You need more than inspiration to build your food business. Launch and scale your restaurant, bakery, CPG brand, food blog, or food truck with tips, strategies, and lessons learned from your favorite Black chefs, Black owned restaurants and Black content creators from around the world. Join the host, Mercedes Gosby, at the intersection of food, tech, business, and finance as she interviews food professionals and entrepreneurs every week to discover how to get started in the hospitality indus ...
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30: Tips for getting your product into grocery stores w/ Planted Foods Co.
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Getting your product into grocery stores takes time and requires networking with retailers & buyers in the food industry. Ashley Kirk, Founder of Planted Foods Co, a plant based food company walks us through: How to get your products onto store shelves by networking and other strategies The consumer research Ashley conducted to decide the products …
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29: How to find investors for small food businesses w/Kube Nice Cream
39:23
39:23
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You won’t be able to bootstrap your food business forever and might need investors, says Kai Nortey, co-founder & CEO of Kube Nice Cream. This Black owned vegan ice cream manufacturer explains: Why venture capital (VC) may not be right for you as a food business owner The types of conversations you might have with potential investors Potential prob…
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28: Food truck marketing w/ The Food Truck Scholar
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45:57
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Are you a food truck owner having trouble with marketing and keeping your social media pages updated? Ariel D. Smith, The Food Truck Scholar, has quick & easy tips for you. Ariel also chats about: How she created an audio diary for food truckers using her podcast Opportunities for current and future food truck owners The importance of insuring your…
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27: Get more press features without hiring PR
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Interested in getting more press for your business? Mercedes outlines common mistakes we make when pitching to media outlets and tips on how to successfully pitch to journalists, podcasters, YouTubers, and bloggers. Full show notes: https://profoodmaker.com/how-to-write-a-media-pitch
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26: Navigating social media to grow your brand w/ Geo’s Table
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Geo Darwin, a Philadelphia-based food & lifestyle blogger and content creator, is on a mission to highlight underrepresented people in food & beverage. We chat about: Being consistent as a content creator Why blogging isn’t dead and the evolution of blogging The Philly food scene Full show notes: https://profoodmaker.com/geos-table…
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25: Before Mo Better Brews, there was Houston Sauce Co. vegan food truck
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Courtney Lindsay is the chef & owner of Houston Sauce Co, a super popular vegan food company in Houston, TX. Courtney shares: how a hot sauce turned into a food truck, BBQ trailer, storefront, and more what food truck owners need to do to grow their business and who they need to hire how much a food truck costs Mentioned in this episode $2 tacos, D…
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24: How much does it cost to open a restaurant? w/Felicia Middleton, owner of Urban Aesthetics
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How much does it cost to open a restaurant? A lot. Learn restaurant start up costs and best practices from Felicia Middleton, an architectural designer for food spaces, specializing in food service design. Hear about: The costs for equipment, renovations, etc How to open a restaurant: steps & tips Common mistakes & misconceptions about opening a re…
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23: Kyle's Good Finds: Tokyo, Japan Black Owned Bakery w/ Kyle Sexton
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Meet Kyle Sexton, owner of Kyle’s Good Finds, a Black owned bakery in Tokyo, Japan. We chat about: How and why Kyle moved to Tokyo 30 years ago His bakery’s best sellers which includes carrot cake The importance of having true friends who will support you Mentioned in this episode Rhode Island School of Design - Photography Minshuku - Guesthouse ac…
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22: Season 2 Sneak Peek & Ask Me Anything
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Welcome to Season 2! Mercedes talks about highlights, media features, and collaborations from Season 1. She finishes the episode with an Ask Me Anything segment and a sneak peek for the new season. Mentioned in this episode How to Support Black Owned Restaurants & Food Businesses Long-Term guide Ep 17: Improve your food photography skills with food…
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21: Season 2 Announcement + Listener Challenge
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The new season of Pro Food Maker launches this month! Find out how an extra 15 seconds of your time will lead to a bonus episode. Subscribe to this podcast and follow us on Instagram @profoodmaker. Thank you for listening and for your support.
