The Good Food CFO podcast

For years, food founders have had exactly two bookkeeping options:

Pay a bookkeeper hundreds of dollars a month (and hope they understand your industry and provide accurate & timely numbers)
Do your own bookkeeping (with no access to guidance or support)

And if we’re being honest, the third option… don’t think about it until tax time.There was never anything in between.

Until now.

In this episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast, Sarah Delevan sits down with Jennifer DeFilippo, Founder of Hello Jenn D, to share how they’re reimagining bookkeeping support for small food businesses and truly meeting founders where they are in their bookkeeping and financial journey.

Here’s what this episode covers:

The founder feedback Sarah got that inspired this new take on bookkeeping support
How the most common bookkeeping mistakes - overestimating income and not capturing all expenses - hurt cash flow and increase your tax bill.
The three new ways all founders can get budget-friendly bookkeeping support, from monthly office hours, to 1-on-1 sessions, to done-for-you services

Learn more about The Good Food CFO Software at https://thegoodfoodcfo.com/software

_______________________________________________________________

The Good Food CFO software offers independent food businesses a low-cost and partnered approach to financial strategy and day-to-day financial management. Our mission is to create innovative tools and resources that provide founders critical financial insights, education and support to build profitable businesses.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

View Details

Revenue is up 40%. Online ads are working! But cash is tighter than ever. Should they raise their prices?

If you’ve ever stared at growing sales numbers while your bank account tells a completely different story, this episode is for you. Sarah is walking you through a real client case study - a brand with 70% gross profit margins and 40% revenue growth that was still cash strapped - and breaks down exactly how she identified the true source of their cash flow problem. Spoiler: it wasn’t their prices.

Here’s what this episode covers:

Why raising your prices when you’re cash strapped can actually make things worse, and how to know when it is the right move
The shift from “should we raise our prices?” to “why don’t we have enough cash?” and why asking the right question changes everything
The two-step framework Sarah uses to pinpoint exactly where a cash flow problem is coming from
The inventory strategy this brand used to free up tens of thousands of dollars without touching their prices or their product

Ready to do this work in your own business? The Good Food CFO software walks you through exactly this process — investigate your margins, run your financial audit, and dig into your inventory — so you can find the true source of your cash flow problem. Learn more at https://thegoodfoodcfo.com/software Every subscription includes free access to weekly office hours with Sarah.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

View Details

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

Thrive Market has built a loyal following of health-conscious consumers who are actively looking for better-for-you brands.For good food founders, it’s a direct line to your target audience. And the conventional wisdom has always been that selling direct to retail, cutting out the distributor, means better margins and more money staying in your business.

But the Thrive Market relationship isn’t as cut and dry as we assumed, and as Sarah uncovered many founders don’t realize the financial impacts until it’s too late.

In this episode

In this episode Sarah breaks down the real cost of selling through Thrive Market, shares insights into Thrive's price negotiation process, and what she learned from Founders actively selling to Thrive Market right now.

You’ll hear:

What Thrive Market actually charges brands on every invoice
Why the direct-to-retail margin assumption doesn’t always hold
How Thrive Market margins stack up against national distributor KeHE (the numbers might surprise you)
The 5 steps every founder should take before signing with any retail or distribution partner

Before you say yes to Thrive Market, or any retail partner, listen to this episode.

View Details

Most food founders think fundraising means perfecting your pitch deck. Angel investor Katie Dunn says you’re starting in the wrong place.

In our conversation, Katie breaks down the three fundamentals that actually get investors to meet with you, and say yes: understanding investor thesis (and why it saves you from wasting time), leveraging warm introductions instead of cold pitching, and building a financial model that shows exactly how you’ll reach profitability.

We cover the investment basics every founder needs to know—what a safe note actually is, why angels want equity, and whether regional brands can get funded (spoiler: yes, but with different deal structures). Katie also shares her strong recommendation on why your first hire should be finance, not marketing, and how to make it ridiculously easy for investors to want to help you.

If you’re considering fundraising or just want to understand how investment actually works in food CPG, this episode gives you the straight talk you need.

Connect with Katie:

Website:katiedunn.com

Advisory Board: The Masthead Strategy

LinkedIn: Katie Dunn

Instagram: @iamkatiedunn

TikTok:@iamkatiedunn

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

View Details

Building a profitable food business without investors isn’t just possible—it’s a strategic choice.

Sarah sits down with Daniel Goetz, founder of Good Pop, who’s bootstrapped his popsicle brand for 16 years by prioritizing profitability over growth headlines.

Daniel shares practical strategies that kept Good Pop alive and thriving:

Why he sold just 4 popsicles at his “big launch” (and what happened next)
The 3am working capital discovery that kept his business going
Why he focused on going “deep not wide” with retail expansion
How to get packaging and ingredient suppliers invested in your vision

Hear how forcing profitability from day one shaped every business decision—and why Daniel chose this path after watching funded peers struggle under investor pressure.

Connect with Daniel:

Website: GoodPop

Instagram: @GoodPop

LinkedIn: @Daniel Goetz

The Good Food Collective

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

View Details

Sarah sits down with Shelley Elkovich, co-founder and CEO of For Bitter For Worse, to explore the financial strategy behind building a profitable specialty beverage brand. Shelley shares how self-manufacturing became a dual revenue stream through contract manufacturing, allowing her to control costs while generating additional income.

The conversation reveals practical insights on sustainable growth versus rapid expansion, how to filter customer feedback without compromising your vision, and the strategic decisions that kept this non-alcoholic cocktail brand resilient through major market shifts. Discover how Shelley evaluates each growth opportunity and makes decisions that prioritize long-term sustainability over short-term wins.

Shelley also graciously offered our listeners 20% off their products using the code Sarah20 on their website!

Connect with Shelley:Website: For Bitter For WorseInstagram: @forbitterforworseLinkedIn: Shelley ElkovichAmazon: Shop For Bitter For Worse

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

View Details

Sarah shares real stories from beta testers using The Good Food CFO financial strategy software for the first time:

A founder running five sales channels discovered their revenue tracking wasn’t set up to support strategic decision-making
A 16-year bakery owner finally understood where profit actually goes when monthly debt payments take it right back out
A founder learned why categorizing marketing expenses as cost of goods sold makes their numbers nearly impossible to interpret

The software isn’t just a tool—it’s revealing the blind spots that most founders don’t even know they have. Tune in for practical insights about organizing your financial foundation and unlocking better decision-making in your business.

Want this same clarity in your food business? Join our waitlist for 50% off your first month’s subscription.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

View Details

Can you build a CPG brand without chasing unicorn status? Kelley Scanlin, founder of Pure Simple Foods (parent to Lark-Ellen Farm and Purely Sprouted), shares how she grew from farmer’s market beginnings to operating a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility—all while refusing to compromise on quality.

Sarah and Kelley dig into the strategic path most founders overlook, exploring:

Why regional growth beats racing for national distribution
How mission and values guide major business decisions (including which distributors to work with)
The evolution from founder to CEO and knowing your end game from day one
Why slow, intentional scaling protects quality and profitability
The reality check every founder needs: you don’t have to be the next RX Bar
Building with strategy first—not just hoping for viral growth

Kelley’s honest perspective on defining success differently offers a refreshing alternative to the “grow fast, exit big” narrative. This conversation redefines what CPG success can look like when you build on your own terms.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

View Details

Margins matter—but what’s the rest of the financial strategy that transforms good margins into actual profitability and positive cash flow?

Sarah lays out the complete three-part framework behind “Profit by Design,” the philosophy helping food founders escape the 70% failure rate. Beyond product margins, you need clarity on your true operating expenses and the ability to build financial scenarios that answer critical questions: How many units do I need to sell to break even? How much capital will this really take? How long until I stop reinvesting?

Sarah shares the story of a baker whose scenario modeling revealed she’d need to bake cookies around the clock just to break even—saving her from launching an unsustainable business. Learn why planned losses are easier to navigate than surprises, how to know if you’re on or off track each month, and why having this complete financial roadmap transforms entrepreneurship from constant uncertainty into strategic execution.

This is the missing link between understanding your margins and building a food business that actually works financially.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com

View Details

Farmers markets offer food founders the chance to capture high margin sales —but it only matters if you know how to make them profitable. In this episode, Sarah sits down with Catt Fields-White, nationally recognized farmers market expert and founder of the InTents National Farmers Market Conference, to answer real questions from Good Food CFO listeners about maximizing farmers market revenue.

What You’ll Learn:

Why Catt told one cookie vendor to raise prices five times before adding production capacity
The margin advantage of farmers markets vs. wholesale distribution (and why it matters for cash flow)
Logistics for selling at 7+ markets weekly: staffing, delivery, and storage solutions
Simple display changes that directly impact sales (including the pricing psychology most vendors miss)
What to do before walking away from an unprofitable market, and more

Thinking about launching, growing or revamping a farmer’s market business? This episode is for you!

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

What if the secret to massive food business profits isn't growing revenue first? Sarah reveals a counterintuitive "grow last" strategy that transformed a seasonal business from $19K to $107K monthly profits in just two years.

This client's 14% gross profit margins were a ticking time bomb – every new sale was actually creating bigger losses. But instead of the typical "sell more" advice, Sarah implemented a radical two-year approach that flipped conventional growth wisdom upside down.

Year 1 Strategy: Fix everything inside the business first. Sarah walks through the unsexy but profit-generating work that most founders skip. Revenue stayed flat while profits more than doubled – proving the model worked before scaling.

Year 2 Strategy: Revenue growth. But rather than finding new customers or opening a new locations, the goal was to maximize customer value.

Tune in as Sarah breaks down her profit assessment process and all the details of the financial and operations strategy that resulted in 5X profit growth.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

What if the secret to a profitable food business isn't scaling bigger, but growing smarter? Sarah challenges the "grow fast or fail" mentality that's crushing food entrepreneurs, revealing why 75% of VC funded businesses fail and sharing a proven approach to sustainable growth.

You’ll meet two food founders who made the counterintuitive decision to right-size their businesses - one contracting from national to regional distribution, another strategically eliminating sales channels. The result? Better cash flow, higher profit margins, and businesses they actually love running again.

Discover the three warning signs that your business needs right-sizing, why gross profit margins below 50% slowly drain your cash flow, and the specific financial tools Sarah uses to help founders evaluate whether contracting could transform their bottom line. You'll hear practical strategies for building a financially sustainable food business that works for you, not against you. Plus: inspiring updates on where these founders are today- including one successful business exit and a beautiful rebrand that's thriving.

Financial Strategy Software is coming soon! Get on the waitlist now at thegoodfoodcfo.com/waitlist

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

While most founders obsess over store count, Kartik Das, Founder of Doosra is building repeatable revenue systems. Rather than chasing new accounts Kartik focused on just 15 core retail partners and developed a multi-channel strategy that generates predictable cash flow.

Sarah and Kartik dive deep into Doosra’s financial playbook: the 90-day cash flow planning system that breaks large expenses into daily decision points, strategic use of 0% APR credit cards for working capital, and community crowdfunding. Discover why Kartik deliberately turned down major retail opportunities and how he validates market demand through methodical testing rather than expensive guesswork.

From creative funding solutions to building systems that scale without burning cash, this episode delivers financial insights food entrepreneurs can use to build financially sustainable businesses.

Learn more about Doosra

Website: www.eatdoosra.com

Instagram:@eatdoosra

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

The Good Food CFO is launching first-of-its-kind financial strategy software built exclusively for food founders!

After seven years of perfecting her approach with hundreds of clients, Sarah's taking everything she knows about building profitable food businesses and turning it into powerful software that doesn't exist anywhere else.

This isn't another generic financial tool trying to serve everyone. In this episode Sarah is sharing the three core features launching in the initial version of the software, including a growth simulator that lets you test scenarios for growing your food business before making moves. Adding a new sales channel? Considering a new product? Run the numbers and see when you'll break even, when you’ll become profitable and how much capital you'll need to get there.

Sarah shares why she swore she'd never be a tech founder (and what finally changed her mind), how winning June's $10,000 Amber Grant is accelerating development, and her bigger vision to use the software to prove local food businesses deserve serious investment.

The software is launching soon! The waitlist is now open - hop on to be the first to know when the Beta version is available.

Get on the waitlist today at thegoodfoodcfo.com/waitlist

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

What if accepting failure could actually free you to build a stronger food business?

Sarah talks with Alyssa Fernandez, founder of Ollin, who is revolutionizing premium baking by filling the gap between conventional and gluten-free cake mixes with Texas-based ancient grain blends.

Alyssa shares how she spent 18 months perfecting her heritage grain strategy before launch, why she's deliberately learning every aspect of her business before hiring, and her "bullets before cannonballs" approach to regional expansion.

From identifying an underserved market to embracing the discomfort of cold-calling buyers, Alyssa shares raw insights about building a mission-driven CPG brand while staying market-smart. This episode provides essential wisdom for founders navigating the realities of food entrepreneurship.

