Justice of the Pies is the early-stage Chicago company created by Maya-Camille Broussard. Broussard’s specialty is baking exquisite sweet and savory pies. But the “Justice” part of the name is as important to Broussard, who dedicates her business to her late father, a criminal-defense attorney and avid baker.
BareItAll Petfoods was something of a fish out of water as a participant of FamilyFarmed’s Financing Fair on June 19 — which is singularly focused on people food, and BareItAll makes pet treats from freeze-dried fish. But the type of fish used by the Chicago start-up is what made their Good Food Financing Fair debut a swimming success. They are harvesting Asian carp, an aggressive invasive species that is wreaking ecological havoc on Midwestern river systems — and presenting a major threat to the Great Lakes fisheries if they manage to gain access to Lake Michigan.
The proverb says that necessity is the mother of invention. Yet for the team who founded ready to BRANDS, it was impending motherhood — and a rare and debilitating condition associated with it — that necessitated their invention of ready to EASE, a nausea relief product that can be taken as an ice pop or liquid shot. The power of Mark Muller’s creative response to a critical situation — and the simple appeal of his organic, all-natural product — helped ready to BRANDS win a highly competitive Pitch Slam, beating out eight other outstanding business startups at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference in June.
Through most of its history, the company now known as Ingredion might have raised eyebrows participating in a Good Food event. Known as Corn Products from its founding in 1906 until its re-branding in 2012, the company produced commercial-scale oils, starches and sweeteners — including corn syrup that for many years was ubiquitous in many of the nation’s consumer packaged goods. But times have changed, with consumers demanding food with healthier and more natural ingredients. And Ingredion has changed with the times. That is why the Ingredion for Emerging Business program partnered with The Hatchery — a growing Chicago food business incubator — and FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator in a presentation on its chef-driven Culinology program, which plays a central role in keeping Ingredion current with consumer and restaurant trends.
by Bob Benenson, FamilyFarmed Investors’ interest in early-stage Good Food businesses began to grow quickly about a decade ago, as venture capital began to recognize the profitable opportunities presented by the fast-rising consumer demand for locally and sustainably produced fresh and processed food. FamilyFarmed’s recognition of this trend spawned the creation of its Good Food Read more about Good Food Businesses Prosper As Investor Interest Grows[…]
In five short years since its launch, Simple Mills has enjoyed remarkable growth with its packaged baked goods and baking products, all of which are gluten free, grain free, soy free, non-GMO, and Paleo friendly. Founder/CEO Katlin Smith will discuss Simple Mills’ rapid rise next Tuesday (June 19) at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference in Chicago, on a panel titled “Breakthrough Entrepreneurs Talk Innovation.”
FamilyFarmed’s 8th annual Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference — to be held June 19 in Chicago — is the Midwest’s premier business and investment event focused on local and sustainable food. And as usual, the Financing Fair is the heart of the Conference’s entrepreneurial programming. This article will introduce you to the 38 companies who will participate in this year’s Financing Fair.
FamilyFarmed, a leading nonprofit advocate for a better food system, is happy to introduce you to the program for its 8th annual Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference. The Midwest’s premier business gathering focused on locally and sustainably produced food will be held Tuesday, June 19 at the Morgan Manufacturing event space in Chicago’s West Loop — and it has its strongest-ever lineup of industry experts discussing cutting-edge issues.
The technology behind blockchain is complicated, but its potentially enormous benefits to food businesses are simpler to explain. Blockchain enables producers to prove their product claims and, via an app, provide that information in an easily accessible form to consumers who care deeply about where their food comes from. It also provides near-instant traceability that can dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to pinpoint the source of a food safety problem.
Shared kitchens provide often-crucial workspaces to food entrepreneurs who have products they think will sell, but lack the money to either build their own production facilities or contract with co-manufacturers. Now, Chicago startups have an important new resource with the May 3 grand opening of Pilotworks’ new shared kitchen and business incubator.
Michael Bashaw of Whole Foods Market knows all about change. During more than two decades with the company — rising from meat cutter to Midwest regional president, a position he has held since 2009 — Bashaw was part of Whole Foods’ development into the nation’s biggest natural and organic food supermarket chain. And for nearly a year, he has been managing change as Whole Foods adjusts to Amazon’s purchase and takeover of the company. So Bashaw chose change as the subject of his talk at the recent graduation ceremony for the fourth cohort of FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator program
by Bob Benenson, FamilyFarmed FamilyFarmed always approaches the graduation of its latest Good Food Accelerator cohort with gratitude and anticipation. We are grateful that we get to work with and assist promising entrepreneurs who are seeking to grow their companies (and also happen to be super-nice people too). The anticipation is looking forward to the Read more about New Good Food Accelerator Grads Ready To Put Pedal To The Metal[…]
The Good Food movement has gained major ground in recent years, driven by fast-rising consumer demand for better and healthier products. One tangible proof of that is in the growing community of investors who are helping Good Food companies start up and grow. One such company is Chicago’s Spiral Sun Ventures, whose tag line is “Investing In Healthy.” Spiral Sun works mainly with small, early-stage companies. The firm also is a friend of FamilyFarmed, and they exhibited at our 2017 Good Food EXPO. More than that, there are Spiral Sun clients who also are FamilyFarmed Good Food Accelerator Fellows or regular exhibitors at our Good Food Expo.
Debbie Wood is the founder and owner of No Denial Foods, which produces sumptuous snack mixes and baked goods from grain-free, low-sugar recipes she created to address her own health issues. Debbie exhibited at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food EXPO in March 2017 and enjoyed record on-site sales. The experience prompted her to join the current fourth cohort of FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator.
Cultured Love, based in Holland, Michigan, produces healthy, probiotic sauerkrauts in a variety of traditional and innovative flavors. Jodie and Paul Krumpe founded the company in 2014 after family illness led them to deeply research the connections between food and health. They exhibited at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food EXPO in March 2017 and enjoyed record on-site sales, an experience that prompted them to apply and get accepted for the current fourth cohort of FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator.
We are proud to present the finale of our three-part series of food and farm entrepreneur stories that underscore the impact you can have by making a tax-deductible donation to FamilyFarmed. Today, we feature our Farmer Training program, built around our Wholesale Success and Direct Market Success manuals, that has provided workshops for more than 13,700 farmers in 43 states on best practices in farm operations, handling, food safety, and marketing.
Everyone eats, and what you eat matters — which is why we at FamilyFarmed are proud of our work growing the availability of Good Food. In the coming weeks, we’ll share stories of the local food and farm entrepreneurs whose mission to produce Good Food has been served by FamilyFarmed, thanks to contributions from Good Foodies like you. We ask for your support so these programs thrive and we can continue to develop new and innovative Good Food initiatives in 2018.
FamilyFarmed’s annual Giving campaign is under way, and to highlight the work we do to build a better food system, we are running a series of profiles of great businesses that have participated in our programs. Today we look at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator through the eyes of Maya-Camille Broussard of Justice of the Pies, who graduated in April in the program’s 3rd cohort of entrepreneur Fellows.
Whole Foods Market has been a longtime partner in FamilyFarmed’s effort to build a better food system. So when we saw that Sustainable Food News had published a piece on Whole Foods’ top 10 trends for 2018, we knew it would be share-worthy.
FamilyFarmed is getting close to announcing the roster of competitively selected Fellows who will participate (from November to April) in the fourth cohort of its Good Food Accelerator. So as a warmup, we’re recalling the nine great business from the third cohort that graduated last spring.