Start-Up Company

SITUATION
During the Great Recession, a pair of successful creative professionals decided to create an organic snack food line. No specific product in the works, so we had the opportunity to find a niche.

PROBLEM
No industry experience; lots of unknowns about sales, logistics and best business practices.

SOLUTION
Research helped identify a white space for them; found a co-packer who could manufacture the product with the appropriate margins for us to be competitively priced; wrote a business plan that addressed industry specifics around marketing and made sales projections based on industry norms. Hired a branding company. These factors attracted investors and raised capital.

BENEFITS
Solid business growth from the very beginning, able to say yes to distributor requirements, signed 13 distributors at the first trade show, signed the largest industry distributor within 60 days, hired a national sales manager in year 3 who had the margin and tools to do a great job.

For more information, contact Deb Mazzaferro at 727-258-8015 or [email protected] .