Connect with Ollin:Website: Ollinyall.com

Instagram: @ollinyall

LinkedIn: Alyssa Fernandez

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Poppi's $1.95B exit is being hailed as the new "North Star" for food entrepreneurs – but Sarah isn't buying the headlines.

When she dug into the reported investor returns, the math literally doesn't work. Forbes reported returns that would individually equal the entire acquisition price – a mathematical impossibility. But if major publications can't do basic math on these deals, what else are we getting wrong?

With $39 million invested over seven years to fuel Poppi's rapid growth from Shark Tank to nationwide distribution, this wasn't a bootstrap success story. Sarah traces the money trail and questions who actually won in this deal. Was it the founders who built the company, or the investors who funded the journey?

As more independent food brands get absorbed by giants like PepsiCo, entrepreneurs need to know the real financial playbook – not the fairy tale version making headlines.

All findings discussed in this episode are opinions based on publicly available reporting. We've compiled every article, press release, and data source we referenced so you can do your own research and draw your own conclusions.

Food Republic: Mother Beverage/Poppi, here’s what happened after Shark Tank

The Wall Street Journal: Small Investor Group Scores 88-Fold Return in Poppi Sale

Space Funding: How $105,000 Invested in Poppi Turned Into $9.5 Million: The Power of Early-Stage Investing

Food Navigator: Poppi closes $13.5m funding round led by CAVU Ventures and backed by celebrity investors: 'Poppi is the modern soda for the next generation'

Forbes: Viral TikTok Prebiotic Soda Brand Poppi Raises $25 Million Series B To Expand Nationwide Through DSD

Taste Radio:How A Four-Letter Word Sparked Poppi’s Billion-Dollar Trajectory

BevNet:Best of 2023

Forbes:Poppi Investors Russell Westbrook, 24KGoldn Cash In On $2B PepsiCo DealPress Release from Pepsi Co.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

What happens when nostalgia meets innovation? Sarah sits down with Joe Nicchi, founder of CVT Soft Serve, who transformed a simple craving for East Coast soft serve ice cream into a nationwide success now in 3,000 stores.

After investing $150,000 in a vintage 1961 truck to bring authentic East Coast soft serve to LA, Joe spent years building cult-like brand loyalty. Then came the pivotal moment: when Jeff Bezos installed CVT's machine in his home, Joe realized he needed to democratize access to quality soft serve. Enter his revolutionary solution – soft serve pouches that deliver the truck experience anywhere, no machine required.

Sarah and Joe explore essential strategies for emerging food brands:

Protecting margins like "your life depends on it"
Building regional brand loyalty before retail expansion
Innovation through packaging, not trendy product flavors
Landing on shelves without traditional trade spend using velocity data
Being open about your vision to leverage unexpected opportunities

From breast milk storage bag prototypes to venture backing (you read that right!), Joe's journey proves that sometimes the best business opportunities come from solving your own problems – and being willing to admit when luck plays a role in success.

Learn more about CVT Soft Serve

Website: CVTsoftserve.com

Instagram:@cvtsoftserve

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn:@sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

Your inventory numbers are telling a story - but do you know how to read it?

In this episode, Sarah answers listener questions about inventory turnover ratio - the metric that reveals whether your products are converting to cash or quietly draining your resources.

She shows how to turn a confusing ratio like "2.75" into clear insights - that inventory turnover ratio means it takes your business 146 days to sell through the product on your shelves. The eye-opener: Sarah shares how a rapidly growing meat company with impressive revenue was hemorrhaging cash because they had eight months of chicken inventory collecting freezer rent.

Listen in to learn:

Step-by-step calculations for both accrual and cash-based businesses
Why industry benchmarks miss the point
And how to interpret your number based on lead times, growth plans, and cash runway.

Essential listening for food entrepreneurs ready to make data-driven inventory decisions that protect cash flow.

BABOYOT Member Spotlight:

Amber Stevenson of Rosebud's Real Food

Learn more at www.rosebudsrealfood.com

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thegoodfoodcfo.substack.com/subscribe

View Details

What happens when you choose to 'control your growth' instead of racing to expand? Sarah sits down with Ilay Karateke, co-founder and CEO of Bezi, the labneh brand redefining growth through meticulous data collection and strategic expansion.

Ilay shares her unconventional approach: launching direct-to-retail in handpicked New York stores, doing her own distribution, and running 5-10 demos weekly while tracking every data point. Every retail partner and expansion move is calculated to maintain profitability while building brand equity.

The conversation reveals practical strategies for cash flow positive growth:

How Bezi operates without brokers or distributors
Why premium retailers outperform bodegas for brand positioning
Using demo performance data to drive every expansion decision

For founders questioning whether strategic growth can compete in today's rush-to-scale environment, this episode proves building on your own terms creates sustainable momentum.

Learn more about Bezi

Website: Eat Bezi

Instagram: @eatbezi

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

You asked, Sarah is answering! We love these listener Q&A episodes, and today's cost of goods sold questions are absolute gold.

First up: When Google gives you two different definitions for the same term, which one should you trust? Sarah breaks it down and explains gross profit margin vs. net profit margin and which should be your starting point for healthy food business cash flow.

Then, we hear from a food founder who thinks they're "double charging" themselves for labor. Spoiler alert – they're not, but Sarah's explanation about theoretical COGS versus actual P&L numbers will probably change how you think about your own spreadsheets.

The episode wraps with insights from a recent live Q&A where tiered pricing sparked a fascinating conversation among members. One founder wants to simplify their pricing structure due to rising & fluctuating costs, while another realized tiered pricing may be a benefit. Hear Sarah’s recommendation on how they should determine their best pricing strategies.

Keep those questions coming – we read every single email! You can reach us at hello@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

Ever wondered why finding a co-manufacturer feels impossibly difficult? Sarah sits down with Julia Megson, CEO of ReScale, who reveals the shocking reality that co-manufacturers receive about 100 inquiries monthly but only work with one to two brands from that entire pool.

Julia's unique background – from auditing over 100 contract manufacturers at Trader Joe's to founding a tech platform specifically for emerging food brands – gives her unparalleled insight into what actually works in co-manufacturing partnerships. She breaks down why this process is more like sales than shopping, and how treating it as a relationship-building exercise can save you up to 30% on production costs.

The episode uncovers game-changing strategies most founders never hear: why you should delay your co-manufacturing search as long as possible to strengthen your negotiating position, how to use simple email templates that achieve a 65% response rate (compared to the typical 10%), and why creating competition between manufacturers can dramatically reduce your costs.

Julia also tackles the controversial topic of minimum order quantities, revealing they're often negotiable barriers rather than hard equipment limitations. For founders currently overwhelmed by demand but hesitant to make the manufacturing leap, she provides a clear framework for knowing when you're ready and how to present yourself as the kind of partner co-manufacturers actually want to work with.

This episode delivers the insider knowledge that could transform your approach to scaling production and building the manufacturing relationships that will fuel your growth.

Learn more about ReScale: Website: tryrescale.comRead the Blog

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this eye-opening episode, Sarah breaks down the harsh food distributor chargeback reality that many founders don't discover until it's too late. Using a real-world example of a brand that invoiced KeHE for $68,267 but received only $13,345 (just 19.5%), she dissects exactly where that money went.

From the surprising "initial PO" payment policy that can delay your first check for 3-6 months, to the specific chargebacks that consumed 80% of a brand's revenue, Sarah provides the financial transparency food entrepreneurs desperately need before signing distribution agreements.

The episode explores several chargeback categories including intro allowances, free fills, spoilage allowances, and promotional fees – revealing how these can quickly transform an exciting distribution opportunity into a significant cash flow challenge.

Sarah shares practical strategies for surviving the distribution onboarding process, emphasizing the importance of “velocity over doors” and suggesting regional distributors as potentially more transparent alternatives to national giants.

Tune in for an essential financial reality check that could save your food business from a costly distribution mistake or help you prepare properly for sustainable growth through distribution channels.

For content like this delivered straight to your inbox, join our mailing list!

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

Ever wonder how a food business thrives for four decades without compromising on quality? Sarah sits down with culinary visionary Ariane Daguin, who transformed America's specialty meat landscape with just $15,000 and an unwavering commitment to sustainability.

Ariane shares the unvarnished truth about building D'Artagnan from the ground up. She walks us through those challenging first ten years managing tight cash flow, explains why turning down certain growth opportunities actually strengthened her business foundation, and describes the strategic "shotgun clause" she used when buying out her partner who wanted to prioritize rapid growth over maintaining quality standards.

For food entrepreneurs navigating today's rising costs and economic uncertainty, Ariane offers practical wisdom: "Don't panic. Whatever goes down goes back up." She explains why economic downturns can become valuable moments to reassess, reinvent, and differentiate your business from competitors.

Now mentoring the next generation through her Germinators program while building a new sustainable farm venture with her daughter, Ariane continues sharing insights that food founders won't find in typical business resources. This episode delivers straightforward financial guidance from someone who's weathered four decades of economic cycles while staying true to her founding principles.

Connect with Ariane Daguin

AOOA Farm Website: alloneoneall.org

Instagram: @arianedaguin

Germinators: Learn More

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast, Sarah reveals the counterintuitive financial tracking system that successful food brands actually use to drive profitability. Responding to a listener's question about which financial reports matter most, Sarah challenges conventional wisdom by presenting a strategic hierarchy that puts cash flow management at the top of the priority list—not the P&L statement many founders obsess over.

Sarah unpacks why most food entrepreneurs look at their financials in the wrong order and introduces a practical framework that helps spot problems before they become crises. Her systematic approach shows founders exactly which financial metrics to prioritize and how often to review them for maximum impact. This practical roadmap helps identify which levers to pull when adjustments are needed.

Food founders will learn how to move beyond the overwhelming complexity of traditional financial statements and focus instead on the metrics that actually drive business decisions. Whether you're struggling with tight margins due to rising ingredient costs or trying to improve your cash position, this episode delivers the financial guidance needed for long-term success.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this Building a Business on Your Own Terms episode, Sarah sits down with Matt Cross, co-founder of Harvest Chocolate, a bean-to-bar chocolate company in Tecumseh, Michigan. Matt shares how he and his wife Elizabeth transformed their culinary expertise into a thriving chocolate business that started in their kitchen during the pandemic and now operates a successful retail location with multiple sales channels.

Matt reveals how Office Hours helped confirm his business was financially healthy and ready for strategic growth. Listeners will discover practical insights about:

Using profit assessment to validate your business model before focusing on growth
The power of creating simple revenue forecasts to set realistic channel-specific goals
Leveraging data tools like Report Pundit to automatically track sales performance against targets

This conversation is packed with actionable advice for food entrepreneurs looking to make data-driven decisions without getting overwhelmed. Matt's approach demonstrates how understanding your numbers leads to smarter growth strategies and ultimately the dream of "making more money while working less."

Join the CFO Office Hours waiting list

Connect with Matt: Website:Harvest ChocolateInstagram: @harvestcraftchocolate LinkedIn: Harvest Chocolate

Get your copy of the latest Book Club selection:, The Mom Test, and RSVP for our Virtual Discussion

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

Despite rising costs and economic uncertainty, Sarah brings her characteristic straight talk to food business finances in this timely episode: "All is not lost."

Drawing from both historical patterns and current market insights, she explains why specialty food brands can still thrive during economic downturns as consumers continue treating themselves to small luxuries like artisan chocolate and premium coffee. "This is not a shelter-in-place moment," Sarah emphasizes, but rather a time to be strategic about where you invest your resources.

The episode unpacks three critical focus areas for food founders:

Tracking sales data by channel to spot shifting customer behaviors
Responding strategically to rising costs that may shrink profit margins
Managing cash as the ultimate protection during uncertain times

Sarah shares a revealing case study of a client who's pivoting away from distribution-heavy growth toward higher-margin channels, and offers affordable tools from The Good Food CFO designed to help founders make confident financial decisions no matter what economic challenges arise.

Tools and Resources mentioned in this episode: Perfect Pricing CalculatorCash Flow ProjectorThe Profit Assessment Share your stories and send your questions to hello@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this episode Sarah sits down with Christopher Hudson, the Arizona native behind Benny Blanco Tortillas. After years in food service, Christopher purchased the company in what he calls "a match made in heaven."

Christopher's approach to building a business on his own terms combines premium quality ingredients with transparent sourcing, a premium pricing strategy and a willingness to say "no" to opportunities that don't make financial sense or support his vision for a thriving local food industry.

In this episode you’ll hear:

Why Christopher turned down a $1.2M deal and the principles guiding this decision
The "almost obsession" with operational efficiency that drives profitability
How building a collaborative and fun social media presence has supported his financial strategies
How Benny Blanco gives back to the community with their Porcupine Project

Connect with Benny Blanco Tortillas

Website: Benny Blanco Tortillas

Instagram: @bennyblancotorillas

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

Did you hear the episode where Sarah told her client they needed 70% product margins? Were you curious why it was so much higher than the usually recommended 51%?

In this episode, Sarah pulls back the curtain on how she determines the right product margins for different food businesses, and guides you to finding yours.

