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Last year when I made this episode, making money in the food and drink industry was hard. With global market issues and increased competition, it may be even more difficult in the current climate.

This was our number #1 episode in 2022 and for good reason. 73% of packaged food and drink brand owners don’t pay themselves a wage because there is no profit to set aside for all their time and effort, and if you're a foodpreneur reading this, you may already know that from first hand experience.

Listen to my updated industry insights into what the five typical mistakes foodpreneurs make are, and get answers to the questions still plaguing many of you, including:

🤔 How do I create a packaged food and drink business that allows me to pay myself a decent wage?
🤔 What should I charge?
🤔 Do I build velocity or value?
🤔 Is creating a brand important? And if so what does that actually mean?
🤔 What numbers do I need to know to be successful?
🤔 Should I approach buyers in retail or foodservice channel?

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula Coaching Program
• How to Sell When You’re the Most Expensive
• Getting More Products Into Consumers’ Hands Even in a Slowing Economy 
• Three Key Numbers you Need to Know for a Viable Food and Drink Business

If you haven’t listened to episode 51 (49 mins), ‘How Two Foodpreneurs Created a Successful Business Selling a Largely Unknown Ingredient’. listen here.

This episode is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Formula, my business acceleration program for packaged food and drink brand owners ready to scale and The Foodpreneur Journey roadmap so you know what to expect and the mistakes to avoid.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Having a business partner can be great. Someone to share the workload with, someone who brings their own set of skills into the business and someone to support a crazy idea of starting a food business that involves selling a product using an ingredient hardly anyone knows about…..

Sounds, well brave, doesn’t it. But that’s exactly what my two guests this week on Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast did. And not only have they built a thriving business with their black garlic being adored by many high profile chefs, but a healthy, transparent business relationship to boot.

On the podcast this week I chat to Cathy Owen and Jenny Daniher, who together founded Garlicious Grown, a company that sells delicious, award winning black garlic products. Jenny and Cathy met at their kids soccer game, and decided to create a business together selling a product 95% of the population had never heard about.

Listen now for their insights on:

🧄How they confidently sell to chefs - a mainly male-dominated demographic.
🧄 The key to a successful partnership.
🧄 How they navigate roles and responsibilities.
🧄 How foodservice is a key sales channel for them.
🧄 Apps they use to simplify their business.
🧄 How they use external relationships to increase brand awareness.

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Garlicious Grown
• Jenny Daniher LinkedIn Profile
• Xero
• ShipStation
• Upstock
• Trello
• Dropbox
• Hubspot
• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula Coaching Program

If you haven’t listened to episode 50 (45 mins), ‘How Foodpreneurs Can Increase DTC Sales through Digital Marketing’. listen here.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Did you know that 320 people in Australia search for ‘handmade chocolate’ every month on Google? How about that 2,900 people in the US search ‘best kombucha’ online EVERY MONTH. And that’s just a fraction of searches people all over the world make looking for packaged food and drink products to buy online.

Now, if you’re a Foodpreneur who sells directly to consumers from a website, you’re going to want to be in front of those eyeballs 👀 👀 👀.

That’s why if you’ve got an ecommerce website, I’ve got a treat for you. On Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast this week I chat with ecommerce expert Andy Janaitis. Andy has worked with a lot of craft food and drink brands; helping them increase their online sales through digital marketing. Listen to episode 50 now to find out:

💻 What you MUST do with your website to help increase sales.

💻 A mistake to avoid that can limit your sales (and it has nothing to do with your website!)

💻 Where to start off if you’ve never done paid marketing on an ecommerce site before.

💻 Google vs. Social ads – the difference and when to use each.

💻 How collecting email addresses can help your paid marketing.

