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.
Class #1: Wednesday, September 12th 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:
Class #2: Wednesday, September 26th 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:
Class #3: Wednesday, October 10th 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:
Class #4: Wednesday, October 24th 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:
Class #5: Wednesday, October 31th 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:
Class #6: Wednesday, November 7th 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:
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.
Classes are sponsored by the Small Business Association.