She reveals where your P&L is hiding crucial information and walks through her "orange slice" method for visualizing what's really happening with the revenue you earn. You'll learn the importance of separating “core COGS” from “other COGS”, why so many people talk about “contribution margin”, what it is and the role it plays in determining your product margins.

Through a real case study, Sarah demonstrates how breaking down these numbers guides you to your perfect product margins.

This episode is your roadmap to financial clarity. Get ready to see your numbers in a whole new way!

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In a world where food startups chase rapid growth and quick exits, People's Choice Beef Jerky stands as a refreshing counterexample. This Los Angeles-based company has been crafting premium meat products since 1929, and is now thriving under fourth-generation leadership. Their story offers valuable lessons for food founders looking to build sustainable, profitable businesses that can withstand the test of time.

In this episode of the Good Food CFO podcast, Sarah Delevan sits down with owners and siblings Brian and Sara Bianchetti as they share all that they have learned while continuing to build a durable family business.

You’ll hear

Family Legacy: The Bianchetti siblings discuss how their great-grandfather's neighborhood butcher shop evolved into today's premium beef jerky company while maintaining core values of quality and personal relationships
"Choose to be great, not big": Brian and Sarah share their philosophy on intentional, profitable growth versus rapid scaling
Marketing Evolution: How they built their marketing strategy from scratch when taking over the family business
Omnichannel Approach: Their strategic decisions about where to sell their products, with a focus on their own website for best margins and customer relationships
Product Innovation: Creating unique products like their controversial Pumpkin Spice jerky and their Jerky Crisp (a protein-packed alternative to potato chips)
Made in LA Coalition: Brian discusses co-founding an organization supporting local manufacturers and advocating for small businesses with policymakers

Connect with People’s Choice Website: People’s Choice Beef JerkyInstagram: @pcbeefjerkyLinkedIn: Brian BianchettiLinkedIn: Sara Bianchetti Learn more about Made in LA Website: Made in LAInstagram: @madeinlacoalition LinkedIn: Made in LA coalition

Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

After more than 10 years away, Sarah decided to return to natural foods' biggest industry event - but why now? In this candid Season 14 opener, Sarah takes you behind the scenes of her Expo West experience, revealing what's changed, what hasn't, and whether the industry hype actually lives up to reality.

The conversation also explores the striking contrast between the big business of Expo West and the Intense Conference for farmers market founders, managers and vendors Sarah attended just days later. This juxtaposition frames an honest discussion about what really matters in our food systems - from $19 imported strawberries getting social media buzz while local farmers struggle for support, to knowing when your brand is genuinely ready for distribution conversations.

Whether you're curious about Expo West, contemplating if trade shows belong in your growth strategy, or simply enjoy thoughtful conversations about the natural foods industry, this episode offers Sarah's refreshingly honest perspective.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this eye-opening episode of the Good Food CFO podcast, Sarah Delevan talks with Stacy Mitchell, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, about the myths of market consolidation and how food founders can fight back against corporate monopolies.

Stacy Mitchell is a writer, strategist, and policy advocate whose work focuses on dismantling concentrated corporate power and building thriving local economies. As co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, she has played a leading role in today's growing anti-monopoly movement and has authored influential works including "Big Box Swindle" and "Amazon's Stranglehold."

You’ll hear:

The Invisible Rules: How corporations have made market rules invisible, positioning us as consumers rather than citizens with power to change policies
Myth-Busting: Hard evidence disproving the "bigger is better" narrative, including the North Dakota pharmacy model that outperforms corporate chains
Food System Consolidation: How the suspension of the Robinson-Patman Act in 1980 allowed big retailers to demand preferential treatment, squeezing independent grocers
Beyond Consumer Power: Why "voting with your dollars" is important but insufficient for creating systemic change
Paths Forward: Practical actions for founders to engage with local policymakers and join the growing movement to enforce antitrust laws
Signs of Hope: Recent shifts in policy approach showing how the tide is turning against unchecked consolidation

More from Stacy:

Institute for Local Self-Reliance

"The Great Grocery Squeeze" in The Atlantic

Stacy's TED Talk: "Why We Can't Shop Our Way to a Better Economy"

This episode is brought to you by Settle.

Settle helps you make smarter decisions, and keep your business on track to grow sustainably. Head over to settle.com/goodfood to learn how brands like Carnivore Snax use Settle to manage their cash flow and growth.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this special episode of The Good Food CFO podcast, we’re sharing highlights from our live Q&A session with BABOYOT members.

These quarterly events are an awesome opportunity to connect with Founders and answer their most pressing financial questions.

Some of the topics we tackled:

Food Service vs. Wholesale Pricing: Discover why conventional wisdom about which channel is most profitable doesn't always hold true. One founder shares how running her numbers completely changed her channel strategy.
The COGS “Gray Area”: Is your kitchen rental really part of your Cost of Goods Sold? Sarah provides clarity on this common question and explains her COGS philosophy for better visibility into your true business health.
Hidden Costs of Co-packers & 3PLs? The best partners will be upfront and clear about all of the costs of doing business. Sarah shares specific questions to ask potential partners to avoid surprise fees signing with co-packers and 3PLs.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to optimize your existing food business, this episode offers real-world solutions from Sarah and the collective wisdom of our BABOYOT community.

This episode is brought to you by Settle.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast, Sarah Delevan shares candid insights from a recent meeting with the founder of a brand generating over $400 million in annual revenue, and doing it profitably. Through a series of powerful "sound bites" captured during their conversation, Sarah reveals how this founder's approach challenges traditional industry wisdom while delivering remarkable results.

You’ll hear:

Why marketing shouldn't drive your offers and how to structure profitable promotions
The surprising truth about driving trial in e-commerce vs retail
How to identify and grow your most profitable sales channels
The real math behind hitting your gross profit margin targets
Essential management reports every founder needs

This episode is validation for every founder choosing to build their business on their own terms, who remains focused on consistency and doing the work, and practices patience and resilience in the face of conventional wisdom.

Big News: Sarah announces our next book club selection - "BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0)" by Jim Collins and Bill Lazier.

Grab your copy, and read along with us . Join the live discussion on Wednesday, April 9th at 9am PT.

This episode is brought to you by Settle.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this episode of the Good Food CFO Podcast, Sarah Delavan sits down with Hope Lawrence, founder of Hudson Henry Baking Co., who shares her remarkable journey of building a profitable granola business on her own terms. From starting with just $4,000 in her farmhouse kitchen to reaching $1.25M in annual revenue, Hope's story proves that sustainable growth and profitability are possible without outside investment.

In this conversation, Hope shares:

The strategic reason she chose granola
Why she was laser focus on profitability from day one, and the sales channel strategy that enabled her to maintain 60% margins as the business grew
Why she deliberately kept her brand regional, focusing on deeply serving stores within a 200-mile radius before ever thinking about expansion
How she managed a lean team of 12 part-time employees, and the simple but game-changing decision to switch from making multiple flavors per day to just one
The thoughtful process of selling her business to a values-aligned company that has maintained the brand's quality and integrity

This episode is brought to you by Settle.

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this episode, Sarah is sharing her favorite tool for quickly and easily transforming your basic data into actionable business intelligence - Pivot Tables.

From helping you recognize sales patterns and trends, to identifying issues and opportunities, and seeing your customer and sales channel profitability, pivot tables are truly a secret weapon for improving your business profitability and cashflow!

Tune into this episode to explore all of the valuable insights that pivot tables can provide and hear real world examples of how pivot tables helped Sarah’s clients.

Learn more about our News Story: FI Spotlight: ReInventing a CPG Brand

Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

After a decade of national growth, Big Spoon Roasters made a decision that has the CPG industry talking: they're walking away from Whole Foods, UNFI, and other national grocery chains. But this isn't a story about failure – it's about what happens when a good food brand chooses values over volume.

In this episode of The Good Food CFO podcast, we dive into the pivot that has founders across the industry applauding. Discover why this prestigious nut butter brand is saying goodbye to national distribution despite consistent growth, and how AI-driven pricing systems, automated forecasting, and erroneous chargebacks factored into their decision.

You’ll hear about:

The hidden costs of "making it" in national grocery
The moment that made them say "enough"
How letting go of revenue might lead to higher profits
What this means for the future of craft food brands

Whether you're a founder dreaming of national distribution or already navigating its challenges, this episode pulls back the curtain on one of the industry's biggest myths: that more stores automatically mean more success.

Get the story straight from Big Spoon Roasters:

A Spoon in the Road: Why We’re Breaking Up with Big Grocery

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

When Bill Brinkerhoff and his wife stumbled upon a unique store model during a college drop-off trip, they had no idea it would lead them to transform an abandoned gas station into a revolutionary market that's paid out over $22 million to local farms.

In this episode, discover how Argus Farm Stop flipped the traditional retail model on its head, giving farmers 70% of sales and complete control over pricing, and hear how they navigated legal battles over egg sales (and won!), and why farmers are actually moving TO their county instead of leaving.

From University of Michigan athletes using special cards to buy local produce, to working with state officials to change laws, this conversation reveals how a "crazy experiment" became a blueprint for transforming local food systems across America. Plus, find out the surprising connection between gas station architecture and the perfect farmers market layout.

Whether you're a food entrepreneur, farmer, or someone who cares about building stronger local food systems, this episode shows how rethinking traditional models can create lasting change - and sustainable profits - for small farms.

Connect with Argus:

Website: Argus Farm Stop

Instagram: @argusfarmstop

Facebook: Argus Farm Stop

Learn About the Farm Stop Conference!

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

Ready to dig into some questions that could transform the way you think about your business? In this episode, Sarah and Chelsea share six questions that every founder should ask themselves. They tackle everything from "If we close 100 more deals like this, will we be happy?" to "What's one thing I'm afraid to ask my team, but probably should?"

Through real world examples and their own experiences, they explore how these questions can help you understand what your customers really want, when to kill a project that's not working, and how to spot (and break through!) those tricky revenue ceilings. Plus, they share some super practical tips on creating an open team culture where tough conversations can happen.

Whether you're evaluating partnerships, trying to understand customer needs better, or looking to build a more transparent team environment, this episode offers insights you can put into action right away.

Original Article:

25 Hard Questions Every Founder Should Ask Themselves

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

What’s worse? A $20,000+ legal battle, or having to completely rebrand your CPG company in 30 days? In this eye-opening episode, trademark attorney Nicole Swartz shares how losing her own brand to trademark issues led her to protect over 1,200 brands with a 99.8% success rate. Together with CPG brand strategist Kelly Bennett, they reveal their unique approach combining legal protection with strategic brand growth. Learn exactly when to trademark your brand name, what makes a name trademarkable, and why proper timing can save you tens of thousands in legal fees and rebranding costs. Whether you're testing at farmers markets or preparing for retail launch, this episode delivers crucial guidance for protecting your brand's future. Plus, get the inside scoop on Amazon's trademark requirements and some entertaining celebrity trademark drama.

Connect with Bread & Butter Law!

Website: Bread & Butter

Instagram: @breadandbutterlaw

Instagram: @sproutlaw

Instagram: @withkellybennett

Download their free Trademark checklist!

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

Meet Sarah Nathan, founder of Nooish, who transformed traditional Jewish matzo ball soup into an instant comfort food sensation.

On this episode of The Good Food CFO podcast, Nathan shares how her decade of experience in CPG and deep roots in Jewish culinary culture led her to invent freeze-dried matzo balls - a culinary breakthrough that turns an hours-long cooking process into a 2.5-minute preparation.

Beyond the innovation, she reveals how authenticity in branding and patience during development helped Nooish become a runaway success in the gifting market, particularly resonating with parents sending comfort to college students. Nathan's candid insights about pricing, growth strategy, and building a sustainable business make this episode essential listening for food entrepreneurs looking to create both meaningful products and profitable brands.

Connect with Sarah Nathan: Website: Nooish Instagram: @nooishfoods TikTok: @nooishfoods LinkedIn: nathansarah

Join The Good Food CFO Community: Follow us on Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this special bonus episode of the Good Food CFO podcast, Sarah Delavan shares a deeply personal moment as she prepares to leave the home office where her consulting business was born seven years ago. From an unexpected job loss that led to her first consulting gig, to launching a podcast that's grown into a thriving community, Sarah reflects on how this single room has witnessed hundreds of conversations with founders across the globe – from Los Angeles to New Zealand.

With characteristic authenticity, she explores the complex emotions of being simultaneously grateful for a space while yearning for something different, a feeling many founders might relate to. As she prepares for this next chapter, Sarah shares how this unexpected journey has transformed not just her career, but her understanding of building something meaningful.

Join us for this intimate look behind the scenes as we bid farewell to where it all began.

The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this must-listen season finale, Sarah Delevan flips the script on typical year-end planning by exploring why looking back is crucial before looking ahead. Inspired by an Office Hours member's approach to evaluating progress, Sarah reveals how understanding your past performance in context can transform your decision-making. She challenges the "bigger is better" mindset, explaining why sometimes declining revenue in certain channels can actually signal success. Through real-world examples, Sarah demonstrates how to conduct an effective year-end review - from analyzing specific metrics that matter for your unique goals to understanding why some goals weren't achieved (and why that's okay).

