is a series of workshops for aspiring food entrepreneurs looking to learn critical aspects of how to start and succeed in a competitive market environment.
Brief Description
Do you have the next big food idea? Are you dreaming about bringing it to life? From perfecting your products and developing your brand to merchandising and social media, here is the ultimate series to bring your big food dream to life. This series is for the first time food entrepreneur, the beginning farmer in need of guidance and the market veteran who wants to learn from other experienced food professionals, here you will have the chance to go deep and collaborate. You will learn the most recent thinking in innovation; as well as have the opportunity to work one-on-one with experienced designers in retail and packaging, branding specialists and procurement specialists, along with food safety, sanitation, permitting and insurance. If you've questions, our pros have answers. Let's evolve your dream and turn it into a reality.
Expert Bios
Sample & Tell
Gathering feedback from your cohort is an important feature of Forkshop. With this series we are introducing "Sample & Tell", a hybrid "show and tell", and an awesome opportunity to show off, sample and then receive both immediate and/or anonymous feedback on your food -or on any other aspect of your business. With your registration, sign up to Sample & Tell and learn from fellow foodpreneurs living your same big food dream!
Benefits
Forkshop is different than other trainings out there. By combining our workshop's collaborative conversational style with a cohort of foodpreneurs like yourself; with questions coming from you and answers from our experts - we've got something special here. Forkshop registrants are special, too!
Full series registration (all four Forkshops), benefits include;
+ early, advance registration for all our holiday market dates.
+ reduced cost consultant time with experts in marketing, design, ingredient sourcing, business development and more.
+ special advance invitation to our FIRST TASTE Media sampling event in April.
+ special advance invitation to influencer Sample & Tell event in May and June.
Detailed Description
FORKSHOP 1 \ WHY FARMERS MARKETS? GETTING STARTED & PERMITTING
Questions we will answer:
+ Are farmers' markets right for me? And how to tell where I should market?
+ Identifying trends: why, what and how to sell? How to decide on your product line up?
+ Is this the best place for feedback on my products? Is the market a testing grounds for my product?
+ What is the cost-benefit analysis of my farmers’ market presence? What is my ROI of my farmers market business?
+ Where can the farmers' market take me?
+ How do I grow my presence, is one time a month enough? What about more?
+ How do I get away from being a disgruntled market vendor to asking the right questions of my market manager?
+ What permit do I need and what does working with an inspector look like? Should I be afraid? What about cottage food and inspections?
EXPERTS \ Libby Wyrum, owner F&E Markets; Dulce Monterrubio, owner Dulceria Bakery; and Belen Rodriguez, owner Quebracho Charcuterie & Pies; Logan Ebeling, Health Inspector, City of Minneapolis
SAMPLE & TELL \ TBD
LOCATION \ Lawless Distilling
DAY & TIME \ Sunday, March 31, 1 to 3PM
COST \ $55 a session, or $195 for the series of four
FORKSHOP 2 \ HOW TO BE A VENDOR AT A FARMERS’ MARKET? LIABILITIES & LOOKING GOOD
Questions we will answer:
+ Why do I need insurance? How do I get it, and how much should I be paying? How do I limit my personal liability?
+ What’s with the sales tax thing? What do I do with the MN State Tax form?
+ Why, what and how to sell? How to decide on your product line up?
+ Branding?
+ How do I decide on packaging? Where do I source packaging? What about printing?
+ What type of tents and tables are best? Where do I get them?
+ How do I differentiate myself from my competition?
+ What is merchandising, and how do I do it? How much should I spend?
EXPERTS \ Libby Wyrum, founder, F&E Markets; Beth DeLaForest, President, Aspire Insurance Group; Daniel Berg, packaging, restaurant and retail designer, Creative Director, Exhibit Partners
SAMPLE & TELL \ TBD
LOCATION \ Lawless Distilling
DAY & TIME \ Sunday, April 7, 1 to 3PM
COST \ $55 a session, or $195 for the series of four
FORKSHOP 3 \ THE POWER OF PRICE & PERSUASION IN SALES
Questions we'll answer:
+ Commercial kitchen vs. cottage food? What is more cost effective?
+ Is organic important? Should I charge more for organic?
+ How do I set the prices of my products? How do I value my labor?
+ How and where do I source ingredients? Can I buy directly from farmers?
+ How much product do I make? How do I manage supply and demand: is it okay to sell out?
+ Beyond social media: how do I use the market to build a direct customer base?
+ What skills do I need to sell? How do I prepare myself to receive rejection?
+ How pushy is too pushy? What is an up sell?
+ Is it helpful to sample?
+ How do I incorporate customer feedback into my products, my brand?
+ What are best practices to engaging customers in conversation?
+ How do I keep customers coming back?
EXPERTS \ Libby Wyrum, founder, F&E Markets; Terry Williams, Winter Goddess Foods; Katie Myhre, RED Market, Sourcing & Pricing, Peter Chehadeh, Owner, GRLC
SAMPLE & TELL \ TBD
LOCATION \ Lawless Distilling
DAY & TIME \ Sunday, April 14, 1 to 3PM
COST \ $55 a session, or $195 for the series of four
FORKSHOP 4 \ STORY TELLING & SOCIAL MEDIA
Questions we'll answer:
+ Techniques? Tools? In person and online: how do they differ?
+ Facebook, Instagram, Twitter \ How do I make friends and influence people online?
+ Storytelling? How do I make sure it is on brand?
+ What tools can help me take the best photos?
+ Can introverts be effective online? How do I make sure I'm posting enough?
+ How do influencers affect my brand?
+ Do hashtags work? If so, how do they work?
+ Is there such thing as an overshare?
+ Growing followers, what are my next steps?
EXPERTS \ TBD
SAMPLE & TELL \ TBD
LOCATION \ Lawless Distilling
DAY & TIME \ Sunday, May 5, 1 to 3PM
COST \ $55 a session, or $195 for the series of four