Is your pricing right? Are you ready to pitch to retailers? Which channels should you focus on? Which of the twenty things on your to-do list matters most right now? When you run a business, it always feels like there’s something else you should be doing. Whatever stage you’ve reached, there’s always another decision to make. It can be overwhelming. That is where food business coaching can help.
I love hearing about new products and new businesses, and helping to plan the way forward. Whether it’s a kombucha brand, a frozen ready meal, an artisan juice or delicious confectionery, every category has its own rules, but every product is different.
Someone who will help us do what we can
There’s a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that I love: “Our chief want in life is who shall make us do what we can.” Sometimes I help put the plan into action, but with food business coaching, that’s not the point. The best moments are when we work through a problem and the answer becomes clear. A one-off conversation is often the thing that unlocks a challenge that’s been bothering a client for weeks.
I’m confident that my food business coaching clients enjoy the process too. They’re all at different stages, with different products in different categories, so they need different things. But the common thread is always the same: how do we keep moving forward?
Why food business coaching helps
Food can be an unforgiving industry. The barriers to entry are relatively low, but creating a robust business means navigating some harsh realities. Shelf life, minimum production runs, packaging print orders, range reviews, margins, discounting and promotions can all mean mistakes are expensive and slow to undo. Margins get squeezed from both ends, so a price that looks healthy at the start can leave very little once retailers and distributors have taken their share.
Does it feel like you’re doing it all on your own? It can be difficult to see the situation objectively. You’re too close to the product, and what seems normal to food industry insiders can seem bewildering. You can overlook the pros as well as the cons. Talking it through with someone who’s been there will save time and money.
What does coaching focus on?
Sometimes the trigger is dealing with overwhelm, sometimes it’s about giving the founder a map of the terrain they’re heading into and offering some clarity on the next few things to focus on.
What changes when you’ve got someone in your corner?
One client told me that working through competitors, target market and pricing strategy gave them the confidence to ‘take the plunge’ and go for it. As they said: “I suppose because it was like talking to another expert who did understand this industry, who thought, yeah, there is something here — that made me think, okay, I’m moving forward to the next step.”
The biggest difference I see is clarity. Knowing what matters now, going into a buyer meeting with confidence, having someone to keep you accountable between sessions makes a real difference. Having a good idea of your ultimate goal, as well as a detailed understanding of your next few moves sets you up for success.