Whether you're closing out a banner year or facing challenges, this episode offers practical insights for conducting your own year-end review and using those insights to chart a meaningful path forward.

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

From accidental entrepreneur to confident business owner: Sydney, founder of French Squirrel, reveals how she transformed her healthy snack company by confronting hard truths about pricing and profitability.

After years of underpricing her premium date-based treats and struggling with razor-thin margins, Sydney shares the pivotal mindset shifts that helped her raise prices, say "no" to unprofitable opportunities, and put her business health first. She candidly discusses overcoming people-pleasing tendencies, learning to be transparent with retailers about costs, and finding manufacturing partners who believe in her vision.

This eye-opening conversation challenges common assumptions about food business margins and scale, offering valuable lessons for founders about sustainable growth. Sydney's journey proves that understanding your numbers and staying true to your risk tolerance can lead to better business decisions – and sometimes even increased sales after raising prices.

Connect with French Squirrel

Website: French Squirrel

Instagram: @frenchsquirrel.co and @sydney_kw

Tiktok: @frenchsquirrel.co

LinkedIn: Sydney Karmes-Wainer

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this value-packed episode of The Good Food CFO podcast, we tackle three critical business questions asked by our BABOYOT Members. First, we reveal why your cash flow tools might not be delivering results (hint: it's probably not the tool's fault!). Then, we dive into a step-by-step guide for analyzing customer profitability – essential knowledge for any business owner wondering if their biggest customers are actually their most profitable. Finally, we explore how to evaluate new retail opportunities, from local collectives to e-commerce platforms, breaking down the real costs and considerations before making commitments.

Plus, we’re announcing our latest Book Club Selection!

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

This week on The Good Food CFO podcast, we explore financial benchmarks for CPG brands, emphasizing that many common questions about business finances often lead to the answer 'it depends.'

Sarah discusses the importance of understanding individual business contexts rather than relying solely on industry standards, challenges prevalent beliefs in the food industry such as the notion that founders must sell their businesses to achieve financial success, and encourages founders to create unique business models that align with their values and goals, and breaks free from conventional expectations.

From Our News Segment:

Lexington Bakes Taking Transparency to the Next Level

Join The Good Food CFO Community:

Connect on LinkedIn: @sarahdelevan

Watch on YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Become a Member: BABOYOT

View Details

In this BABOYOT episode of The Good Food CFO podcast Sarah chats with Keesha, the vibrant founder of Live Loud Foods, a brand that’s redefining the nut market with bold, unique flavors. Keesha shares her fascinating journey from information systems engineer to culinary entrepreneur, highlighting the challenges of launching a food business, including crucial financial insights and marketing strategies.

She emphasizes the importance of gathering customer feedback and adapting products for success while staying true to her mantra: "live your bold, authentic life." As we explore her mission to create impact beyond profit, you'll gain valuable insights into the intersection of food, finance, and brand identity.

Don’t miss this inspiring episode—tune in to learn how Keesha is making delicious waves in the culinary world!

And remember to subscribe and leave us a review!

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Financial Modeling helps build financially successful businesses. But what if your model doesn’t match reality?!

Sarah and Producer Chelsea are discussing the importance of regularly comparing your models to your actual business outcomes, how to identify if your model doesn’t match reality (because as you’ll hear it is not always obvious!) and, of course, what to do about it.

Sarah shares a recent instance where she recognized that a founder's model and reality weren’t matching up, how a Good Food Founder identified that labor costs were higher than modeled causing profit margin and cash flow issues, and the steps she’s taking to get her business back on track.

Whether you’re a modeling expert or novice, this episode provides valuable insights for aligning your theoretical models with real-world data so you can make informed decisions, mitigate risks, and position your business for long-term success.

From Our News Segment

Farm Stops Create New Markets for Small Farms

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

There were a lot of “hot takes” on the recent PepsiCo acquisition of Siete Foods, a popular brand known for its grain-free tortillas and snacks. In this episode, Sarah offers her nuanced perspective, explores the reactions from various groups, including consumers, industry experts, and other founders, and discusses how the challenges and limitations of the CPG industry, coupled with the influence of investors and advisors create a system that is driving toward complete industry consolidation.

We ask the question, how do we break the consolidation cycle? Explore the idea of rethinking what success looks like for good food businesses, and advocate for a reimagined food industry model that prioritizes financial viability, community impact, and sustainability, rather than national market share. Tune in to hear Sarah’s full take!

View Details

What advice would you get from a CPG Operations Expert that believes in building a business on your own terms (BABOYOT), and enhancing productivity to do more of what you love, rather than simply doing more?

Sarah invited CPG Operational Expert, Jessi Freitag to the show to find out.

Jessi is an operations and project management consultant helping CPG businesses get organized and scale. She’s also the former host of the Startup CPG podcast and has successfully led businesses from startup through growth while managing operations and teams.

Jessi is shedding light on how well-organized operations and effective information sharing can transform your business and foster a vibrant company culture with happy employees and improved financial outcomes. She also shares that despite current cultural pressures to “automate everything” there are benefits to doing some things the old fashioned way.

Through real-life examples Jessi shares practical advice and invaluable insights for avoiding common pitfalls when implementing new tools and systems, how simple file management strategies and team check-ins can save time, money and a lot of frustration, and her top picks for file sharing, project management, CRMs and more.

Connect with Jessi:

Website: jessifreitag.com

LinkedIn: Jessi Freitag

Listen to Jessi’s Podcast: Iroh’s Corner

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Is it possible to de-risk your CPG business?

We’re exploring three financial models that every founder should use to make smarter decisions and mitigate business risks.

Discover how a Pricing Model can align production costs with market expectations and reveal hidden margin opportunities, and dive into the practical application of the Good Food CFO's Perfect Pricing Calculator, a versatile tool for navigating various pricing scenarios and negotiations. Learn how to create a Breakeven Model to identify critical sales numbers and break-even points to shape effective sales and spending strategies. Uncover the value of the Cash Flow Model in predicting future liquidity, ensuring that your business can meet its financial obligations even in challenging times. Packed with actionable insights, this episode is a must-listen for founders looking to ensure the financial health and success of their food business.

Learn more about the tools mentioned in this episode!

From our News Segment:

How a Vermont Cheesemaker Helps Local Farms Thrive

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Sarah chats with the Founders of The Fishtown Pickle Project about how their pickles went from wedding favors to the shelves of major retailers. Niki and Mike share their entrepreneurial journey and the strategic decisions that propelled their business forward, as well as the important role that staying true to their values, and taking an innovative approach to team building and community engagement has played in their success. Hear insights around their hiring practices, the benefits of a four-day workweek, and their preference for traditional marketing strategies over social media. And of course, we discuss how becoming more financially confident led to smarter business decisions and better net profits.

This episode is packed with practical advice, inspiring BABOYOT moments, and valuable insights for food entrepreneurs.

Connect with Fishtown Pickles

IG: @fishtownpickles

Facebook: @Fishtown Pickle Project

Tiktok: @fishtownpickles

Website: Fishtown Pickles

Inquiries: info@fishtownpickles.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

The Holiday shopping season is getting closer, and with it comes some of the biggest opportunities to generate revenue! But higher sales don’t automatically equal higher profits in your business.

In this episode, we kick things off with a Holiday primer to get you ready for the last quarter of 2024. Sarah shares what you should consider, analyze and plan for as we head into fall, as well as a list of free and low cost resources to support a successful Holiday shopping season.

Then you’ll hear her conversation with Kait, founder of Savorista, that centers around the work Kait took on during our CFO Office Hours this summer. Savorista is a caffeine conscious coffee company that Kait founded after she made the decision to switch to decaf herself.

Working with Sarah in CFO Office Hours, Kait identified that her shipping and subscription offers were impacting her profitability in the wrong direction. She shares the steps she took to create new offers, and how she’s built the confidence to make those changes.

Highlights from this episode include:

What lead to Kait identifying that her shipping offer was eating into Savorista’s profit margin
The importance of always planning for the worst case scenario
How to bring customers along when increasing prices or modifying your services
Discovering that losing revenue doesn’t have to mean losing profits

After listening, if you’re feeling inspired to follow Kait’s lead as we head into Q4 check out all the food business holiday tools and resources mentioned in the episode below:

From the Podcast

Episode 26: How to Create a Profitable Shipping Offer

Episode 78: Planning for Your Most Profitable Q4 Yet!

Good Food CFO Tools and Courses

Vision & Goal Setting

Creating a Profitable Shipping Offer

Bundles + Discounts Tool-Kit

Connect with Kait

Website: Savorista Coffee

Instagram: @savoristacoffee

Facebook: @savoristacoffee

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

"Increasing sales is not the solution to profitability."

Sarah recently shared on Social Media that one of her clients increased their July profit - year over year - from $19,000 to over $43,000.

It got lots of hearts and clap emojis, and one reply that said “this is so inspiring - how did they do it?”

In this episode, Sarah shares all of the details of how her client doubled their profitability. She walks Chelsea through the process of using a Profit Assessment to easily analyze the business, pinpointing what could (and should) be changed to improve profitability, the planning process, and how the founder successfully executed change.

You’ll also learn:

Why “selling more” was not part of this founder’s strategy for increasing profitability
How and when increasing revenue can actually make your profitability and cash flow worse
Tactics for balancing growth with cost-saving methods as you work to increase profits
The reason Sarah always starts her process with a Profit Assessment, and the actionable insights the Profit Assessment provides
Why the “check and adjust” cycle is crucial to building a financially successful food business

… and more!

Ready to dig into this work inside your food business? Take the Profit Assessment.

The Good Food CFO Book Club: 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

Grab your copy in our Book Shop

RSVP for our Live Discussion on Sept. 18th

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

"Things can look really good from the outside and your business can be failing."

20% of businesses fail in their first year, 30% by their 2nd year, and an additional 50% fail in year three.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by John Haskell, CFO Consultant and owner of Ranch Right, LLC. John has over 20 years of experience helping ranches become more profitable, starting new ranch businesses, and turning around failing ranches. Together, they are shedding light on the common causes of failure in business, and answering the question: Is it more important to have positive cash flow in your food business, or to be profitable?

They explore the difference between the “economics” and “financials” of your business, and the need to be honest with yourself about both. Sarah and John also define the various stages of starting, building and running a business, and share their guidance for prioritizing cash flow or profitability at each stage.

You’ll hear:

What costs you MUST consider before launching your business, a new product or a new sales channel
Why focusing on gross profit and cash flow is crucial in the early stages of your business to ensure financial stability
What it means to “catch up to your overhead”, and how that impacts growth
When you should start focusing on profitability in your business
How to build cash reserves so can you weather the storms and seize opportunities during challenging times
And More!

Bonus Clips from this Episode:

Is leaving money in your business smarter than investing in the market?

Connect with John

Website: Ranch Right LLC

Facebook: Ranch Right LLC

Instagram: @ranchrightllc

Book a Discovery Call

From Our News Segment

Kroger-Albertsons Deal Would Remake Seattle-area Grocery Map

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

As a Good Food Founder, you will face many challenges as you work to grow your business. Staying true to your mission and vision is essential to being grounded in that work.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Sara Hauman, Founder of The Tiny Fish Co. to discuss her vision for bringing the same values of sustainability and quality she stands by in a professional kitchen to the retail world.

Sara shares her journey into CPG, which began with her desire to find a more balanced and fulfilling career outside of the restaurant industry. After appearing on Top Chef, she decided to pursue her passion for canned fish and started her own brand.

They discuss:

Why Sara believes that staying true to oneself and doing things in a way that aligns with personal values is more important than pursuing maximum profitability.
What it can look like to prioritize financial security and a healthy work-life balance.
How a business can be a side hustle rather than a full-time venture if it aligns with personal goals and priorities.
Sara’s commitment to education and consumer awareness on making sustainable choices about seafood and understanding the impact of the fishing industry.
How she has adapted to customer feedback
And more!

Connect with Sara

Website: The Tiny Fish Co

Instagram: @thetinyfishco

Instagram: @chefsara_h

From our News Segment

Bringing Back Local Milk, Ice Cream, and Cheese

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

It often seems like there are more people offering business advice than those actually running businesses!

As a Food Founder, it can be overwhelming to sift through all that guidance and find what truly works for YOUR business.

In this episode, Sarah shares another set of crucial "Never Do's" for Good Food founders and business owners. This list aims to help you avoid common pitfalls perpetuated by traditional business media and make informed decisions tailored to the unique needs of your food business.

You’ll hear:

The importance of thinking critically about any advice you get to determine if it truly makes sense for your food business
How two-way sync between QuickBooks and bill pay systems can create chaos in your financial reports
Why you should never include overhead costs (like rent) in the calculation of cost of goods sold (COGS)
What you should be including in COGs, and how to differentiate
And more!

