In our last Member Monday highlight of 2020, we’re thrilled to feature Branchfood member Lisa Sebesta, founder of Sitari Capital! At Sitari, Lisa works with investors who are interested in food and agriculture investing to achieve their financial and impact goals. Their mission is to help investors support these impactful businesses utilizing financing solutions that work for both the investor and the company.
Read MoreBranchfood was thrilled to have Jenn Mason, Founder of Curds&Co. and Curdbox, at our latest Ask an Entrepreneur session this week! Jenn has been a regular at our monthly Community Table for over four years, and we’re so glad she could join us to share more about her journey growing an artisanal cheese shop, launching a cheese subscription box, and starting a novel eatery in the middle of a pandemic.
Read MoreBranchfood member Ian Pasquarelli has always had a passion for supporting, educating, and empowering the communities he lives and works in. Coming from a small town in Aroostook County, Maine, he developed a strong work ethic and sense of community that’s driven him to where he is today. As the founder and owner of The Kitchen Network, a Boston-based food business consultancy, Ian knows that there is no greater way to connect than through food.
Read MoreA longtime supporter of food entrepreneurs, Bill Seretta got his start working in the restaurant industry before moving on to for-profit and non-profit businesses in human services, environmental education, food service, retail computer sales, Internet services, higher education and business consulting. Now primarily focused on food, Bill dedicates his time to supporting the local food system by creating the Maine Food System Innovation Challenge and taking a role as Executive Director at Fork Food Lab.
Read MoreWhen Branchfood member Matthew Demma left his native Boston in 2013 to pursue a career in food, he quickly realized his love of wine watching the sommelier at the joint butcher shop-restaurant he worked at. Seven years later, Matthew is a sommelier himself studying for his Champagne Master Level certification through the Wine Scholars Guild.
After returning to Boston last year, Matthew saw an opportunity to launch a business built on this passion. He founded Perlage Sparkling Wine Club in July 2020, offering members the opportunity to experience a sommelier-curated selection of sparkling wines, a total of 18 bottles during the twelve-month subscription, along with a cookbook in each shipment. Perlage’s mission is to teach members how to integrate sparkling wine into their everyday lives, enjoyed outside of just special occasions.
Read MoreMember Monday returns with a spotlight on Elise Yost, Account & Marketing Strategist at Nature and Nurture Creative. Elise’s background is in marketing with an emphasis on the food industry and small businesses. She and the team at Nature & Nurture help clients succeed in the food and beverage space through dedicated partnerships. Read on to learn Elise’s top tips for working remotely, long-lasting marketing trends that arose from COVID-19, and what makes marketing in the food world unique!
Read MoreFood Edge is Branchfood’s annual summit that fosters connection and collaboration between industry stakeholders across the food value chain. The Summit seeks to support industry networking, raise awareness about new innovations and products launching in market, and inspire us all to support a better future for food. Branchfood believes that together, we will lead the future of the industry, and we’re particularly excited to see New England based innovators take a leadership role in this change.
Read MoreTyler Noyes, Branchfood Mentor in Residence, is the Co-Founder of Kalahari Snacks, a packaged food brand that brings South African inspired biltong and crisps— air-dried beef snacks—to America.
To continue Branchfood’s support of the food & beverage community, we recently had the pleasure of hosting ‘Ask an Entrepreneur’ with Tyler, where he shared insights on his company’s launch, the R&D process, how to expand your distribution market, and more. Check out our upcoming events designed to help you achieve your goals, and continue reading for Q&A highlights.
Read MoreOriginally a Meetup group for those in the food community to connect and share resources, Branchfood has evolved into New England’s largest community of food entrepreneurs and innovators. Through our active network, industry expertise, and curated resources, we connect industry leaders with innovative entrepreneurs, supporting the collective effort to build a better, healthier, more environmentally friendly and equitable future for food.
As leaders in the food innovation space, the Branchfood team weighed in on one of the biggest and pertinent questions in the food industry: what is one food trend that you’re excited about?
Read MoreFreed Foodies founder Daniel Brassloff was dissatisfied with gluten-free pizza and other baked good options on the market. After being diagnosed with tree-nut allergies in 2000 and Celiac in 2006, he has tried his best to support brands making great products for those who follow a gluten-free diet. After starting his gluten-free microwave-made mug cake business, MuggedCake, with a few of his peers at Babson College and spending a semester abroad in college studying Gastronomy at CETT university, he set out to experiment with flour blends and come up with a formulation he knew he could stand behind.
Read MoreDriven by passion for innovation and humanity’s growth, Tom Dodge and the team at NewView.Media guides brands through pre-production, filming and video editing to craft creative content that engages, educates and encourages action. In 2019, the company produced 413 videos across 85 marketing, event, and fundraising campaigns! All of Tom and his team’s dedication and hard work has paid off — NewView.Media earned “Best Business Video Marketing Agency - Greater Boston” from Corporate Vision Magazine’s Media Innovator Awards.
