.

John met his future wife and business partner Halee while working in restaurants and bakeries in New York City. Both ready for a change, they moved to John’s home state of Wisconsin and attempted to revitalize his family’s farm. After toiling away but seeing no clear road to sole ownership, they answered a Craigslist ad from an organic corn and soy farmer in the Driftless Area who wanted to pass on his knowledge and eventually his land. Paul Bickford had envisioned a young farmer or couple with a bit of equity, which John and Halee didn’t have, but he hired them anyway for their passion, work ethic and eagerness to learn.

Thrust into the mix immediately, the couple learned a lot from Paul in short order. Meanwhile, they secured an FSA microloan for beginning farmers and purchased 22 breeding heifers and a yearling bull. With a 5-45-50 loan, they bought 80 acres of hilly grazing pastures, flatter spaces to grow annual crops and a homestead.

To generate income while their cattle matured and they could grow their herd, John convinced Paul to plant 40 acres of hard red winter wheat to be milled at Lonesome Stone Milling 20 miles away. Paul had never grown grains before, but John knew from his bakery and restaurant experience that he could build a market for organic small-grain flours. The plan worked, so they expanded their grain crops and on-site processing capabilities, with working capital provided by a value-added producer grant. Paul’s long track record, credit worthiness and experience helped them secure debt financing along the way.

Not long into their partnership, John, Halee and Paul began discussing farm transition. While Paul could always just sell off his land and equipment upon retirement, he feels it’s more important to shepherd the next generation of farmers—just like his father did for him—and ensure continuity on the farm. According to their transition plan, the couple is purchasing the first half of the farm on a 20-year note and will eventually secure the second half.

A similar thing happened with Lonesome Stone Milling. After toll milling for Meadowlark Organics for several years, owner Gilbert Williams wanted to transition his business, so he sold John and Halee his mill. They are now moving it onto their farm, along with a few other mills for different grains. They aim to continue scaling up their flour operation, sourcing a variety of small grains from other local organic farmers, thereby uplifting the community around them.

Check out the podcast to hear Meadowlark Organics’ full story, including more details about their financing, diversified income stream and path to farm ownership.

In podcast #84, Tera talks to Amazon expert Michael Zhang, CEO and founder of Fenrici Brands. The lifestyle company, started in 2018, sells over 50 items exclusively on Amazon generating over $4 million in sales.  Combining that success with his previous experience as VP of Ecommerce and Innovation at Lands’ End, Michael has added Amazon coaching and consulting to his business portfolio. In this episode, he and Tera discuss what it takes to sell well on Amazon.

Often, smaller companies are intimidated by Amazon, but Michael reassures what will set you up for success is no different than what you are used to in retail or other sales channels. Three key things he calls out:

You need to be committed to selling on Amazon, which includes investing in advertising and promotion and spending regular time managing your account.You need to have confidence in your products, should know the unique problems your products solve and have clear messaging around your unique differentiator.You need to be prepared to manage your inventory and to have the cash flow to support stocking Amazon distribution centers with your products.

Once you make the commitment to sell on Amazon, it is important you set yourself up for the best launch possible. When it comes to fulfillment, Michael recommends setting your business up as FBA – Fulfilled by Amazon, which ensures you get the “Prime” badge. When it comes to positioning, a tip is to look at similar competitors and their product listings. By reading the 5-star reviews, you can see what customers like about those products and borrow words they are using to describe their experience to improve your listing. Similarly, by reading 1-star reviews, you can glean insights about what customers are missing in those competitor products and speak to those features or aspects of the experience within your listing.

Once you have launched on Amazon, it is important to drive traffic to your listing through advertising and promotion. Don’t be afraid to spend time experimenting with Amazon advertising. It is important to have a paid program, but you can start out small, as low as $5/day, and grow your spend. One paid option is Cost Per Click Ads. These ads help your products get placed at the top of search results. In addition, you can set up coupons, a special store for your product, lightning deals and more to increase traffic to your listings.

There are also many free ways to create a narrative around your brand, including writing posts and adding to the live stream on Amazon.com. As you build your Amazon business, don’t lose sight of the importance of building out your social media promotions and digital advertising to further your channel growth. Amazon notices when you drive traffic, and it is important to fully activate this channel once you’ve committed to it.

Ratings are an important contributor to your success on Amazon. Michael recommends new-to-Amazon businesses take advantage of the Early Reviewer program and encourages you to check the Amazon Vine program as well.

In their first month on Amazon, Michael’s company sold $100,000 in products. At the end of their first year, they reached $1 million in sales, and after three years in business, they surpassed $4 million. This illustrates that a committed and savvy entrepreneur who had the time and resources can certainly build their business on Amazon solo. But often food entrepreneurs are busy making their products and wearing many other hats to keep their business afloat. If that is the case, finding a third-party Amazon expert is a solid strategy. Michael says the best thing to look for in a partner is results: What can they do for you in 3 to 6 months?

For more insights into selling online check our our free course here!

In podcast #83, recorded at Edible-Alpha® Live!, Tera interviews Galen Saturley of Breadtopia, a virtual baking-education hub and seller of grains, flours and baking equipment based in Fairfield, Iowa. What started as a passion project for Galen’s mom and stepdad in 2006 is now a booming e-commerce business with an engaged national community, which have only grown stronger through the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the start, Breadtopia’s main mission has been to ensure that “baking perfect bread at home is available to everyone.” Founders Eric and Denyce created a content-driven website, featuring recipes, how-to videos and interviews, and funded it through sales of baking equipment, sourdough starters and organic wheat and rye flours. This was back in e-commerce’s infancy, so they learned as they went while milling grains to order and packaging products in their garage.

As interest in Breadtopia mounted and sales grew, the mom-and-pop operation had to scale. They rented a bigger workspace space in Fairfield, brought on a few employees and expanded into ancient grains and other flour types. Before long, they needed even more space. Once Galen joined the business in 2012, he helped upgrade the milling operation and streamline inventory, and the company settled into 15% to 30% year-on-year growth

When Galen first met Tera in 2018, he shared their designs for a new 8,000-square-foot facility. Tera suggested they go even bigger, which proved sage advice. When a 40,000-square-foot space downtown became available last October, Breadtopia found its new home. Amidst its busiest season ever, the team moved everything over, figured out operations and got ready for a stellar 2020. Little did they know, COVID-19 was right around the corner.

In early March, as the nation locked down and everyone started baking bread, average daily orders surged from 125 to 600, sending the team scrambling. To continue meeting loyal customers’ expectations while also serving the influx of new ones, the company went from eight employees to 30. As grains and flours became nearly impossible to find at grocery stores, Breadtopia’s sales kept climbing. The company’s close relationships with small farmers and plentiful backstock allowed it to come through when few other retailers could.

Galen said the team didn’t relax until June, when orders leveled off. Thanks to the heady sales of last spring, they began transforming HQ into a literal breadtopia—complete with a bakery, education center, retail shop and commercial kitchens—a few years ahead of schedule.

Tera and Galen also talked about online sales strategies, including Breadtopia’s experiences with Amazon, and the company’s next project: working with farmers and grain organization to build a sustainable local food system.

Be sure to catch this podcast for the whole Breadtopia story and e-commerce lessons for food and farm businesses of all sizes!