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Do you know you can get money back in your pocket for all your hard work crafting delicious new products, experimenting with exciting ingredients, or streamlining your production process?
 
All those research and development (R&D) efforts could translate into government funding. It's like getting paid to create!
 
In this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I chat with with head of manufacturing and R&D tax incentive expert Jessica Olivier from RSM business advisory. Jess and her team have helped countless emerging and challenger brands in the food and beverage space get receipts out of shoe boxes, and navigate the world of government grants and tax incentives to turn packaged food and drink ideas into financial success stories.
 
Jessica speaks in plain English about how to get the R&D tax incentive and grants, which could ultimately lead to you unlocking greater cashflow in your business.
 
This is some of what Jessica talks about in this episode:
 
💲What the annual business cycle is and opportunities to be aware of.
💲What is the R&D tax incentive and how to get it.
💲The range of eligible R&D activities and how to claim for those and the associated costs.
💲Different types of grants foodpreneurs can apply for.
💲How to start the process of applying for these opportunities.
 
 LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Foodpreneurs Festival -  Your Year’s Worth of Sales & Promotion Opportunities All in One Day!
• Tickets to Foodpreneurs Festival (there are still limited Early Bird tickets on sale!)
• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version!)
• Become A Festival Insider
• RSM Manufacturing webpage
• RSM Food & Beverage Finance Update event
• Jessica Olivier’s email
• Jessica Olivier’s LinkedIn Profile

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 first 90 days after your product lands on the supermarket shelf are crucial to your long-term ability to keep it there.

Setting up your rate of sale to continually improve will avoid the risk of your product being delisted. One of the fundamentals of getting this right is by ensuring your first promotional plan doesn’t sit outside of what else you’re doing. In fact it should complement your existing activities and tie back to your overarching business strategy.

Strategy should never change, but your tactics will.

In this episode I go beyond just telling you, you need a plan, and give you the structure of what to include and what key performance indicators you need to measure to make sure what you’re working on is worth your time and money.

Identifying the vital signs for both your brand and your competitor’s brand (yes their success is key to your success, listen to the episode for what I mean by that), is how to avoid being delisted.

You don’t want all your hard work going to waste do you?

If not, listen now to discover:

📈 What data you should be measuring in the first 90 days.
📈 What applications you need to know in order to stay ahead of the category managers expectations to avoid the delisting conversation.
📈 The two ways to improve your rate of sale and lead the category.
📈 Discounting: when you should and when you shouldn’t.
📈 What to do with the weekly sales cycle data and why it’s so important to collect.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Foodpreneurs Festival -  Your Year’s Worth of Sales & Promotion Opportunities All in One Day!
• Tickets to Foodpreneurs Festival (there are still limited Early Bird tickets on sale!)
• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version)
• Become A Festival Insider
• One Seen Bean

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

Many food and drink founders dream of landing their product on the shelves of the major supermarkets.

But why do they make it so hard for Foodpreneurs to do so?

In this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I chat with Allen Roberts, a former FMCG senior executive with food giants like Vegetable Oils which became Goodman Fielder, Cerebos the makers of Fountain Tomato Sauce and Dairy Farmers. 

Allen and I talk about the big issues for small brands when working with the majors and the multiples. We go beyond just speaking of the crippling price promotions asked of brand owners and retailers copying innovative products. We give insight into how to make it work, if this is the pathway you choose. If you’ve got the patience and willpower to commit to the long-game, it’s ‘relatively’ easy! 😉

If, however, you are pulling your hair out or have not yet got beyond the Pollyanna perspective, listen now to uncover:

🏪 What the impact of the duopoly in the Australian grocery industry really means for small business owners.
🏪 How to be successful with the supermarket giants and what you need to give up in order to do so.
🏪 How much of a threat Aldi really are and what play they’re making in the market.
🏪 How to make an independent supermarket business model work.
🏪 The compounding effect of the supermarkets’ phantom brands.

And… we have some fun with marketing jingles and their memorability.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Foodpreneurs Festival -  Your Year’s Worth of Sales & Promotion Opportunities All in One Day!
• Tickets to Foodpreneurs Festival (there are still limited Early Bird tickets on sale!)
• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version)
• Become A Festival Insider
• Allen’s LinkedIn
• Strategy Audit

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 might be a small business but that doesn’t mean you have to spend more than you earn. There might be a constant list of activities on your ‘to do list’, all seemingly urgent to keep your business afloat, but what are the things that are the most important that will put more money in your pocket, and not more money in the pockets of retailers or distributors?

In this 100th episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I outline six ways for consumer packaged goods businesses to be more profitable. I unpack conversations with successful brand owners (you’ll hear them) who have spoken to me over the past two years about what they are doing and I give my insights into how you can do it too.