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20: How to grow your hospitality career with mentorship & coaching
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If you are looking to grow your career in hospitality, food & beverage, you need a mentor. Lorraine Copes founded Be Inclusive Hospitality, an organization that supports and promotes Black, Asian and other ethnic minorities in the hospitality sector through education, coaching, and mentorship. Lorraine walks us through: how and why she created Be I…
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19: Centering Black chefs & Black owned restaurants with Black Food Folks
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42:25
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Where can Black chefs, Black owned restaurants and professionals in the food, beverage & hospitality industry go for professional development, collaboration, and support? Colleen Vincent and Clay Williams founded Black Food Folks, a fellowship that centers Black people, our accomplishments, and our growth in food & drink. Colleen & Clay walk us thr…
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18: Create & customize your own cookbook using your phone with Shaun Chavis of LVNGbook
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You don’t need to be a celebrity chef to create your own cookbook. LVNGbook, created by Shaun Chavis, a former cookbook editor, offers culturally-inclusive customizable cookbooks for people with a chronic disease. Shaun walks us through: the importance of customer discovery when building your app how to find developers to build your app potential r…
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17: Improve your food photography skills with food blogger Anela Malik
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45:08
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Anela Malik is a food blogger & food writer who focuses on food politics and telling diverse food stories. Anela chats about her work that supports Black owned restaurants and walks us through: How to plan your content based on your mission statement. The equipment and apps she uses to create food content. The importance of networking as a content …
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16: Black inventor creates Wonderffle stuffed waffle maker w/Mike Bradford
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Mike Bradford, Founder & President of Wonderffle, is a software engineer who invented a stuffed waffle maker that lets you create waffles with your favorite foods inside. Mike walks us through: Cost estimates for manufacturing your kitchen appliance Lessons learned from finding the right manufacturer for your invention How to save money on filing f…
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15: Black owned Soul Popped Popcorn turns $53 into $500,000 w/De J Lozada
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De J Lozada, Founder of Soul Popped Gourmet Popcorn, and Black business advocate, knows that selling online can be difficult and expensive for business owners. She is launching Shop Kemet, an online marketplace that connects Black owned businesses with customers who want to buy Black. De J talks about: What it takes to generate $500,000+ in sales f…
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14: How a Howard alum runs a pop up soul food restaurant around the world
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Want to open a restaurant? You don’t need a brick and mortar location or even a food truck. Fred Corder, Co-Owner of Maryland Chickan, walks us through how #DeepFriedWatermelon does pop ups at night markets and food events in Southeast Asia and the U.S. Fred also talks about: Why Black entrepreneurs need to do more business internationally The impo…
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13: How this kombucha brewmaster left the tech industry & started a kombucha business w/Kemiko Lawrence of Kemboocha
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Kombucha brewmaster and yoga teacher Kemiko Lawrence, founder of the kombucha brand, Kemboocha, breaks down: How she turned her hobby kombucha home brew into a kombucha brand Focusing on prioritizing in life and in business instead of trying to find balance The importance of building your own table instead of waiting to be accepted by others ------…
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12: How Vicky Cakes Pancake Mix launched in 2 months w/Christian Sargent
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Today, we chat with mompreneur, Christian Sargent, co-founder & CEO of Vicky Cakes Pancake Mix, on how she launched her Black owned breakfast brand in two months. Christian breaks down: • The 5 main steps to plan & launch your packaged food business • The story behind the Vicky Cakes Pancake & Waffle brand - her mother’s 40 year old family recipe •…
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11: Top mistakes food entrepreneurs make with their food business w/Chelsea Rainey
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You need more than passion to successfully run your food business. Today, we chat about the common mistakes that restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs make, with Chelsea Rainey. She is the founder & owner of Culinistics, a company that helps food entrepreneurs launch and scale their food brand. Chelsea breaks down: Market research and how it’s a…
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10: Pivot your business in a recession with celebrity baker Warren Brown of Spark Bites
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Is your food business ready for the recession? Warren Brown, founder & owner of Spark Bites, previously the founder of CakeLove and host of Sugar Rush on Food Network, talks about the difficulties of running a business, especially during a recession. Warren breaks down: How he transitioned from practicing law to running his bakery, CakeLove, full t…
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9: Food Tech & Food Design w/ Product Designer Bianca Jackson of Bianca Bakes
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45:54
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What is food experience design (food tech & food design) and how can it grow your food business? Bianca Jackson, founder of Bianca Bakes and a contestant on The Great American Baking Show, talks about her work at the intersection of food, tech & design. Bianca breaks down: How to get feedback from customers, the types of questions to ask, and the q…
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8: How this mompreneur started a coffee business from home with Fly Carmichael of Boss Blend Coffee
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48:30
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Fly Carmichael, CEO of Boss Blend Coffee, walks us through how she started her coffee business and the key to a successful business launch. Fly breaks down: Her experience searching for someone to teach her about the coffee business Why it’s important to take control of your content as a content creator How her coffee pays homage to her mother Educ…
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7: How to review & learn from 2019 to level up in 2020
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28:06
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Mercedes gives a recap of the good and the bad in 2019 and suggests resources and strategies to help you level up at work and in life for 2020. ------------------ In this episode, Mercedes covers: Using social media to learn about your industry & to connect with people in your industry Why you need a mastermind group or an accountability partner Th…
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6: How NFL player Reggie Kelly got KYVAN on Walmart.com in 3 months
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Reggie Kelly, former NFL player, discusses the similarities between playing pro football and running a food business. You’ll learn: Strategies to overcome marketing & brand awareness challenges The importance of conducting research before developing products How to get your children involved in the family business KYVAN Foods, is a line of seasonin…
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