From Our News Segment:

Kroger-Albertsons Deal is Haunted by "Spectacular" Past Failure

Kroger-Albertsons Deal Would Remake Seattle Area Grocery Map

Albertsons COO to Lead C&S Retail

Kroger-Albertsons Companies Announce an Updated Divestiture Plan

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Transitioning to a cooperative structure isn’t just a trend; it’s a transformative journey.

In this episode, Sarah welcomes a panel of leaders to explore the real-life experiences and benefits of transitioning to employee ownership and cooperative business structures.

Stacey Smith from Project Equity explains the different models like ESOPs, EOTs, and worker cooperatives, emphasizing their role in economic stability and community retention. Devra Gartenstein, founder of Patty Pan Cooperative, shares her journey of converting her food business into a worker cooperative to improve employee quality of life. And Monica Rocchino discusses her experience transitioning The Local Butcher Shop to a cooperative, highlighting the importance of financial literacy and structured management.

You’ll hear:

About the challenges and successes in converting traditional business structures to cooperatives.
The role that financial literacy and education plays in employee ownership
The variety of Governance and management structures in employee-owned businesses
The importance of financial viability for transitioning to employee ownership
How employee ownership promotes equity and fair compensation in the workforce
The ongoing support and resources available for businesses considering employee ownership transitions
And more!

Connect with our Panel:

Stacey Smith - Project Equity

Monica Rocchino - The Local Butcher Shop

Devra Gartenstein - Patty Pan Co-Op

The Good Food CFO Book Club:

BookShop

https://www.thegoodfoodcfo.com/live-events

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Growth isn’t always linear.

From opening new locations to driving retail sales, the story of Boichik Bagels offers valuable lessons for food founders on their own path to building a successful business.

In this episode, Sarah welcomes back Emily Winston, Founder and CEO of Boichik Bagels, to discuss the growth and expansion of her business. Emily opened her first bagel shop in Berkeley in 2019 to huge success, with the New York Times declaring Boichik the best New York-style bagel in the country - full stop.

Since her first visit to the podcast, Emily has opened 5 locations in the Bay area, as well as an 18,000 sq. ft. bagel factory. She has completed 2 hugely successful raises on SMBX’s small business bonds platform, launched nationwide shipping, announced plans to expand to Los Angeles, and been awarded “Most Admired CEO” by the SF Business Times.

Along the way, Emily has had to make strategic decisions, lean into her role as a CEO, and adjust her expectations that everything will be a “home run”. But one thing remains the same: her vision to take over the world with great bagels!

You’ll hear:

How Emily is approaching new store growth differently from her last appearance on the show
The impact that promoting a key employee to COO has had on the business
What’s different now that she has officially taken on the title of CEO
The challenges of breaking into distribution, and how Emily is adjusting her strategy
Why Boichik is starting with 2 locations in Los Angeles
And More!

Bonus Clip from this episode:

How to Create a Company Culture, and Why You Should Enjoy Saying No

Connect with Emily

Website: Boichik Bagels

Instagram: @boichikbagels

From Our News Segment:

The Revolution that Died on Its Way to Dinner

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Uncover the many advantages of bill pay systems for a more efficient and organized operation!

In this episode, Sarah Delavan and producer Chelsea Stier dive into the topic of Bill Pay Systems and the financial workflows of food businesses. Along with learning about the primary functions and benefits of bill pay systems, you’ll hear how they can be utilized beyond simply paying your bills. Sarah also emphasizes the importance of implementing these systems even for solopreneurs and small teams.

In this episode, you'll learn:

What Bill Pay Systems can do, AND what they are not yet capable of managing
How implementing bill pay systems can declutter your inbox and create a more organized workspace.
Why delegating bill pay tasks and utilizing approval functionality allows for better cash flow management and control over payments
What you should consider when choosing a Bill Pay System for your food business
And More!

Join the discussion, and explore how creating efficiencies and improving communication can lead to unlocking potential and growth in your food business!

In this week’s News Segment, Sarah and Chelsea tackle the eye-opening stories about the lesser-known world of restrictive covenants in the grocery industry. They delve into the practices that impact food access and shed light on the role big retail and grocery businesses play. This is another story that emphasizes the need to advocate for a more equitable and accessible food system!

As always, if you have any questions, insights, or feedback on this episode, please reach out to our team at hello@thegoodfoodcfo.com. We'd love to hear from you!

From our News Segment: How Leaving Stores Closed for Years Helps Grocery Chains and Hurts CommunitiesHow Closing Grocery Stores Perpetuate Food Deserts Long After They’re GoneHow Some Big Grocery Chains Help Ensure That Food Deserts Stay BarrenLease ResistanceFood Deserts, Racism, and Antitrust Law

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

How can cutting-edge technology like generative AI benefit Good Food Founders?

What opportunities and challenges might arise from incorporating AI into your business operations?

In this episode, Sarah welcomes Meg Faibisch Kuhn, an expert in AI, to discuss the applications of generative AI in your food business. Meg is the founder of Aioli, an AI education and consultancy firm specializing in helping founders understand, learn, and apply AI in their work.

Meg's first hand exposure to critical operational and marketing bottlenecks has equipped her with the insights needed to harness the potential of user-friendly AI technology. By combining her deep industry knowledge with the latest AI innovations, Meg offers tailored training programs, expert guidance, and practical resources to empower her clients on their AI journey.

You’ll hear Meg explain how tools like ChatGPT and Fathom can streamline processes, improve efficiency, and save time (and money) for food businesses. Whether it's drafting newsletters or conducting market research, AI can bring you a step closer to your goals. Meg also highlights the importance of data privacy and offers practical advice for founders on leveraging AI.

They discuss:

How to get started with AI, and the tools available to streamline your business
The ways AI can elevate your communications strategy
Saving time by creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) with AI
How generative AI can create synthetic focus groups to test new ideas and gauge customer reactions
Tips for keeping your data secure
And so much more!

Then check out our bonus episode with Meg, recorded exclusively for BABOYOT members.

Connect with Meg:

Website: Spread Aioli

LinkedIn: Meg Faibisch Kuhn

From our News Segment: Can AI Help Cut Plastic Waste from the Food System?

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

From starting small and leveraging diverse experiences to embracing challenges and making strategic decisions, this story is a testament to the power of resilience and adaptability.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by entrepreneurs Pace Webb and Chris Georgalas as they share their journey in the food industry. They discuss their backgrounds, the founding of their businesses, and the challenges they faced, including the impact of COVID-19. Pace talks about her early entrepreneurial experiences and her catering company, Taste of Pace, while Chris shares his transition from Wall Street to co-founding Daddy's Chicken Shack. They highlight the importance of customer feedback, strategic decisions, and forward thinking.

With a track record of entrepreneurial success spanning 20 years, Pace has proven herself as a dynamic force in the business world. As the founder of Taste of Pace and Daddy's Chicken Shack, she has a reputation for excellence in the culinary industry. Chris Georgalas is a seasoned professional and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in business analysis, investment strategy, client relations, and technology. His passion for hospitality, the guest experience, and consumer insights, coupled with an affinity for innovative technologies, has been a driving force throughout his career.

Pace and Chris went on to collaborate with Area 15 Ventures to expand the company infrastructure, develop franchise models, and successfully sell 150 units nationwide within 18 months, ultimately leading to the sale of Daddy’s Chicken Shack to Area 15 Ventures.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

How Pace pivoted from high end catering to selling fried chicken sandwiches
What the pandemic did to their catering business, and why they knew it was time to pivot
Chris’s vision for the future of the food industry, and how that played into they way they built Daddy’s Chicken Shack from the start
How they decided to franchise Daddy’s, and when they knew it was time to walk away
And so much more!

Connect with Taste of Pace

LinkedIn: Taste of Pace

LinkedIn: Chris Georgalas

From Our News Segment:

PBS: A Brief but Spectacular take on Painting the People Who Feed America

BABOYOT Member Highlight:

Wild Muskoka Botanicals

Annual Member Chris Gilmour

Website: Wild Muskoka

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Trusting in the process can be the hardest and most rewarding thing you can do for your Good Food business.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Lauren Montgomery, the founder of Monty’s, to discuss the intricacies of building a sustainable food brand. Lauren's journey from a deep passion for nutrition to creating the cleanest ingredient cashew cream cheese and plant-based butter on the market is both inspiring and educational.

Lauren shares how Monty’s early and fast growth caused some growing pains, and how a pause to recalibrate helped her lay the foundations that would eventually allow for the sustainable growth she is enjoying today.

You’ll hear:

What made Lauren decide to slow down and ensure every aspect of the business was in alignment with her vision
How she approached reducing costs without sacrificing the integrity of her product
The importance of diversifying your business
Lauren’s best advice for emerging food business founders
And more!

Connect with Lauren

Montys Website: livemontys.com

Montys Social: @montysnyc / @thefulllaurenmonty

From Our News Segment:

Foxtrot Returning to Chicago Under New Company

Foxtrot Reopen Chicago, Dallas, Austin Locations

Foxtrot Chicago, Dallas, and Austin Corner Store Comeback

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

You’ve got questions

The Good Food CFO has answers!

In this episode, Sarah Delevan, The Good Food CFO is answering financial and business questions submitted by our BABOYOT members, and offering live coaching to member Chris Gilmour, Co-Founder of Wild Muskoka Botanicals.

Sarah answers:

What is the difference between Debt and Equity funding?
I know I need to increase my margin, but where do I start?
How do I create a marketing budget for my new retail opportunities?

Do you have questions for The Good Food CFO?

You can join us for our next Live Q+A by becoming a BABOYOT member. Your membership is direct investment in this podcast, and our goals of creating a more equitable and vibrant food system, as well as helping us keep this podcast ad-free.

In exchange, you’ll get access to benefits like:

Access to our library of bonus clips
A brand highlight on the podcast
Beta testing of new tools before we release them
And more!

Learn more about BABOYOT membership

From our News Segment

Last Call: Sacred Serve serving up last pints

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Navigating the distribution maze is no small feat for emerging brands. Join us in peeling back the layers of this complex process, examining the limitations when partnering with large distributors and the dire need for alternatives.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Peter Gialantzis, CMO of Pod Foods, as they explore the difficulties that emerging food brands face in national distribution. Peter is a 25-year veteran of the Grocery industry, with senior leadership roles at Whole Foods Market, Lucky’s Market, and KeHE Distributors prior to joining Pod Foods. His passion for food has led him to dedicate his career to opening accessibility to good, healthy foods to as many markets as possible.

Sarah and Peter discuss the high transportation costs and the challenges of collaborating with large distributors. Emphasizing the need for a growth plan that matches a brand's financial resources, the conversation also introduces Pod Foods, which aims to address these issues by offering a secondary distribution option for innovative emerging brands. They also discuss the need for cost certainty and transparency to facilitate a smoother distribution process, underscoring the importance of a distribution model that supports the unique needs of growing brands for sustainable market success.

You’ll hear:

Insight into the high costs of transportation and complexities of working with larger distributors
Why there are limitations to working with larger distributors for smaller brands
The importance of cost certainty and transparency in the distribution process
Difficulties faced by emerging brands in the food industry
How a tailored distribution model can meet the specific needs of emerging and smaller brands
And more!

Bonus Clips from this episode: Food Industry Veteran Talks About Distributor PrioritiesDeductions Hurt, Especially Spoilage

Connect with Peter Website: Pod FoodsLinkedIn: Peter Gialantzis

From our News Segment: Tony’s Chocolonely Secures Deal with Howard Schultz

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

There is a lot to consider when it comes to online marketing:

Are you confident in choosing the right platforms to reach your consumer base? How do you incorporate consumer preferences into your marketing strategies? How can you measure the success of your marketing efforts?

In this podcast episode, Sarahis joined by Ali Cox, CEO of Noble West, to discuss the intricacies of online marketing and advertising for Good Food brands. Ali Cox is an agriculture and food ingredient marketing visionary and founder of Noble West, an award-winning marketing consultancy that specializes in the entire agricultural ecosystem. From fresh produce and nuts to dairy and agTech, Noble West works in all aspects of agriculture.

As a fifth generation farmer, Cox returned home to California’s Central Valley in 2007 with the singular goal of making world-class marketing services available to the abundance of farmers and growers in the area. A fierce advocate for farmers, Ali’s deep personal connection to the land blended with her business acumen has made her a highly sought after strategist by her clients.

Together, Sarah and Ali explore the challenges of achieving a return on investment and the importance of understanding consumer insights and brand identity. Ali stresses the significance of setting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and aligning them with business goals. They also highlight the necessity of transparent reporting from marketing agencies and the value of establishing a partnership rather than a transactional relationship with these agencies.

You’ll hear:

The common challenges and strategies related to marketing and advertising for brands
How to measure ROI in marketing and online ads
The importance of setting clear KPIs and understanding business goals
Understanding consumer insights quantitatively and qualitatively
How to spot the difference between a partner and vendor relationship
The strategy for a targeted approach based on budget and goals
And much more!

Connect with Ali! Website: Noble WestInstagram: Ali CoxLinkedIn: Ali Cox

Visit our BookShop to get your copy of our newest Book Club selection!

