Welcome to the MarketSizer® and HubSizer® Toolsite by New Venture Advisors!

Are you thinking about starting a local food business or conducting a food system assessment and not sure how to evaluate the market? Are you considering a new food venture and want to better understand its profitability potential, or how well suited an existing facility might be to your vision? The NVA Toolsite is the place to get started! Answers to these questions and more are a few clicks away with our MarketSizer® and HubSizer® widgets. Check out the demos below, and read our blog post to learn more about these six new tools.

Important: These tools are designed for users with some knowledge of the industry being explored. They provide basic economic information, and are not intended to provide P&L level data or insights, nor to substitute for due diligence that must be conducted prior to launching any new venture. The tools are intended to highlight many of the key variables that determine viability, allowing users to refine their business concepts and due diligence plans.

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Preview the Local Food MarketSizer®

Do you want to assess local food supply and demand in your region?

The Local Food MarketSizer® estimates unmet demand for locally produced food in a chosen geographic area. Learn more about this tool in our microblog series Toolsite Spotlight (1 of 6): The Local Food MarketSizer®.

Do you plan to start a produce food hub in your region, and need to better understand the economics and the likelihood that your vision for the food hub can be successful?

The Local Produce HubSizer® estimates breakeven sales, acreage and capacity thresholds for various types of food hubs, and provides success indicators related to supply, demand and competition based on geography.  Learn more about this tool in our microblog series Toolsite Spotlight (3 of 6): The Local Produce HubSizer®.

Preview the Local Produce HubSizer®

Preview the Frozen Processing HubSizer®

Do you plan to launch a frozen processing facility, and need a sense for the volume required to make it profitable, and an estimate of the start-up costs?

The Frozen Processing HubSizer® estimates facility size and breakeven throughput, revenue and utilization for blast and cryogenic IQF freezing processes. Learn more about this tool in our microblog series Toolsite Spotlight (6 of 6): The Frozen Processing HubSizer®.

Do you plan to add to your rural grocery store a wholesale business that buys and sells locally grown fruits and vegetables, and wonder what the potential might be in your current space?

The Rural Grocery HubSizer® estimates potential throughput, sales and profit contribution of a food hub operating out of a rural grocery store. Learn more about this tool in our microblog series Toolsite Spotlight (2 of 6): The Rural Grocery HubSizer®.

Preview the Rural Grocery HubSizer®

Preview the Kitchen Facility HubSizer®

Do you plan to convert an existing facility into a shared kitchen or food business incubator, and want a better idea of the number of entrepreneurs it could serve and the utilization rate required for it to break even?

The Kitchen Facility HubSizer® estimates the capacity and breakeven utilization for a commercial kitchen or kitchen incubator built out in an existing facility. Learn more about this tool in our microblog series Toolsite Spotlight (5 of 6): The Kitchen Facility HubSizerⓇ.

Do you plan to convert an existing facility into an aggregation and distribution hub for local produce, and want to estimate the throughput, revenue and acres of supply needed to break even, and what it can move at full capacity?

The Produce Facility HubSizer® estimates the throughput (cases, pounds, acres) and revenue at break even and at full capacity for a produce aggregation and distribution hub built out in an existing facility. Learn more about this tool in our microblog series Toolsite Spotlight (4 of 6): The Produce Facility HubSizer®.

Preview the Produce Facility HubSizer®

The NVA Toolsite was funded in part through a USDA Agricultural Marketing Service grant.
MarketSizer and HubSizer are registered trademarks of New Venture Advisors LLC.

 Whatcom County Food System Plan

In 2021, the Whatcom County Food System Committee conducted a community food assessment that pointed to key opportunities to build a more robust and resilient regional food system. New Venture Advisors partnered with Whatcom County staff and the Food System Committee to draft a Whatcom County Food System Plan that builds upon these findings. This Plan focuses on five key goals for building a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient food system, and was informed by an inclusive community engagement process. The Food System Plan will provide the county with a policy roadmap that will strengthen the local food system for years to come. (2023)

 Whatcom Local Food Campus

The Whatcom Community Foundation invests in activities and organizations that improve the ability of people to help themselves, increase connections among people, and take cooperative approaches to community issues. WCF is exploring the development of a local food campus on a waterfront property that would become a multi-tenant site, anchored by a collaborative production kitchen benefitting food access, school system, and community organizations. The goal is strengthening Whatcom County’s local food system by promoting health equity, forging tangible strategic connections between food production organizations, and helping farmers connect with institutional markets. The facility will also feature an incubation kitchen, demonstration kitchen, event and classroom space, collaborative office and conference facilities, and housing.  New Venture Advisors developed the business case for this ambitious project and continues to support its development through engagement and operational development. (2023)