This is an episode you’ll need to come back to over and over again, as my guests and I outline key actions you need to take to overcome your biggest challenges, including making each product sale more profitable for YOU and how to hit or exceed your target revenue, pay yourself a wage, get more help so you don’t burn out and put more money in your pocket rather than the retailers or distributors!

These super valuable insights include:

📈 Developing a strategy to build a multi million dollar CPG business when you manufacture your own product.
📈 Why pricing your product so everyone can afford it maybe the best way to go-to-market when selling through the majors.
📈 Why Foodpreneurs get the smallest piece of the margin pie and what to do about it.
📈 Shifting your supply chain to increase the shelf life of your product will actually increase your sales.
📈 How leveling up and employing people is the best way to avoid burnout and a breakdown, even when affording the wages can be frightening.
📈 Buying new equipment is the answer to cost efficiency gains and scale and how to calculate the payback period.
📈 What numbers you absolutely MUST KNOW, especially if you want to EXIT.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Foodpreneurs Festival -  Your Year’s Worth of Sales & Promotion Opportunities All in One Day!
• Tickets to Foodpreneurs Festival (there are still limited Early Bird tickets on sale!)
• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version)
• Become A Festival Insider
• Episode #27 Getting sales through a major retailer when you’ve got a lot of competition. Here's how.

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

Many food and drink founders dream of taking their brand global.

But where do you start, what does it take and what are the challenges that come with expanding into international markets?

In this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I chat with Kathryn Bricken, founder of Doughlicious - the London Dough Company. Kathryn shares the secrets behind scaling her cookie dough empire in just a few short years. We explore her journey from a London factory to landing on shelves in some of the largest retailers across the world, including Whole Foods, Costco and Marks and Spencer and now Woolworths!

We go beyond just how delicious her products are (and trust me, they are!) and her initial story (which can be heard here), to delve into the next chapter in her global doughmination - from logistics to safety regulations to strategic marketing decisions - that comes with selling a product across three continents.

If you knead inspiration or want to expand your brand globally, listen now to discover:

🍩 Clever guerilla marketing tactics Kathryn uses to grab attention and get customers reaching for Doughlicious amidst established brands.
🍩 How to get off the shelf when you’ve gone into a new territory and nobody knows about you!
🍩 The challenges that can come with shipping frozen treats across the world.
🍩 Kathryn's strategy of building brand familiarity before adjusting pricing, ensuring customers fall in love with the product before considering the cost.
🍩 How removing 2 grams from her product helped catch consumers’ attention in supermarket aisles.
🍩 The complexity of the safety regulations in creating a ready-to-eat product, and how Australian regulations are among the most stringent in the world.

Want to get first-hand insights directly from Kathryn? She is coming over from the UK and will be both on the floor and speaking at the Founder’s Luncheon on May 16th and on the Main Stage at Foodpreneurs Festival on May 17th. Get your Early Bird tickets now if you’re wanting to take your brand global!

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Foodpreneurs Festival -  Your Year’s Worth of Sales & Promotion Opportunities All in One Day!
• Tickets to Foodpreneurs Festival (there are still limited Early Bird tickets on sale!)
• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version)
• Become A Festival Insider
• Hear from Kathryn first-hand at the Founder’s Luncheon
• Episode#36: How Doughlicious founder, Kathryn Bricken, Wins Retail Accounts.
• Doughlicious
• Doughlicious Instagram

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

Many small packaged food and drink businesses see PR as complex, ill-defined, or expensive. But what if it could be simple, affordable, and highly effective?

In this 2nd Anniversary episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I explore the power of PR for Foodpreneurs. Join me as I chat with PR expert Celia Harding, who's worked with both major brands including Smirnoff, and boutique favourites like Mr Black Coffee Liqueur.

Celia breaks down insider tips and tools to get your brand noticed, without breaking the bank (or spending anything at all!).

Tune in to discover:

📣 Strategies to attract retailers and customers (aka, the ‘right’ people).
📣 The 4 secrets to nailing media interviews and press releases.
📣 The key differences between PR vs. advertising, and how PR can complement your marketing efforts.
📣 How smaller brands can outmanoeuvre larger competitors with strategic PR.
📣 Why Australia is the perfect launching pad for your food and drink brand.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Tickets to Foodpreneurs Festival (there are still limited Early Bird tickets on sale!)
• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version!)
• Become A Festival Insider
• How 2 Foodpreneurs Created a Successful Business Selling a Largely Unknown Ingredient 
• Mr Black
• Mobius Distilling
• Fellr Alcoholic Seltzer
• Collabosaurus

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 world's top business leaders know the secret ingredient for scaling success: people. Not just employees, but a powerful network of mentors, allies, and even family.

