Regional Wholesale Brand

This free and quick informational session will provide details about the Fellows Program and give you an opportunity to ask questions.

poSaNa organics is a manufacturer of best-in-class gluten-free cooking and baking mixes wholesaling to grocers and retailing directly online. This pitch deck is an example of an optimized pitch deck template to successfully raise money and communicate the company's business model.

Because Quince and Apple has labor-intensive, artisanal products, the best strategy was not to compete on quantity or price. Instead, they chose to compete by dominating an emerging niche (pairing their products with specialty cheeses) while telling the defensibly unique story of their artisanal processes.

Brix Cider began producing in small batches and self-distributing throughout southern Wisconsin. Their ultimate goal is to open a cider tasting room (increasing margins and cash flow); however, through the struggle to find the right space, they have learned business problem solving skills and financial literacy.

Rachael Young of yaupon beverage brand YAYAYA joins Tera to talk about building a beverage brand around an unknown plant, working with copackers and courting investor partners who know the food space.

Henry Aschauer, co-founder of Forage Kombucha and Forage Kitchen in Madison, Wisconsin, sits down with Tera to discuss his multifaceted business and how the restaurants and beverage brand behoove each other as both continue scaling.

Grocery stores have introduced their own branded "private label" products on their shelves, offering an opportunity for food producers to increase cash flow, maximize production efficiency and diversify revenue streams without having to do all of the brand building and customer relationship management themselves.

MobCraft beer is a brewery and taproom with a unique business model of crowdsourcing ideas for beer recipes from their customers. Knowing how much equity they needed vs. debt to finance their facility build out and equipment needs helped them pitch specific asks to both banks and investors, including for their $2 million tap room and production facility.

Franchisers make money through initial franchise fee for setup costs, controlling product sales (by buying product, then selling to the stores after marking it up), and royalties, which come off of top line sales of the franchised business in return for the support and process development of the franchiser. This is often the biggest source of income for franchisers.

Women found innovative food and farm businesses all the time, yet they still have a harder time landing investment than male entrepreneurs do. Part of the issue is decision-makers in the investment world are predominantly men. Regardless, it is still entirely possible for female founders to raise money successfully. Gaining financial literacy is the first step. They need to be exceptionally well-versed in their needs and numbers and go into investment discussions with confidence.