I Have a Food Product. Now What?

The Food Entrepreneur’s Essential Guide to Branding & Marketing

Welcome to the wonderful, crazy, and competitive world of food startups!

Now that you have a product you want to sell, you’ve got to figure out a way to create a brand that gets noticed, stands out from the competition, and connects with customers.

What good does it do to have a great product if no one knows about it? In today’s over-communicated, cluttered, and confusing marketplace, it is even more important to be crystal clear on who you are (as a brand), who you serve, and how, where, and when to communicate your brand message.

Creating a brand that sells on your own can be overwhelming. In this 6-part workshop series, we’ll walk you through a simple and practical guide to the essential branding and marketing tools you need to successfully develop and grow a unique, authentic, and relevant brand.

Classes

Class #1: Wednesday, February 27th from 6:30 to 8:00

BRANDING ESSENTIALS 1 : Defining Your Brand Identity

Think about your favorite brands. What do they have in common? They communicate a clear sense of self. Brands that have a clear identity and purpose are able to form more authentic and meaningful connections that result in truly devoted fans who not only buy from you, but act as ambassadors, convincing others they should buy from you too.

In this workshop, we will guide you through simple and practical steps you can take to define your brand and differentiate it in the marketplace.

Here’s some of what we’ll cover:

• The true definition of a brand.
• The 1 question you should be answering when defining your brand.
• The secret to creating the perfect Elevator Pitch.
• Why you need a Mission Statement and all the tools you need to write a powerful one.
• The steps to creating a visual brand identity and the secret weapon that every brand should have.

Class #2: Tuesday, March 5th from 6:30 to 8:00

BRANDING ESSENTIALS 2 : Finding Your Niche and Creating a Brand Experience

“A brand is worthless if it doesn’t connect with the right audiences in a relevant way.” Great brands are great because they are customer-focused. Part 1 of Branding Essentials was focused on defining you and your brand. This class is all about your customer. How to define them. How to find them. How to communicate and interact with them. And how to position your brand in a way that makes them choose your product over your competitor’s.

Here’s some of what we’ll cover:

• Why you need to define your ideal customer and how doing so (along with defining your brand) will help make all future business decision-making effortless.
• How to attract the right customers and develop a loyal diehard fan base.
• Creative ways to establish your brand voice and personality.
• The importance of brand strategy and building brand equity.

Class #3: Wednesday, March 13th from 6:30 to 8:00

PACKAGING ESSENTIALS : How Your Product Looks is an Extension of Your Brand

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but judging your product by its packaging…That’s another story. Your packaging will make all the difference in how a customer perceives your product – and your brand.

Now that you’ve defined your brand identity, your customer, and your brand personality, it’s time to translate that to your packaging.

Here’s some of what we’ll cover:

• Why the aesthetics of your packaging is just as important as your product itself.
• Learn the simple secrets to creating beautiful custom packaging on a startup budget.
• The 5 things to consider when determining the type of packaging you should use for your products.
• The most common mistakes brands make with their packaging, and how to avoid them.

Class #4: Wednesday, March 20th from 6:30 to 8:00

SALES & MARKETING ESSENTIALS 1 : Engaging Your B2C Customer

Once you’ve established your brand elements and packaged your goods, you’ve got to spread the word and make some sales. In this class we’ll work on marketing direct to your individual customers, focusing on the most cost-effective tools you have at your disposal: Website, Social Media, and Email Marketing

Here’s some of what we’ll cover:

• The key elements to a profit-generating website.
• How to build a Social Content Calendar.
• The biggest misconception business owners have when it comes to social media and actionable strategy tips from a pro.
• The importance of an opt-in email list and how to build one.
• Email marketing best practices and the types of emails you should be sending out.

Class #5: Wednesday, March 27th from 6:30 to 8:00

SALES & MARKETING ESSENTIALS 2 : Introducing Your Product B2B

Ok, you’ve got your product, you’re clear about your brand identity, your packaging is on point, and you’re engaging your customers and building a following. Now it’s time to introduce your brand to the Business to Business (B2B) marketplace. This class is all about preparing you to market and sell your products in volume to businesses. We will talk about both wholesale and corporate selling.

Here’s some of what we’ll cover:

• The different types of B2B customers and how to tailor your marketing to each one.
• Simple strategies to find potential buyers.
• How to create a sales sheet.
• The most important thing you need to budget for when marketing to businesses.
• Selling Checklist: what to have with you when you go on a sales call.

Class #6: Tuesday, April 2nd from 6:30 to 8:00

EXHIBITING ESSENTIALS : There’s More to Showing Your Product Than Just Showing Up

Get offline and meet customers in real life! #meetIRL

One of the most powerful ways to market your brand is at markets and shows. But if you want to be successful, there’s a lot more to it than just simply showing up. This class will focus on everything you didn’t know you needed to know about finding, choosing, and making the most out of exhibiting.

Here’s some of what we’ll cover:

• Trade Vs. Consumer Shows.
• How to find potential shows and determine if they’re worth exhibiting at.
• Simple (and affordable) tricks to make your table or booth stand out.
• The common opportunities many businesses miss when exhibiting and how to prevent yourself from being one of them.
• Sampling do’s and don’ts.
• Exhibiting Checklist: everything you need to have with you at an event.

About The Instructor

Jill Frechtman is an entrepreneur with a passion for building inspired, authentic, and impactful brands. Jill’s approach to branding – a unique blend of design, creativity, and practical business execution – incorporates her 16+ years of experience as a designer, specialty food entrepreneur, and a creative strategy and brand marketing consultant.

A graduate of Syracuse University, Jill started her career as an art director at Grey Advertising in NYC. But, after her sweet treat contribution to the 2001 office holiday party became the talk of the company, she realized that she was destined for a more entrepreneurial path. After a few years, she made the leap from the ad world to the startup world. She launched her own chocolate pretzel company, Fretzels by Jill, successfully transforming a childhood hobby into a nationally recognized confectionery gift brand. Her entrepreneurial venture earned her a prestigious Long Island Business News 40 Under 40 Award, and guest speaker appearances at NYU Stern School of Business.

While still running her own business, Jill began consulting with a number of other entrepreneurs and businesses, in a variety of industries, to develop, design, and grow their brands. Everything from logo and brand design to websites, marketing collateral, packaging, and brand strategy.

Jill’s branding experience also includes a NY-based chocolate company where she served as Director of Brand Marketing, transitioning them from a 40-year-old family run business into a nationwide franchise, with over 20 locations. 

Her expertise is in brand strategy, design, and marketing, with a knack for streamlining processes and finding creative opportunities to build multiple revenue streams. A Jill of all trades, her diverse background and experience has enabled her to be relentless, resourceful and versatile. Jill is someone who makes things happen, and particularly excels at moving products from ideas to profitable reality.