LINKS & RESOURCES

• PPC Pitbulls
• Shopify
• Fly by Jing
• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula Coaching Program

If you haven’t listened to episode 49 (48 mins), ‘How to Get Noticed by Retail Buyers and Land More Accounts’ with RangeMe’s founder, Nicky Jackson, listen here.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

In a perfect Foodpreneur world, your product would have buyers knocking at your door. The reality, however, is a little different. With thousands of packaged F&B products out there, and only so much shelf space, it’s essential that products and brands stand out from the crowd to get onto (and off of) more shelves.

In this week’s episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast I chat to RangeMe founder, Nicky Jackson. As the founder of a platform that connects retailers with suppliers, Nicky knows what it takes to stand out from the crowd when liaising with buyers. This episode is FULL of advice, tips, and tricks on how to get noticed to land more accounts, including:

👀 What to do if you haven’t heard from a buyer after sending them a sample (I bet you’ve never thought of this one!)

👀 How to get feedback from buyers when sending out samples.

👀 What to research BEFORE you get in touch with a buyer.

👀 Who you need to have on your side to increase your chances of success.

👀 And much, much more.

If you want to learn more about getting your product onto more supermarket shelves in 2023, join my popular FREE ‘Money for Jam’ masterclass that will give you the pitching framework you need to land more accounts this year! (Valued at over $1500).

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Sarjesa
• Mid-day Squares
• Drunk Elephant 
• Foodpreneurs Formula Coaching Program
• ‘Money For Jam’ Free pitching masterclass

If you haven’t listened to episode 48 (25 mins), ‘4 Food and Drink Trends for 2023 to Help Your Business Remain Current, Relevant and Engaging’ listen here.

This episode is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Formula®, my coaching program for packaged food and drink brand owners ready to scale and my ‘Money For Jam’ masterclass to help you stand out from the crowd and land more wholesale accounts.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

There’s a reason food and drink businesses that remain current do well. Aligning your business – whether that be packaging, tastes, or ethics – with what customers are interested in help products get on, and off shelves.

This doesn’t mean a major overhaul of your brand or products every year to be ‘on-trend’. There are a number of industry trends I’ve discovered through extensive research and my own experience helping small, medium and big brands succeed in the market that can be incorporated into an existing business strategy to help foodpreneurs remain current, engaging and relevant in 2023 (and beyond!).

This week on the podcast I outline four food and drink trend predictions for 2023 to help direct your strategy and business this year, including:

📈 What messaging to incorporate into your sales pitch scripts and marketing.
📈 What priorities to lead with to future-proof your business.
📈 Ideas that will feed both your mind and mouth with inspiration.
📈 How to adopt or adapt these trends into your business strategy, pitch, and messaging.

Links & Resources

• ‘The footprint of food miles – we need to start counting’ case study
• Zoetic Tea
• Harris Farm Markets
• Episode #31, Carving out Your Competitive Advantage Using Food Tech. Easier Than You Think
• Bowery Farming
• Banksia Foundation
• Nestle Health Science
• Holland & Barrett
• Spicewell
• Vitl
• Acacia Blends
• Mindright
• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula Coaching Program
• ‘Money For Jam’ Free masterclass

If you haven’t listened to episode 47 (23 mins), The Golden Quarter: Q4 Retail Review So You’re Ready to Win in Q1. listen here.

This episode is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Formula®, my business acceleration program for packaged food and drink brand owners ready to scale and my Pricing for Distribution workshop to learn how to engage a distributor to help you sell more products and put more money in your pocket.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

The fourth quarter has become known as the ‘Golden Quarter’ – a time when large uplifts in retail site visitors and revenue can occur due to known sales periods such as Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas period. Some days are more dependent upon your location than others, although I see them becoming ubiquitous.

In this week’s Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast episode, the final for 2022, I analyse Q4 to help you review your sales records and help you to prepare to make more sales in Q1. You’ve got to be on top of your plans in order to make sales early in 2023. If you’re not, you’ll be forever in catch up mode throughout the year. 🏃🏻‍♀

In Australia, the stats suggest that retail sales were in overall decline this quarter but food and drink category sales did have a slight increase, partially helped by high food prices and additional flood related spending.