BABOYOT Member Highlight

Ovtene

Monthly member - Sharon Jorgensen

Website - www.Ovtene.com

Instagram: @ovtene

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Ever wondered how a promising startup can suddenly falter?

Sometimes, growth isn't just about expanding - it's about evolving.

In this episode, Sarah and Chelsea delve into the story of Foxtrot - the convenience store delivery business that soared with ambition but faced the stark reality of rapid expansion. Founded in 2015, Foxtrot's initial success was noteworthy, but the journey from a single retail location to 33, plus the leap into other markets, provides a cautionary tale about the perils of scaling up too fast.

We discuss Foxtrot's initial success, its expansion, and the diverse funding rounds it went through. The conversation also covers the company's focus on technology and the challenges of rapid growth, including the sustainability of their business model. Then we get to Foxtrot's merger with Dom's, leadership changes, and the eventual closure of the company, highlighting the financial struggles and the impact on employees and suppliers.

We hate to see any small food business close the doors, but it is important for us to take a look and understand what happened, so that we can avoid the same outcome.

For Founders Impacted by the Closure:

How Pod Foods is helping Brands impacted by the closure of Foxtrot and Dom’s

Founders supporting each other on Instagram

Sources:

What Went Wrong at Foxtrot Dom’s Kitchens and Markets Parent Company Names New CEO NVC Alum Foxtrot Closes $42 Million Series B Round with $200,000 Investment from UChicagoFoxtrot, Dom’s Kitchen & Market Closing All LocationsFive Years on, Foxtrot Hasn’t Broken its StrideFoxtrot Raises $100 Million Series CFoxtrot Funding History

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

This is a testament to the power of building a business on your own terms.

When you focus on YOUR vision, the health of your business and brand loyalty, and have the patience to see those seeds blossom, there is no limit to what you can achieve.

In this episode, Sarah welcomes Jeff Wiguna to the show. Jeff is the co-founder and CEO of Kuju Coffee, the leading single-serve pour over brand in the US built on the foundation of their outdoor roots. They discuss the origins of his outdoor-focused coffee company, which began with a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2015.

Jeff emphasizes the importance of brand consistency, customer trust, and understanding market dynamics. He also talks about the strategic decision to avoid traditional venture capital funding, focusing instead on profitability and organic growth. They touch on the significance of cash flow, forecasting, and honest business relationships. Jeff also highlights the value of patience in business and his vision for using his brand to support children in the foster system.

Tune in to hear:

If a Kickstarter campaign is still a viable method of initial funding
Importance of consistency in what differentiates your business
What it truly means to have a healthy business
The value of patience in business and its impact on long-term vision
An argument for avoiding traditional venture capital funding
And much more!

Bonus Clips from this Episode:

Can You Build a Successful CPG Business without Funding?

What Role Does Brand Loyalty Play in Growing Your Sales Channels?

Connect with Jeff

Website: Kuju Coffee

LinkedIn: Jeff Wiguna

Instagram: @kujucoffee

From our News Segment

How Pod Foods is helping Brands impacted by the closure of Foxtrot and Dom’s

Founders supporting each other on Instagram

BABOYOT Member Highlight

Boichik Bagels

Annual Member - Emily Winston

Website: Boichik Bagels

Instagram: @boichikbagels

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

For a Good Food Business there are many paths to success, and for some that path may include outside investment.

But today’s Venture Capital landscape can be difficult to navigate, with high expectations for returns, investors that don’t quite understand your business, and the overall slow down of venture funding in the last year.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Melissa Facchina, Co-Founder & Co-Managing Partner of Siddhi Capital. Growing up in the food industry and working in her father's factory, Melissa went on to support more than 300 food and beverage clients through her first venture, Siddhi Ops. Since March 2020, she has served as Managing Partner at Siddhi Capital, which she co-founded with Steven Finn that manages an early-stage venture capital fund in the food and beverage industry.

In 2019, Melissa co-founded, and sits on the board of, a non-profit organization called the Women on Boards Project which was formed to ensure that board seats in the consumer packaged goods industry are filled by diverse women.

Sarah and Melissa discuss the evolution of funding in the food industry. The investment world is tricky, and Melissa didn't shy away from discussing the pressures and expectations that come with it. We dove into the importance of picking the right investors and staying true to your business's core values, especially in today's capital-constrained environment. She emphasized the need for practicality and sound business fundamentals amidst investor pressure for growth.

You’ll hear Sarah and Melissa discuss:

Melissa's experience in the dairy factory and her passion for being an efficient operator
The founding of Siddhi Ops and its role in launching, scaling, and de-risking businesses
The challenges of financial forecasting and the need for realistic projections
Investor-created pressure for unrealistic growth targets and its consequences for good food founders
Different life cycles of businesses and the varying paths to success, including the impact of outside investment

Bonus Clip from this episode:

What you MUST consider before working with an Investor

Connect with Melissa

Website: Siddhi Capital

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Ever encountered challenges with syncing apps to accounting software or using online-only banks?

You are not alone!

In this episode, I’m sharing the financial "never do's" - things that founders should be wary of, and the cautionary tales from my experience as a CFO consultant that I believe are crucial for any business owner to heed.

Chelsea and I discussed:

The problems with syncing apps and e-commerce sites to accounting software
Why you shouldn’t be using new online-only banks without proper research into their reliability, FDIC insurance, and fee structures
The importance of good data management
My experience with Square's checking account and the challenges of reconciling transactions
The importance of testing financial systems and consulting with financial teams
And More!

We're compiling a list of "never do's" to save you from extra headaches and work, and we want to hear from you! Your story could be the cautionary tale that saves a fellow founder from financial frustration. Let us know at hello@thegoodfoodcfo.com

From our News Segment:

We Need to Talk About Trader Joe’s

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Inclusivity isn't just a buzzword – it's a strategic imperative. Our population is growing more diverse by the day, and businesses must evolve to meet the changing demographics.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by brand strategist Kathy Guzmán Galloway. Kathy shows us that success doesn't necessarily mean creating a product for every niche, but rather making strategic decisions informed by a deep understanding of consumer behavior and preferences.

With 20 years of CPG experience, Kathy, known as The Clarity Wizard, has helped hundreds of organizations increase revenue and decrease risk by clarifying their brand positioning. She’s worked with brands like Nature Made, Lay’s, and Chiki Chiki Boom Boom, among others, to turn strategy and data into action.

Sarah and Kathy dive into the intricacies of consumer needs. It's not just about the what – it's about the why behind the choices our customers make. Flavor, serving size, and cultural context can shape product development, pricing, and marketing strategies. Kathy emphasizes the importance of holistic brand strategy and the implementation through your entire business model.

You’ll hear:

Why brand positioning is crucial for success in the market, and how brands should align their pricing decisions with their brand promise and target audience.
The importance of understanding the real-life experiences of different demographics
How emotional and cultural nuances can impact messaging and product offerings
The financial impact of understanding and catering to diverse consumer groups
And more!

BABOYOT Member Bonus Clips from this episode:

How to Approach Diversity within Your Organization

More News with a Branding Expert

Connect with Kathy

Instagram: @yes_kg_is_me

Facebook: Kathy Guzmán Galloway

LinkedIn: Kathy (Guzmán) Galloway

Schedule a discovery call here: www.calendly.com/kathygalloway

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

You’ve probably heard The Good Food CFO say “50% is not good for your food business!” Well today, we’re diving into what that really means. In this episode, Sarah walks Chelsea through the nuances of profit margin, specifically challenging the commonly accepted 50% target in the food industry. She shows that this one-size-fits-all approach doesn't suit every business and can lead to cash flow struggles and increased reliance on debt.

We look at some examples, and demonstrate how 3 different margins affect financial stability, and emphasize the importance of founders setting their own financial comfort levels and understanding the implications of their margin choices. We also share our tools and resources that will help business owners make informed decisions about pricing and growth strategies.

You’ll hear:

The importance of being in control of your finances and making informed decisions about your business
Why Sarah picks on 50% product margins
How a 40%, 50% and 60% margin can dramatically impact your need to take on more debt in order to grow your business
The things you should consider about running your business at each of these margins
And more!

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Errol Schweizer has over 25 years of experience in the food industry and was V.P. of Grocery for Whole Foods from 2009-2016. His team grew sales to over US$5 Billion by supporting the launch and commercialization of thousands of new products, many of which are now household names. He has developed plant-based, Organic, Non-GMO and regenerative supply chains and product standards for decades. He was awarded a NOSH Top 50 grocery industry award in 2023 and was recognized with a Retail Game-changer award from Supermarket News and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Hemp Industries Association.

Errol is now a Partner in the leading investor-grade sustainability benchmarking firm, Impakt IQ and has been a board member, advisor and partner for over 30 emerging brands and independent grocers. He is active in regional food policy, is Host of The Checkout Podcast and frequently writes for Forbes.

In this episode, Errol joins Sarah for a lively discussion covering everything from how grocery stores make money to the lack of policy enforcement that continues to hurt small food brands looking to find space on the shelf.

You’ll hear:

How grocery stores make money through promotions, trade spend, and product differentiation.
The business models of grocery stores vary, with mass market chains focusing on everyday low cost and smaller supermarkets emphasizing higher gross margins.
Why product differentiation and innovation are crucial for grocery stores to stand out in a competitive market.
How consolidation, centralization, and the lack of enforcement of antitrust laws continue to create challenges for independent brands
And so much more!

Learn more about Errol:

The Checkout Grocery supply chains: Understanding why eggs cost what they costForbes Articles

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

In this episode, The Good Food CFO, Sarah Delevan breaks down the concept of cost of goods sold (COGS) and its importance in understanding the financial health of your business.

We explore the differences between accrual-based accounting and cash-based accounting, and how each method affects the calculation of COGS. We also clarify the distinction between unit COGS and business COGS, and the significance of knowing both.

Then Sarah shares the industry “rules” that she breaks, like including overhead in COGS and emphasizes the importance of keeping COGS elements separate.

You’ll hear:

Why the concept of cost of goods sold (COGS) is crucial for assessing the financial health of a business.
How accrual-based accounting and cash-based accounting have different implications for calculating COGS and understanding cash flow.
The importance of differentiating between unit COGS and business COGS, as they provide different insights into the profitability of a product and the overall business.
Why excluding overhead from COGS allows for a clearer understanding of the true cost of producing a product.
How keeping COGS elements separate and analyzing them individually helps identify areas for cost optimization and pricing strategies.

From Our News Segment

Federal Trade Commission Sues to Stop Kroger-Albertsons Merger

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Most Good Food Businesses start out selling their products at the local farmers’ market. Many continue to utilize markets as a consistent sales channel for their business as they grow. But at the end of the day, transporting your goods, setting up your tent or booth, and working all day, just to break it all down and load out can be a lot for any one person. Not to mention the cost!

What if there was an easier way? That was the question Peter Henry asked himself when he created Ten by Ten logistics in December 2019 after five years of selling cheese and running stands in NYC’s Greenmarkets.

Now, with the help of an incredible team at markets, at the warehouse and behind the wheel, he helps twelve producers and farmers operate their NYC farmers markets. And while he may not be ready to take his services nationwide, he has a lot to say about connections at the Farmers’ Market, and how you can create your own system through team work with other farmers and small batch producers in your region.

Connect with Peter

Website: Ten By Ten

Instagram: @tenbyten_logistics

From Our News Segment

Investment Is Flowing to US Grass-fed Beef Again. Will It Scale Up? Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Every business needs to understand their cash flow, ESPECIALLY if you don't have a lot of cash on hand, or a 12 week cash runway.

You won’t find the answers looking at your P+L statement. That shows the operational profitability of your business and it's looking at your business in the past. A cash flow projection is looking to the future.

In this episode, Sarah is breaking down 3 methods for projecting and managing your Cash Flow, so that you can understand how cash is flowing through your business, make spending decisions with confidence and even run scenarios to see what’s possible for the future.

The Good Food CFO is also sharing our low cost Cash Flow Projector tool so you can take control of your cash flow today! Just visit thegoodfoodcfo.com today to get started.

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

When you are running your own business, it's never a question of if burnout will come, but when. Every founder has been there, and there are some telltale signs you might be going through it right now.

But what if you could slow down, take a pause, and reflect on what is really important to you, in business, and in life? That’s what our guests, Elizabeth and Maggie, want to help you accomplish with their Slow Business Retreat.

In this episode, they join Sarah to have a discussion about their business philosophy and how that evolved into their latest venture.

A returning guest to the podcast, Elizabeth Eichhorn is a seasoned entrepreneur and a dedicated leader who believes that true leadership is rooted in active participation. With over a decade of entrepreneurial experience, Elizabeth has emerged as a guiding force in the business world. Having coached over 1,000 business owners on strategy and business development, she brings a wealth of knowledge and insights to the table.

As the owner of MaggieGentry.com and founder of Own Your Why®, Maggie Gentry believes that heart and intuition are the keys to an impactful business. Maggie supports high-conscious entrepreneurs who are looking to intentionally grow their business with more ease through her unique blend of insightful business coaching and mindful marketing consulting.