In these turbulent times, going it alone limits your growth potential. That's why in this 2nd Anniversary episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast,  Episode 97: Behind the Scenes Look of what it Actually Takes to Scale, Scott Mendelsohn, the people-first powerhouse behind Australia's Raw C and Lesser Evil brands, shares his story of success by finding his ‘tribe’. He went from two shipping containers of coconut water to a $30 million international enterprise – and it wasn't through solo heroics.

This episode goes deep into the real blueprint for scaling your packaged F&B business, including:

🥥 Scott's investment criteria: What makes a brand stand out?

🥥 The "do-it-all" trap: Why delegation is your secret weapon.

🥥 Community as fuel: How collaboration conquers challenges.

🥥 Top 3 tips for aspiring Foodpreneurs: Grow, don't go it alone.

🥥 Cracking the US market: Essential insights for expansion.

🥥 Self-doubt: The surprising foe of even big players.

🥥 The power of feedback: Why openness fuels success.

🥥 Universal launchpad principles: Grow anywhere, anytime.

🥥 From lone wolf to collaborative leader: The mindset shift you need.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version!)
• Become A Festival Insider
• Scott’s LinkedIn 
• Scott’s Email
• Natural Raw C 
• Mandatory Spirit Co

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

Forget the fantasy of buyers begging for your product. In the real world of packaged food and drink, thousands of brands are vying for limited shelf space. To stand out and get noticed, you need a strategic game plan.

In this 2nd Anniversary episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, I talk with RangeMe founder, Nicky Jackson, the queen of connecting suppliers with retailers. Nicki spills the beans on how to crush the buyer game and land more accounts. Get ready for insider tips and tricks on:

👀 Strategies for handling radio silence from buyers after sending samples (I bet you’ve never considered this!)
👀 Getting buyers to ‘lean in’.
👀 Key research to do before reaching out to a buyer.
👀 Techniques for getting feedback from buyers once they do try your samples.
👀 Essential allies to enlist to increase your chances of success.
👀 Plus, a stack load of other insights, tips and tricks from one of the best in the business!

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version!)
• Become A Festival Insider
• RangeMe
• Sarjesa
• Mid-day Squares
• Drunk Elephant 

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

Picture this, you’ve just launched a food brand with no FMCG experience, producing in a saturated market from your garage in a local town. Fast forward four years, and that brand is now a household name, generating millions in revenue, selling nationally and internationally, and self-manufacturing not only your product but others as well.

It may sound like a dream, but it's the reality for Cian Dawson and Courtney Brown, co-founders of GYM BOD – a better-for-you ice cream brand that has skyrocketed since its conception. With a dedicated following among fitness enthusiasts and health-conscious consumers, their products are now available in over 1,200 locations across Australia and New Zealand.

In this episode, we dive into Cian and Courtney's journey that will ignite your ambitions, encouraging you to dream big, set goals, and focus on the right aspects to achieve them.

Tune in to discover:

🍨 Key focus areas that propelled them to reach their goals.
🍨 How they carved a niche in the competitive dessert market, becoming a household name.
🍨 The pivotal role of strategic thinking and planning in their journey.
🍨 Their most formidable challenge faced to date.
🍨 The importance of observing consumer actions rather than just relying on what the research says.
🍨 The necessity of defining your market early on to shape your business strategy.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version!)
• Become A Festival Insider
• GYM BOD Website
• GYM BOD Instagram
• #27 Getting Sales Through A Major Retailer When You’ve Got A Lot Of Competition. Here’s How.

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 the competitive world of packaged food and drink, your brand and packaging are your megaphone, your spotlight, your key to conquering the aisles, landing on more shelves and building loyal customers.

In this 2nd Anniversary epsiode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I chat with with design experts Bex Deere and Nat Townsend from Griffin Grace. They've helped countless challenger brands in the food and beverage space cut through all the visual noise on shelves, and they're here to share their wisdom.

These design wizards unveil the magic formula for forging that personal connection with your customers, including:

🧃 Navigating the ever-shifting design landscape and discovering styles that'll make your product pop (and the ones to avoid like burnt toast).
🧃 Learning how your packaging whispers your brand story across your entire range, creating a chorus of delicious consistency.
🧃 Why continuous brand evolution is the key to longevity. 
🧃 The #1 tip for designing eco-conscious packaging that'll make Mother Earth (and your customers) happy.
🧃 How collaborative design can turn grocery giants into partners, not gatekeepers.
 

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Your Free Pitch Plan (new updated version!)
• Become A Festival Insider
• Griffin Grace - Book a Free 30 Minute Call with the Team Here.
• Small Steps to Sustainability 
• Noshing 
• Chai Spice Beverages
• Mount Henry Honey 
• Tully’z 

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