Listen to Episode 47 and walk away knowing:

📅 Which of your Q4 numbers you need to know like the back of your hand to make it big in Q1

📅 What you should have been doing in Q4 to get more buyers to return your messages (good to know for 2023)

📅 My simple review strategy for you to have an incredible plan for success in Q1 (it’s so simple, you’ll love it)

Links & Resources

• Episode #43 ‘What to do When a Stockist Says ‘No’ or ‘No for Now’
• Episode #26 ‘Straight talk from a specialty retail buyer. What to say in your pitch’
• Episode #44 ‘Words of Advice from a Speciality Retail Buyer’
• Pricing for Distribution workshop (one day left to grab this)
• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula®

If you haven’t listened to episode 46 (57 mins), How Storytelling And Persistence Gets Your Product On More Shelves. listen here.

This episode is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Formula®, my business acceleration program for packaged food and drink brand owners ready to scale and my Pricing for Distribution workshop to learn how to engage a distributor to help you sell more products and put more money in your pocket.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Unfortunately for many foodpreneurs, having an amazing product is not enough to get stocked or drive sales. There are a number of elements that need to come together to create a successful packaged food and drink business that has longevity.

Two of these elements are:

💪 Your brand story; and

💪 Persistence

I know so many foodpreneurs with delicious products that SHOULD be stocked on more shelves, but they struggle to tell their brand story and are not sure what to do when buyers don’t respond to them.

That’s why this week on the podcast I chat to triple threat Matthew Jinks, he’s the owner of Random Harvest and as a triple threat – amazing products, a compelling brand story, and unwavering determination – knows exactly what it takes to be successful in the industry.

Listen to episode 46 to discover:

🏪 How to tell your brand story to captivate buyers and get on more shelves!

🏪 Why you may choose not to sell through major retailers.

🏪 What you must do to grow your business when buyers keep ghosting you.

🏪 Tips for getting your product into overseas retailers. 

🏪 Top mistakes foodpreneurs make that can stall business growth.

Links & Resources

• Random Harvest
• Goan Cuisine
• David Jones Food & Wine
• Hill Street Grocer
• Peters’ of Kensington
• Harris Farm Markets
• Harrod’s Food Hall
• Alg Seaweed
• Foodland Pasadena
• Australian Made & Owned Food
• Pricing for Distribution workshop
• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula®

If you haven’t listened to episode 45 (24 mins), Your 12 Month Marketing Plan to Boost Sales in 2023. listen here.

This episode is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Formula®, my business acceleration program for packaged food and drink brand owners ready to scale and my Pricing for Distribution workshop to learn how to engage a distributor to help you sell more products and put more money in your pocket.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Getting your packaged food and drink product ON the shelf is a huge win for a foodpreneur, but it's only the beginning. The key to longevity, business growth and profitability (apart from correctly pricing your product) is getting your product into more consumers’ hands (or baskets/trolleys/sustainable grocery bags…) And the key to this?

Marketing 📣📣📣

It might seem simple but it's something foodpreneurs often overlook, or struggle with. That's why in this week's episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast I give you a 12-month marketing plan for 2023, that once implemented, will help you boost your product sales and put more money in your pocket! In this episode I cover:

📈 Not just what to do, but how to do it - with real life examples.
📈 What you need to consider when doing your marketing planning.
📈 How to increase your brand awareness.
📈 How to increase your revenue.
📈 How to drive repeat purchases.

Listen now and get to work planning your marketing for the new year!

Links & Resources

• Pricing for Distribution workshop
• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula®
• A Simple Checklist to Get Your Product Off Shelves.
• Episode.10: On the Grocery Shelf and Failed. Twice. What to Do. 
• Episode 38: Market research: what do shoppers really think of your brand?

If you haven’t listened to episode 44 (1 hr 10 mins), Words of Advice from a Speciality Retail Buyer listen here.