Listen in as they connect with Sarah on:

Their very similar philosophy on business and how to do it on your own terms
The signs on burnout that they each have experienced as business leaders
How those experiences lead to the development of the Slow Business Retreat
What the retreat has to offer Good Food Founders looking for a sacred pause.
And much more!

You can hear Sarah’s full conversation with Elizabeth and Maggie as a +(plus) member inside The Good Food CFO Community. When you upgrade your membership, you’ll get access to this full length episode, as well as our library of bonus clips and episodes, live Q&As with podcast guests, and even attend live podcast recordings. Learn more at thegoodfoodcfo.com/join

Learn More about the Slow Business Retreat!

Connect with Elizabeth

Website: Elizabeth Eichhorn

LinkedIn: Elizabeth Eichhorn

Connect with Maggie

Website: maggiegentry.com

LinkedIn: Maggie Gentry

From our News Segment

Sweetgreen wants to be the ‘McDonald's of its generation.’ A rival could beat it.

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

A million dollar deal can be a game changer for most small businesses, but it could also be a financial burden, and not a benefit at all if the product pricing and the deal aren't structured correctly.

In this episode, Sarah is sharing the role she played in the negotiations between her client and a distributor that could result in $1 Million in the first year alone! She walks us through everything the founder has done to ensure the deal will be successful, beneficial and profitable.

You’ll hear:

How the opportunity came to be
The pre-work that the founder did to analyze if the deal would work (yes, we are revisiting the time study!)
What questions were key in developing a product that could deliver on margin
And how Sarah’s work helped bring the numbers all together!

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Are you getting ready to launch a new business? Or maybe you're preparing to launch a new product, or considering launching into a new sales channel? You don’t want to miss this episode!

Jason McAlpin is the Founder and CEO of daio – a better sparkling water that combines incredible flavor with functional ingredients. The brand is set to launch in 2024. As a former college basketball player for the University of Maryland, Jason quickly learned the vital role of proper nutrition. After college he went on to launch Under Armour’s first ever basketball footwear business, received an MBA from UNC and spent 9 years at Coca-Cola in brand management across iconic brands such as Coke Zero, Coke, POWERADE and vitaminwater.

In this episode, Jason joins Sarah to discuss the work that he did throughout the pre-launch process. They both share the biggest lessons they have learned around planning and forecasting so that you can enter a launch with confidence.

You’ll hear:

The COGS “trap” that Jason is avoiding
His approach to COGS, and what happened when vendors couldn’t meet his targets
His margin expansion plan that DOES NOT factor in scale
Jason’s approach to sales planning
And much more

Being a certified minority-owned business, Jason also recognizes the importance of nurturing the next generation of successful minority entrepreneurs, which is why daio will donate to and partner with charities that provide top grade school education access and resources to kids – particularly Black and Brown kids - living in underprivileged neighborhoods across the nation.

You can hear Sarah’s full conversation with Jason as a +(plus) member inside The Good Food CFO Community. When you upgrade your membership, you’ll get access to this full length episode, as well as our library of bonus clips and episodes, live Q&As with podcast guests, and even attend live podcast recordings. Learn more at thegoodfoodcfo.com/join

Connect with Jason Website: Drink daioLinkedIn: Jason McAlpin

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

We’re back with another selection for The Good Food CFO Book Club!

The Great Game of Business written by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham, is a documentation and story telling of how SRC Holdings Corporation was approaching business differently.

SRC wasn’t run in the traditional top-down way most other companies are. They practiced what Jack calls “Open Book Management” and found success playing “The Great Game of Business”. The result was that they built a repeatable system that enabled their associates to run the company and even branch off to build a new arm of the business.

In this episode you’ll hear what I took away from this book, including:

How to communicate to your team about the big picture, and what you are trying to accomplish
What it means to operate under Open Book Management
Creating the game plan, setting the right goals, and getting buy-in from the team
The tools and resources you can use to support all of this work

You can read along with us, get your copy of The Great Game of Business from our BookShop today!

From Our News Segment:

The Food System is Having a Big Screen Moment - Civil Eats

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

In this episode we are celebrating the life of a hugely influential member of the food industry, Bryce Fluellen. Sarah had the honor of sitting down with Bryce at the end of 2023. Unfortunately, the world lost Bryce in early 2024. We hope that this interview tells his story and preserves his legacy as a Servant leader for so many in this industry, as he fought for food justice and social equity in every role he served.

Bryce Fluellen developed and implemented strategic programs at Starbucks, Magic Johnson Enterprises, and the American Heart Association to drive systemic change to benefit underserved populations and communities. He was a classically trained chef, and operated a Los Angeles full-service catering company, Yams Catering, where he created partnerships with health-focused organizations to educate black and brown communities about healthy eating.

In 2022 Bryce Fluellen was named one of the 50 most influential restaurant leaders by the NRN Power List. He also served on the executive committee of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council.

Bryce shared:

How his family influenced his path in life
The college job that changed his trajectory
All the experience in the food industry that shaped him into the leader and mentor that he was
His passion for learning that led to finding unconventional ways to fund a for-profit business
And much more

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Scaling promises to bring not just more revenue, but more profit, more cash flow, and a sense of ease in doing business. And it seems every business owner is eager to get there.

In this season opener, we are answering the #1 question we get asked inside The Good Food CFO Community - “How do I scale my business?”

You’ll hear Sarah breakdown:

The difference between growth and scale
If it’s even possible to scale a food business
The steps you can take to create a financially sustainable growth plan
And a list of free resources to support you in creating that plan

Episodes we mentioned:

Episode 56 - Rethinking Cash Flow

Episode 58 - Demystifying Sales Projections & Annual Planning

Episode 89 - Breaking Down the Price vs Margin Conundrum

From the News Segment:

Indoor Agriculture Faces a Reckoning

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Profitability is the goal of every business. But at times it can feel like you are doing everything right, everything traditional business media says that you should be, and yet your business is still running out of cash.

In this episode, Sarah breaks down a different way of thinking about your finances and improving your cash flow and profitability. She takes us step by step through the same process she uses with founders everyday to understand what is keeping them from profitability, and what steps can be taken to improve cash flow in the business.

Learn more about the Profit Assessment.

From our News Segment

So Many Unicorns, So Little Cash

A Once in a Lifetime Financial Event is Here

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Nikki McNeil is a Co-Founder at Vividly, a trade spend management software which aims to deliver clear value through efficiencies when analyzing trade spend dollars.

Whether you’re a founder managing trade spend for one partner or hundreds, having the right system in place can ensure you stay on budget and receive proper payment from all of your distributors and retailers.

In this episode, Sarah got to sit down with Nikki to discuss managing trade spend, and what kind of systems you can put in place to support you and your team at any size.

You’ll hear:

How Nikki’s background in CPG at companies like Lily’s Sweets, Perfect Snacks and Justin’s Nut Butter inspired her to create Vividly
What you need to get started managing your trade spend. Spoiler alert: You can start with just Excel
Ways to support your sales and accounting teams, and ensure everyone has access to the right information
When it might make sense to utilize a partner like Vividly in managing your trade spend.

Free Resources from Vividly:

Deduction Scanner

ROI Calculator

Retail Playbook

Connect with Nikki

Website: Vividly

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Sourcing the best ingredients for your good food product has many implications for your business. Eran Mizrahi co-founded Ingredient Brothers to support founders in this process.

Eran grew up watching his father grow a successful import business that was built on integrity and customer service. A South African transplant, Eran started his career at Deloitte, giving him a strong background in finance. He was an early employee at Plated, where he focused on building planning and sourcing programs. He then went on to join Nuts.com, one of the world’s largest nuts and specialty ingredient e-commerce companies. He was quickly elevated to COO and quadrupled the company’s capacity to support growth in 2020. All of this experience led to Ingredient Brothers, where Eran and his team are trying to solve some of the biggest problems he encountered in the food industry.

In this episode, Sarah and Eran connect over their shared buyer and finance experience, building a relationship with your purveyors, and Eran shares an approach to strategically reducing ingredient costs that was spot on and totally new to us!

You can hear Sarah’s full conversation with Eran as a +(plus) member inside The Good Food CFO Community. When you upgrade your membership, you’ll get access to this full length episode, as well as our library of bonus clips and episodes, live Q&As with podcast guests, and even attend live podcast recordings. Learn more at thegoodfoodcfo.com/join

Connect with Eran

Website: Ingredient Brothers

LinkedIn: Ingredient Brothers

LinkedIn: Eran Mizrahi

From our News Segment

Civil Eats : The Government Spends Billions on Food. Who Benefits?

Federal Good Food Purchasing Coalition

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Traditional business media celebrates big revenue, new accounts, and most of all growth and scale. Cutting revenue in the short term, letting go of accounts and scaling back are the exact opposite of that. So of course right-sizing your business can make you feel bad, and like you’re moving in the wrong direction.

We need to look at the benefits of doing things differently, the benefits of doing what is right for YOUR business, rather than what is generally celebrated in the public eye without context.

In this episode, Sarah shares the reasons behind right-sizing and pulling out of retail, and we hear from 2 founders that chose to right-size, and their reasons behind the move. Sarah also discusses how right-sizing can impact your bottom line in a positive way, and gives us an update on our founders’ stories.

You can hear Sarah’s full and uncut conversations with founders April and Leah as a +(plus) member inside The Good Food CFO community. When you upgrade to +(plus) membership you gain access to full length episodes, bonus clips and episode, live Q&As with podcast guests, and even attend live podcast recordings. Learn more about upgrading to a +(plus) membership at thegoodfoodcfo.com/join

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

In 2022, Francesca Pittaluga launched Ciao Pappy, drawing from her 14-year career in luxury fashion. Her inspiration came from a passion for high-quality food, a love for the California and Italian coastal lifestyles, and a dedication to her Italian father's culinary traditions.

In this episode, Francesca joins Sarah to talk about her transition to the Food Industry and the lessons she’s learned along the way. You’ll also hear about her approach to giving back, as well as her mindset around setting goals and taking Ciao Pappy into the New Year.

You can hear Sarah’s full conversation with Francesca as a +(plus) member inside The Good Food CFO Community. When you upgrade your membership, you’ll get access to this full length episode, as well as our library of bonus clips and episodes, live Q&As with podcast guests, and even attend live podcast recordings. Learn more at thegoodfoodcfo.com/join

Ciao Pappy is graciously offering our listeners 15% off your purchase using the discount code "ciaoCFO15"

Connect with Ciao Pappy!

Website: Ciao Pappy

Instagram: @ciaopappy

TikTok: @ciaopappy

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Retail is a complex and, at times, difficult sales channel to navigate for Good Food Founders.

In this episode, Sarah and Chelsea discuss two articles that put the Brand/Retail relationship at the forefront.

First, in the news segment, Sarah shares a Civil Eats article that highlights why mid-size farms and brands are disappearing from retail shelves. Then in the main episode, Sarah and Chelsea discuss an article that has been on Sarah’s mind since January 2023.

Read the Grub Street Article

Welcome to the Shoppy Shop : Written by Emily Sundberg

Read the article from our News Segment

As Grocery Stores Get Bigger, Small Farms Get Squeezed Out : Written by Lisa Held

We will continue the conversation from this episode during a Live Fireside Chat inside The Good Food CFO Community on Tuesday, November 28th. Fireside Chats are open to ALL community members. Join us inside the community, and RSVP for this discussion!

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Emily Dyer-Schiefer traded her chef's knife for a business blueprint, and she hasn't looked back since. Tired of the conflicting advice and clichés saturating the food business landscape, Emily founded two platforms designed to streamline success. Whether through bite-sized lessons at Food Biz School or a dive into strategy at The Kitchen Think, she's committed to helping foodpreneurs build strong, thoughtful businesses that defy the status quo.

In this episode, Sarah gets to connect with Emily after years of following each other’s careers online. They become fast friends as they discuss all the common pit-falls they have encountered while working in the food industry and supporting Good Food Founders.

Emily will be joining us inside The Good Food CFO Community on Tuesday, January 9th 2024 for a Live Q&A with our +(plus) members. Visit thegoodfoodcfo.com/join to learn more about becoming a +(plus) member.

Connect with Emily

Website: kitchenthink.co

Instagram/TikTok: @the.kitchen.think

Learn More About Food Biz School

Website: foodbizschool.co

Instagram/TikTok: @food.biz.school

YouTube: @food.biz.school

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Sarah Delevan is an avid reader, committed to reading at least one book a month. Those around her know when the current read is a good one, because she won’t stop talking about it! This inspired us to create The Good Food CFO Book Club.

In this episode, Sarah and Chelsea share all the details on the Book Club, and announce the very first book, Stolen Focus by Johann Hari.

You’ll hear:

How the Book Club will work
Why Sarah chose Stolen Focus as the first book
Key takeaways from Stolen Focus with our friend Lindsay O’Donnell, Founder of Piquant Marketing
All about our new partnership with Bookshop.org

Our first Fireside Chat :: Book Club will be held on Tuesday, December 12th. If you want to join us, you can RSVP inside The Good Food CFO Community.

