Strategies and planning for new food business success
As of 2026, the Good Food Awards are officially under the helm of the Specialty Food Association. (Enter by October 31!) While the two food competitions remain distinctly different (at least for now), it is exciting to see which “Good Food” winners made the list of 2027 Sofi(tm) Specialty Food finalists. What’s the difference between…
For my first time, I decided to try AI to analyze one of my most burning questions — what currently are the most vibrant places where food crafters who enter the Good Food Awards win awards? So I asked Claude: Based on the list of the 2025 Good Food Award finalists, help me analyze, which…
Was 2025 more of the same in the food and beverage or something different? The politics of the year have led to everything being more expensive, from labor to ingredients. At the same time, consumers are concerned about budgets and jobs. Here are 3 trends that are important to know about whatever your business and…
The entry period for the 2026 Good Food Awards is here! The Good Food Foundation is accepting submissions across 18 categories for the next Blind Tasting & Judging. An Early Bird discount is available to all crafters through Wednesday, July 9 – after that, entry fees increase from $95 to $105 per product. Who can enter…
WHERE TO LIVE is one of the biggest questions we ever face. Finding a great place to live that’s also great for starting a business only complicates things. I’m on a quest to find answers—specifically related to local food craft business. TELL ME YOUR STORY In Good Food, Great Business you’ll find stories of entrepreneurs who…
I’d always seen Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP popcorn at Expo West and of course at supermarkets everywhere. But not until I heard the founders’ journey on Guy Raz’s NPR podcast How I Built This, from their quandary as to how to make a living through finding success years later, did I become entranced with the brand and…
The 2024 Food AI Summit on the UC Berkeley campus brought together speakers from AI (artificial intelligence) technology startups, plant-based food manufacturers, food service robotics companies, food developers, nutritionists, makers of AI-driven recipe tool BakeBot, capped by a thought-provoking session with Cal Poly philosophy professors (pondering ethical issues related to AI and automating various aspects…
FoodDive offered this tasty headline in September 2023: “Mondelez leans on startups to help fuel ambitious growth plans” The scoop: Food brand conglomerate Mondelez said SnackFutures, its venture capital arm, plans to at least double the number of companies in its portfolio by 2030. What is SnackFutures? SnackFutures is Mondelez International’s innovation and venture hub….
Didn’t make it to 2023 Natural Products Expo? Here’s what you missed… Grain free, gluten free, organic foods and beverages will always be among the thousands of food company booths lining the floors at the Anaheim Convention Center each March for Expo West. Every year there is some ingredient or packaging twist that appears and…
What do you think when you hear: Keurig SodaStream Bartesian ? I hadn’t heard of Bartesian either, but it follows in the footsteps of other home drink-making machines…only for artisan cocktails. Brilliant! Why is a home cocktail-making machine based on flavor pods so genius? Once someone invests in buying the Bartesian, they’ll have to make…