Read MoreProviding nutritious, delicious food for her family was always important to Branchfood member Jenn Bingham, but with a busy work schedule, it wasn’t always easy — she is a working mom, Physician Assistant, and certified natural foods chef after all! When Jenn couldn’t find a healthy frozen food option that her young daughter would love, she decided to take matters into her own hands. After meeting Co-Founder Kelly Wannier, the two launched Little Pickins, which offers nutritious, gummable, frozen finger food for ages 10 months plus.
Read MoreInspired by a lifetime of vegetarianism and the diversity of flavors sourced from around the world, Branchfood member Suman Shah set out to launch Fork on a Road. Suman founded this food-centric business on the belief that cooking is an opportunity to be present and connect with loved ones. She is using her 20+ years of experience in marketing, strategy and collaboration to grow Fork on a Road and provide vegan and vegetarian meal kits, specialty spices, recipes, cooking classes, and chronicles that nourish life.
Read MoreThis week, our Member Monday campaign highlights James Choi, founder of Perillas, a fast-casual Korean eatery specializing in bibimbap, a traditional Korean rice dish topped with vegetables and meat. Through a career in finance and consulting, James saw just how much leadership and culture affects the workplace. Attending Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary to learn about Workplace Leadership and Ethics, he started shaping Perillas’ culture and values rooted in the treatment of people with dignity and respect; a focus on people which ultimately creates more value than focusing primarily on profits; and sharing in the joy of delicious and healthy Korean food in a fast, convenient, and affordable way. Following the launch of Perillas catering and a temporary pop-up location, James is opening a permanent storefront in Bow Market this summer. Read on to learn about the inspiration behind the company, mission-driven businesses, and more.
Read MoreSales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is a monthly business management process that integrates quantitative data from different parts of the business, with the goal of driving better decisions around production planning, purchase order management, sales strategy, and product development. Simply put, the S&OP process refers to the regular communication between sales and operations departments to ensure smart cash decisions are being made. The S&OP process is critical for the success of CPG brands. A broken or non-existent S&OP process can lead to problems such as spoilage deductions, forecasting mishaps, and negative distributor balances. In fact, the number one reason brands reach out to advisory firms like Rodeo CPG is because something unexpected has happened that could have been prevented with a proper S&OP process.
Read MoreMember Monday continues this week with a spotlight on Mint Pattanan, founder and CEO of Rootastes. After moving from Thailand to Boston for graduate school, Mint founded Rootastes in 2016 with a mission to change the way office employees eat their lunch. Rootastes is designed for companies run by people who believe that taking good care of their team is smart business and the right thing to do. In addition to office lunch delivery, Rootastes recently launched their Fresh Baskets service. These weekly farm fresh baskets deliver a mix of fresh fruits, seasonal veggies and proteins plus local goodies. Rootastes is offering Branchfood followers 10% off their first Fresh Basket order — use code BF10 at checkout!
Read MoreWe’re thrilled to share our next installment of Member Monday featuring Kevin Mannering, Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Rodeo CPG. This week, Branchfood partnered with Rodeo CPG to host a webinar titled, “Where’s My Cash? How Instituting a Proper S&OP Process can Bring Clarity to your Cashflow”. If you missed it, head to our YouTube channel to watch the event recording and learn why optimizing Sales & Operations (S&OP) communication is the single most important process contributing to the success of a CPG brand.
Read MoreUp next in our Member Monday campaign is Insa Elliott, co-founder of Market 2day. Insa’s background in technology and business strategy led her and her co-founder, Stephanie Marmer, to launch a solution for making local food more accessible to Greater Boston community. The Market 2day app seeks to support the local food community and bolster sustainability by giving farmers a direct-to-consumer (DTC) delivery platform and allowing consumers to shop small.
Read MoreThis week, Member Monday features Julian Cohen, Founder and CEO of Bountiful Kitchen. Bountiful is a community-driven dinner delivery service based in Somerville that works with local chefs, farms, and artisans to provide a fresh and seasonal rotating dinner menu featuring restaurant-quality dishes. Keep reading to learn about launching a business during a pandemic, partnering with local farms and chefs, and more. Don’t forget to check out Julian’s Instagram takeover on our Member Monday highlight!
Read MoreOur third installment of Member Monday highlights Nagélore Jean-Caïdor, founder of Naturel Juicing. Naturel Juicing creates fresh, nutrient dense, 100% raw cold-pressed juices, with no additives, preservatives or chemicals. These juices have globally-inspired flavors and seek to support a healthy life. Keep reading to learn about the process behind creating health-forward juices, balancing a day job with founding a startup, and more. If you missed Nagélore’s Instagram takeover, head over to our Member Monday Highlight to check it out.
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