Hot cocoa tends to be considered a seasonal treat. Dean Packingham of Mike & Jen’s Hot Cocoa proves that a small cottage industry can grow into a regional business success year-round. He discusses the power of starting with your passion when developing a new product, the advantages of being in an F&B category with less competition, the value of simplicity as a business model, tips on finding the right co-manufacturer, distributor, and retail partners, and scaling a small business up.

View the complete show notes for this episode.

Learn More:

• Our Food and Beverage M&A Experience
• The Serious Sweet Company Acquires John Bull Confectioners in the UK
• Food and Beverage Industry Trends

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes:

• Alcohol and the F&B Industry – A Global Perspective
• Behind the Scenes of a Shark Tank Success
• Evolution and Growth Potential in the Craft Brewing Industry

Albert Duoibes has been focused on innovation in the F&B sector for over 35 years. His focus currently is on the sugar beet industry, but his advice and comments extend beyond sugar. Albert discusses using natural resources, minimizing waste, and the environmental impact of the supply chain. He describes the power of sugar, the need for more innovation throughout the supply chain, explains how the innovation process works, the impact this can have far beyond sugar beets, and offers advice for people with a new idea.

View the complete show notes for this episode. 

Learn More:

• Our Food and Beverage M&A Experience
• The Serious Sweet Company Acquires John Bull Confectioners in the UK
• Food and Beverage Industry Trends

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes:

• From Employee to Owner – A Food & Beverage Tale of Success
• Beyond Meatballs and Marketing
• How Food Science and Marketing Will Impact the Future of Food

This episode of F&B Talk will give you insight into everything you could possibly want to know about beef and the beef industry. Renan de Lima leads with a definition of high-quality meat and why this is an important distinction. He discusses the influence of genetics, grass-fed versus grain-fed beef, the impact of a free-range lifestyle, international organic standards, regulatory differences and challenges, meatless alternatives, and his thoughts on upcoming influences in the industry.

View the complete show notes for this episode.

Learn More: 

• Food and Beverage M&A
• Buy-Side Food and Beverage M&A Advisory
• Food and Beverage Industry Trends

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes: 

• Farm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agriculture Industry, Supply Chain, and Financing
• Beyond Meatballs and Marketing
• Supply Chain Issues in Food Manufacturing and Distribution

The complex and underappreciated topic of production planning and supply chain optimization is the focus of this episode of F&B Talk. Lisa Anderson takes a look at the different components of production management and how they fit into the supply chain world. She discusses the steps of the production planning process, the importance of the sales forecast, common issues in the supply chain on the manufacturing and distribution sides of operations, and keeping all the elements and players on the same page.

View the complete show notes for this episode.

Learn More:

• How Does Supply Chain Management Affect Working Capital?

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business

Listen to Other Episodes:

• Food Business Accelerator – Can Someone Explain This To Me?
• Farm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agriculture Industry, Supply Chain, and Financing
• M&A Operational Due Diligence

Scaling from start-up to multi-million dollar business takes time, ingenuity, and perseverance. Yanni Hufnagel, founder of Lemon Perfect, discusses the 6-year growth of his company into a major player in the enhanced water sector. Discussion includes going from sourcing regional ingredients to international sources; delivering consistent quality; getting consumers to try a new product; the importance of relationships with contract manufacturing partners, distributors, and retailers; and how perseverance is key.

View the complete show notes for this episode.

Learn More:

• Buy-Side Food and Beverage M&A Advisory
• History of the Global Food Industry
• Food and Beverage Industry Trends

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes:

• Food Business Accelerator – Can Someone Explain This To Me?
• The Future of Food & Beverage Distribution
• A Deep Dive Into the Water Business

What goes into the art of creating a wedding cake? Stephanie Chain, business owner and pastry chef of the micro-bakery Sweet Luncheonette, specializes in creating bespoke wedding cakes. She discusses the health and safety concerns that led to her emphasis on creating sugar flowers for cakes, the specifics about what goes into making custom wedding cakes, the different perspectives she has encountered as an owner versus being an employee, and the role of food in important social and cultural events.

View the complete show notes for this episode. 

Learn More:

• Our Food and Beverage M&A Experience
• Buy-Side Food and Beverage M&A Advisory
• Food Industry Trends that Can Affect M&A Activity

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes:

• A Winning Recipe to Help Relieve Hunger and Reduce Food Waste
• Using Flexible Commercial Kitchens to Scale Your Business
• Farm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agriculture Industry, Supply Chain, and Financing

Research can be key to unlocking market growth for an established business, identifying new locations for growth, and highlighting the perfect franchise opportunity. Jayson Tipp has over 30 years of experience in franchising and specialty retail in the food and beverage industry. He discusses how market research data, analysis, and technology have changed over the years, how they can be used to map out locations for growth, and the importance of doing research before jumping into the world of franchises.

View the complete show notes for this episode.

Learn More:

• Buy-Side Food and Beverage M&A Advisory
• Food and Beverage M&A

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes:

• The Future of Food & Beverage Distribution
• Food Business Accelerator – Can Someone Explain This To Me?
• Rags to Riches – From Busboy to a $70 Million Startup Valuation

What are some pressing trends affecting the food and beverage industry today? How can companies stay agile? Barry Thomas, senior global thought leader with the consulting company Kantar, answers these questions and more. He discusses how F&B companies view the home as a convenience store, how technology is enabling e-commerce shifts and growth, how AI is driving value and the profound innovation this leads to, examples of generative AI increasing revenue, and the need for a personal learning plan for dealing with AI.

View the complete show notes for this episode.

Learn More:

• Food and Beverage M&A
• What’s Trending? A Food Wholesaler Shares His Perspectives

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes: 

• Using Flexible Commercial Kitchens to Scale Your Business
• A Deep Dive Into the Water Business
• Food Business Accelerator – Can Someone Explain This To Me?

Food waste and hunger relief are not about food scarcity – it’s about logistics. Blake Engelhard of Goodr.co discusses using technology to address hunger and waste issues. From the logistics of a 2-hour turnaround time identifying surplus food to distribution to working with clients making donations that enable families to get groceries in a dignified manner and the staggering tax benefits to the corporations. This goes beyond the idea of making a difference and shows a direct path to significantly impact the lives of people and reduce food waste.

View the complete show notes for this episode.

Learn More:

• Food and Beverage M&A (Book)
• The Food and Beverage M&A Update
• Buy-Side Food and Beverage M&A Advisory
• Food and Beverage Industry Trends

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes:

• Saving the Planet One Plant-Based Food Company at A Time
• A Deep Dive Into the Water Business
• Rags to Riches – From Busboy to a $70 Million Startup Valuation

This is everything you need to know about commercial kitchens and how they can help entrepreneurs launch a small-batch product and successfully grow. Bella Karakis, co-founder of e.terra Kitchen in New York offers insights into how to take a small-batch product and produce it on a large, scalable basis; stories of brands that have succeeded in growing out of a commercial kitchen; what commercial kitchens can offer to entrepreneurs; and how they differ from co-packers or producing food out of a home kitchen.

View the complete show notes for this episode.

Learn More:

• M&A Advisors to the Food and Beverage Industry
• History of the Global Food Industry

Additional Resources:

• Download a free pdf copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business.
• Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal | Acquired
• Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today.
• To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield.
• Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Business.

Listen to Other Episodes:

• Beyond Meatballs and Marketing
• Alcohol and the F&B Industry – A Global Perspective
• Farm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agriculture Industry, Supply Chain, and Financing