A microblog series on the HubSizer® and MarketSizer® tools from New Venture Advisors. Over the past few weeks we’ve explored how to analyze a market for local food with the Local Food MarketSizer® tool; investigated how to turn a grocery store into a food hub with the Rural Grocery HubSizer® tool; and most recently we […]
Over the last nine years New Venture Advisors has had the privilege of participating in over 60 food systems studies ranging from feasibility studies to market assessments, business plans and strategic business improvement plans. They have ranged in focus from local food hubs to value added processing facilities, kitchen incubators, local grain storage and healthy […]
Anyone reading the food news these days would think that Big Food is dead. In recent years, analysts have been alert to the trends, publishing excellent reports such as Is Big Food In Trouble? (A.T. Kearney/The Hartman Group, 2016), Invasion of the bottle snatchers: Smaller rivals are assaulting the world’s biggest brands (The Economist, 2016) […]
Two years ago my husband and I became the co-owners of EcoEnclose, a business that manufactures and distributes sustainable shipping solutions to eco-focused ecommerce businesses. Through my many years as a management consultant and then a food entrepreneur, my husband’s many years in finance and private equity, and our four combined years of business school, […]
Anyone who has attempted to launch a food business knows how difficult it can be. Whether it’s raising capital, finding and retaining talent, balancing a side hustle with a full time job or finding reliable co-packers, we hear lots of stories from entrepreneurs that raise our sympathies and admiration. But nowhere have I encountered a […]
December…while it is, first and foremost, a time for us to be with our friends and family, be thankful, take out our mittens and hats, and celebrate the season – it is also the time for reflection and planning. This may sound boring to some people, but we tend to geek out over this stuff […]
We became aware of the plight of rural grocery stores a few years ago. Through USDA funding we have begun to research if and how a rural grocery store can viably serve as a food hub to strengthen its bottom line. This blog post by Saloni – Rural Grocery Stores as Food Hubs – 2 […]
Ten years ago, the kitchen incubator was a novel concept. Since then, the food landscape has evolved pretty dramatically. We are now flooded with artisan products (or specialty, local, small batch – insert your favorite food movement here!) and have unparalleled access to unique food trucks and food services — and I think we are […]
It’s December. Countless large organizations have been in the midst of planning meetings, data analysis, and presentations to boards. However, so many employees see annual planning as just a dog-and-pony show with little impact on their work the following year. At the same time, there are many companies that let the year pass without taking the time to reflect […]