This episode is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Formula®, my business acceleration program for packaged food and drink brand owners ready to scale and my Pricing for Distribution workshop to learn how to engage a distributor to help you sell more products and put more money in your pocket.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

Getting into the mind of a retail buyer is priceless for foodpreneurs. Knowing how to land a meeting with them, what to (and what NOT to) do, and the information they want to know about your product to improve your chances of getting stocked is what every Foodpreneur wants to know right??

Retail buyers, like most of us, are busy people; get them at the right time and you could see your product on their shelves within a week or two, get them at the wrong time and you could be sitting hitting refresh on your emails for a very long time (yep, you’ve been ghosted).

In this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I chat with specialty retail buyer Tim Sykes from Melbourne’s AMAZING Gertrude Grocer, about everything you’ve always wanted to know from a retail buyer, including:

🛍️ The best day/time to contact them to improve your chances of success.

🛍️ Their preferred ways of contact – one you may have never thought of!

🛍️ What information to come armed with when you land a meeting.

🛍️ Whether you should drop in unannounced and what to do if you decide to cold call AND

🛍️ Much more.

Links & Resources

• Noshing
• Alive & Wild
• Biscotti Boxx
• Box Brownies
• Oakwood Small Goods
• Gertrude Grocer Instagram
• Gertrude Grocer website
• Pricing for Distribution workshop
• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula®

If you haven’t listened to episode 43 (48 mins), What to Do When a Stockist Says ‘No’, or ‘No for Now’. listen here.

This episode is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Formula®, my business acceleration program for packaged food and drink brand owners ready to scale and my Pricing for Distribution workshop to learn how to engage a distributor to help you sell more products and put more money in your pocket.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au

Send us Fan Mail

You’ve spent a lot of time and effort honing your product, you’ve designed the packaging, done your market research, and are even making sales. You know you need to get into more stockists to increase your revenue but the thought of making cold-calls makes you anxious; it’s just not YOU, you’re a Foodpreneur, a maker, a creator, an innovator, but definitely not a salesperson…..

The truth is making sales calls to stockists strikes fear into the hearts of many foodpreneurs. As a self-confessed introvert, Claire MacDonald from Coast n Smoke - a range of delectable artisan spice blends and BBQ rubs - knows this feeling all too well; BUT with a sales goal of doubling her revenue in 12 months, Claire knew she had to not only get more comfortable with making sales calls if she wanted to succeed, but also know what to say if she encountered a ‘no’, or another kind of objection.

In this week’s podcast coaching session, I take Claire through how to approach sales, especially cold calls, and what to say to get around the difficult ‘no’ and ‘no for now’ comments from stockists.

Listen now to discover:

📞 What to do when the idea of sales and selling makes you anxious.

📞 How an evidence-based and storytelling approach to sales makes it easier for foodpreneurs to land more accounts and make more money.

📞 My sales formula for doubling your revenue in the next 12 months.

Links & Resources

• Waitlist for Foodpreneurs Formula®
• Coast n Smoke website
• Coast n Smoke Instagram

If you haven’t listened to episode 42 (17 mins), When Things Aren’t Good at Home and Your Business is at Risk. listen here.

This episode is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Formula®, my business acceleration program for packaged food and drink brand owners ready to scale and my Pricing for Distribution workshop to learn how to engage a distributor to help you sell more products and put more money in your pocket.

Season 18 with NFTC

Season 18, out now, is brought to you by NFTC – The Natural Foods Trading Company.

If you're a growing food brand navigating that tricky middle phase—scaling up, maybe landing your first major retailer, figuring out how to buy smarter—NFTC is worth knowing about.

They're a mid-tier ingredient supplier specialising in natural wholefoods: nuts, dried fruits, herbs, spices, seeds, and more. Small enough to offer lower minimums and genuine flexibility, but backed by serious sourcing capability and a team that actually knows its range inside out.

Think of them as the ingredient partner that grows with you—not one you'll outgrow.

Check them out at nftc.com.au