The Food-Preneur Certificate Program

The Food-Preneur: Ten Steps to a Successful Food Business in a Challenging Economy

Food-Preneur™ Boot Camp is an intensive two-Saturday series of workshops tailored to new food entrepreneurs who have a great specialty food idea but are unsure of the next steps. Established food businesses can improve their skills in key areas such as food marketing and sales. The series is taught by food business experts who actually market, sell, and develop specialty foods products.

Participants learn experientially through classroom interaction and are provided with tools, resources, and information to both learn the food business and develop plans to create sales, manage growth, and create or refine a product. Boot Camp participation results in market-ready food businesses and products by the end of the series.

The program discusses the ingredients needed to be a successful Food-Preneur. Distribution, channel dynamics, and the complexities of retail trade channels are explored. Participants will be introduced to the Food-Preneur business model template designed to clarify their vision and business model; identify and understand what their product is; and how the product should be produced, marketed, and sold. Upon completion of the course, participants can head to the checkout line with a personal “recipe for success” – a completed Food-Preneur basic business plan model.

Topics Covered

• Opportunities with Target Marketing
  Learn Market Segmentation, Niche Marketing, Benefits Ladder, Tactical Matrix, and Problem Solving Funnels.
• Marketing Plan and New Product Presentation Development
  Increase your success at getting “on the shelf” using our New Product Power Point template.
• Get to know the Food Consumer
  Learn the factors that that influence food purchasing and consumption within the Food Retail Environment.
• Food Marketing Research
  In-class exercises teach you how to thoroughly research your budding food or existing product.
• Trade Promotional Planning
  Trade Promotions can be up to 18% of total revenue. Learn how to design and implement winning food promotions.
• Food Retailing Trends
  Learn the unique aspects of each distribution channel, supermarkets, mass merchandise, club, dollar, or convenience stores.
• Legal Issues in Food Marketing
  We focus will be on the areas impacting the food industry such as food safety, food labeling, nutritional claims, and USDA and FDA issues.
• Food Packaging
  An industry leader in food packaging design shows the necessary steps from concept to finished product in food packaging.
• Food Technology
  Issues covered range from food safety and diet to health, and processing technologies.
• Functional Foods
  With the consumer’s increasing focus on self-medication and the effect of diet on overall health, we specifically cover the allowed FDA functional food claims.

The Food Service Industry

Develop an understanding of the commercial and noncommercial on-site segments and the underlying generating factors and decision-making factors and processes that shape strategy and tactics for food service marketing. 1.2 CEU
Instructors: Dom Celentano, Celentano & Company, and Esther Luongo Psarakis, Taste of Crete
CRN 13231 · SB234-01 · 2 sessions
Sat Oct 16 & 23 · 9:00am-3:00pm
Course fee: $329 ($110 tuition, $204 Materials, $15 reg)

We’re here to help!

Fill out our Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Request for Counseling Form to schedule a free appointment with one of our business counselors.

Use our Business Course Registration Form to register for any of our small business classes.

If you have any questions, review our FAQs or contact our office at sbdc@raritanval.edu or 908-526-1200, ext. 8516.