Not a member yet? Join now, it’s free!

Visit The Good Food CFO Bookshop to get your copy of Stolen Focus today!

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

When it comes to building a business, it can be tempting to skip to the tactical work that feels like action, but we really need to make sure we get a few foundational pieces of strategy in place first to get all those tactical decisions optimized and working together as part of an integrated plan so have the ability to be proactive and cohesive vs feeling like things are disjointed.

In this episode, we are taking a step back and doing just that. Sarah is joined by Katie Mleziva, a Food Brand Strategist with over 20 years of experience in Brand & Marketing Strategy working across a range of brands from Fortune 500 companies back in her corporate days, and now choosing to work with smaller food startups and farms as the founder of Real Food Brands. Katie is the host of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast and creator of Brand Strategy Streamlined™ where she’s working to shake up shopping carts and help more people get access to real food by guiding food producers to go from making a great product to building a strong brand.

Katie walks us through her step by step process to develop a brand strategy that is authentic to you and your business and will connect to your audience.

We were also joined by Good Food CFO+ members in this Live recording. You can hear Katie answer their questions, as well as the full length episode, as a +(plus) member inside The Good Food CFO Community. For more information visit thegoodfoodcfo.com/join

Connect with Katie:

Website/Podcast: Real Food Brands

Instagram: @realfoodbrands

Facebook: Real Food Brands group

LinkedIn: Katie Mleziva

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

We are kicking off Season 8 of the podcast with a run down of the changes that are happening this season. You’ll meet our show producer, Chelsea Stier, as she and Sarah share all that we have in store for you.

Then, you’ll hear the conversation that has been on Sarah’s mind since August. It all started on a birthday road trip, while overhearing many frank conversations about money. Sarah asks the questions that came up for her after noticing an interesting pattern.

Sarah and Chelsea discuss:

Why women don’t often talk about money
Just some of the reasons this conversation is so complicated
Whether or not we should let go of the “social norms” that dictate how we talk about money
And they contemplate ways we can all break free of the hold money can have over us

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

As a Food Founder, knowing your costs is the first and most important step you can take toward profitability. Having a tool that helps guide that work will make your life easier, and give you the confidence that you are on the right track.

In this episode, Sarah talks with Percy Swint, founder and designer of Prophit App. Percy has worked for some of the biggest tech companies including Quicken Loans (Rocket Mortgage), Compass Real Estate, and Intuit. Percy was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, before receiving a Bachelor's degree in Landscape Design from Penn State University and moving to Southern California in 2013.

An entrepreneur at heart, Percy began his graphic design business and acquired much of his clientele via craigslist and word of mouth. One client in particular would come to be his wife. Early in their relationship, Percy and his wife Maile operated a gourmet dessert business. Some of the hardships they faced brought about Prophit, a software for food & beverage manufacturers that helps them track their costs and inventory.

In November 2022, Percy launched Prophit, and he’s on the podcast today to share the evolution from spreadsheet to online tool, how it works, and how it can impact founders across the good food industry.

Percy is offering a special discount for our listeners! You can start your free trial of Prophit, and get access to 30% off when you sign up for any subscription here.

Connect with Percy

Prophit Website: prophitapp.com

Prophit IG: instagram.com/prophittech

Prophit FB: facebook.com/prophittech

Design Portfolio: percyswint.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Q4 and the Holiday season bring with them HUGE opportunities for sales and top line revenue. But without the proper planning, sales don’t always translate to profits. Q4 planning includes having a strategy for not only your sales, but also production, labor and shipping!

In this episode, Sarah is taking the stress out of creating your Q4 plan! And she’s offering up all the free and low cost resources available to make it even easier.

Free + Low Cost Resources:

Episode 26 : How to Create a Profitable Shipping Offer

Episode 28 : Tips for a Profitable Holiday Season!

Episode 58 : Demystifying Sales Projections & Annual Planning

Annual Planning + Forecasting Course

Bundles + Discounts Tool Kit

Creating a Profitable Shipping Offer Workshop

Quick Question

CFO Office Hours

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

In this Building a Business on Your Own Terms episode, Sarah is joined by Bree & Michaela Fuller. Bree and Michaela are Seattle natives who have been paving their career paths with a mission to lead a purpose-driven and passion-filled life. The sisters currently own three businesses: Fuller Nutri-Fuel, a Seattle-based meal prep company; Table & Tines, a full-service catering company; and they co-host the PAVED Podcast. Not only are they super passionate about their brands, but they are equally passionate about self-care, which is at the core of everything they are doing.

The Fuller Sisters are sharing:

The transition that took them from the body-building world to building a meal prep company
How digging into the financial ground work early on built their financial confidence and set them up to make the investments that would support their vision
The importance of setting boundaries
Why making self care a priority is a must, not an option
How their vision has expanded and created more opportunities to live their purpose

Connect with Bree & Michaela

Website: Fuller Nutrifuel

Instagram: @fullernutrifuel

Instagram: @tableandtinescatering

Instagram: @pavedpodcast

Instagram: @michaelacfuller

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFOYouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

When you are ready to grow your food business beyond your backyard, you may seek the support of a broker. And how you build that relationship can make or break your business.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Paul Christian. Paul is an industry veteran with over thirty years of experience working with powerhouse companies like Hormel, Coca-Cola, Unilever Ice Cream, and Smuckers. When Paul realized how much he loved using his knowledge of the industry to help smaller brands and early-stage startups break down that barrier to entry, he founded Come Sell or High Water with a simple mantra: small brand focus with big brand ambitions.

Paul is sharing all that knowledge and experience in this conversation all about building an effective and successful partnership with a broker.

Sarah & Paul discuss:

What exactly a broker does, and can do for your Good Food business
How to know if you should be onboarding a broker
Tips for choosing the best broker for you and your business
What red flags to look out for
The most important things you can do to build an effective partnership

Connect with Paul

Website: Come Sell or High Water

LinkedIn: Paul Christian

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO
YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

The conversation about the true cost of food is one of layers, complexity, and nuance.

As good food founders, and those in the industry who support and work daily to create a food system that is based on fair wages for all members of the supply chain, consider their impact on the environment, center transparency, and deliver real, good food. We know that it only works – that good food business can only continue - if the price is based on the true cost of the food produced, and the consumer can afford it.

In this episode, we’ve invited individuals from throughout the food industry for a discussion about the true cost of food. Sarah is joined by food industry members from up and down the supply chain as they start to crack open the layers and consider all of the costs (financial and otherwise) that create the food system that we work within today, and discuss the changes that could benefit producers and consumers.

This was a live recording, which means Good Food CFO+ members joined us and were able to comment and ask questions during the recording.

Connect with our Panel

Tyler Dawley: Big Bluff Ranch

Leah Ferrazzani: Semolina Pasta

Vincent Finazzo: Riverwards Produce Markets

Eve Cohen: Marcellus Foods

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO
YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

In this Building a Business on Your Own Terms episode, Sarah is joined by Chauniqua Major, affectionately known as Major. Major is a dynamic creative based in Orlando, Florida. Her unwavering commitment to doing good work powers her to achieve remarkable feats in her community. She is the founder of Whatever’s Good, a PR and marketing shop, and the Chief Snack Officer of Major's Project Pop, an award-winning popcorn company that ships nationwide.

This conversation covers everything from Major’s indirect path into the world of Food CPG to when she realized she would have to change her mindset around what success looks like.

Sarah and Major discuss:

How Major’s personal food journey lead to the creation of Major’s Project Pop
The importance of being ready for an opportunity, and the value in saying “not now”
The conversations with her husband and her mentor that lead to her “divorcing” herself from her business
What the future holds for Major’s Project Pop, and the power of asking “what if?”

Connect with Major

Website: Major’s Project Pop

Facebook: Eat Project Pop

Instagram: @eatprojectpop

LinkedIn: Major’s Project Pop

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO
YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Cat Turner, Founder of CZero. Cat is an entrepreneur, software engineer, and scientist who is passionate about using technology to empower people and solve hard problems. CZero is a company that’s providing a solution for CPG brands to distribute their products without the need to have warehouses or transportation facilities. And with their platform, brands can now have access to carbon accounting, enabling them to shift towards eco-friendly logistics and achieve carbon neutrality.

Cat and Sarah are peeling back the layers of the transportation industry, carbon neutrality and technology, how they come together and why you, as a Good Food Founder should be paying attention.

You’ll hear:

How the transportation industry really works, and the many inefficiencies it currently faces
What it really means to be a carbon neutral business, and how to go about achieving it
Why technology will become a pivotal tool to making distribution easier and more cost efficient for CPG Brands
How CZero is bringing all of this knowledge together to create a one-stop solution that can bring joy to distribution

If you’d like to hear more from Cat about the work she is doing, or if you have questions about anything we discussed today, be sure to join us on August 1st for a Live Q&A inside the Good Food CFO Community. This event is exclusively for Good Food CFO+ members.

Become a Good Food CFO+ Member to get access to this event, plus all our Live Q&As, Live Podcast Recordings, and Exclusive Podcast Bonus Content.

Connect with Cat

Instagram: @czerofoods

Twitter: @czerofoods

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO
YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Whether your business already has a team of employees, or you are getting ready to hire and expand, clarity in your organization matters!

In this episode, Sarah is sharing how role clarity affects every aspect of your business and day to day activities. You have a unique vision and goals, and creating clear accountability for your team enables them to support your vision to the fullest. She is also sharing helpful tips for documenting and communicating organizational roles to your team through an accountability chart.

You’ll hear:

How Sarah came to understand the need for role clarity in her own business
A book recommendation that covers the tips and tools shared in this episode
The way to break down the main functions of your business
How to approach creating accountability based on those functions
And more!

Sarah will be answering all of your questions about organizational roles and accountability, and sharing her own accountability chart inside the Good Food CFO Community in Live Q&A for Good Food CFO+ members. Details inside the community.

Become a Good Food CFO+ Member.

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO
YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

B2B E-Commerce sites can be a great channel to expand your business beyond your backyard. And a platform like Mable can serve as a bridge to growing into national distribution on your own terms.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Arik Keller, Founder and CEO of Mable, the B2B wholesale platform designed to make it easy for grocery & convenience stores to easily discover and buy emerging, local brands.

In 2018, Arik bought a small corner store in New England. At the time it seemed like an easy break from technology start-ups, but he quickly learned how hard it was to discover & buy all the unique brands he wanted to bring into his store. And so in 2019, Mable was born and now connects thousands of stores across the country with unique, emerging grocery brands.

Sarah and Arik discuss:

How Mable was born from Arik’s mission to get more Good Food on more shelves
How his technology background shaped his approach to building out Mable’s B2B platform
The difference between Mable and other B2B platforms
The role distributors play in the food industry
And what the near future holds for the company, and how they are expanding their business model to become a bridge between B2B and National Distribution

Mable will be joining us inside the Good Food CFO Community for a Live Q&A and Demo of the platform. This event is available only for Good Food CFO+ members. You can get all the details inside the community.

Connect with Mable:

Website: meetmable.com

LinkedIn: Mable

Instagram: @meet_mable

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Getting clear on where you are, so that you can decide where you are going

Like many founders, you may be asking yourself, “how can I make my business financially sustainable?”. Maybe you have big ideas for how to move your business forward, but lack the confidence to bring those ideas to life. This episode is for you.

Today, Sarah is sharing her process for getting clear on the current state of your business, and how she uses a 3 point Profitability Checklist to determine your path forward to financial sustainability and profitability.

You’ll hear:

How the Profit Assessment is Sarah’s go-to tool for understanding where a business is at financially, and determining the best path forward
The 3 things you should check and adjust on your road to profitability
Why the order of operations matters!
And so much more

The Good Food CFO is releasing an updated version of the Profit Assessment course, so now you can have access to the same tools Sarah uses to work through this process with her clients.

Learn more about the Profit Assessment course.

Stay Connected:

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO YouTube: @thegoodfoodcfo Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Networking is so important for personal and professional success, but you told us that it can feel scary, uncomfortable, too salesy, and aimless.

In our first ever live recording of The Good Food CFO Podcast, Sarah is joined by Felice Thorpe, and our Good Food CFO+ community members, to break down all the hang ups we have around networking, and how with a little preparation and clear intentions, you can make networking work for you. You can’t build a business alone, and it’s way more fun when you have a supportive network!

Felice is a Sales Director, Consultant, Founder of Felice Foods, and the greatest connector we know! She is sharing her tips and tricks for getting the most out of the time you spend getting to know your peers.

Felice shares:

How she overcame her own nerves around networking
Her 2 reasons for networking
The value she gets and gives to her network
The tricks she uses to stay in the know

Sarah and Felice are also answering questions from community members!

Connect with Felice

Website: FeliceFoods.com Instagram: @thorpefelice LinkedIn: Felice Thorpe

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

What started as a way to sell some extra pumpkins out of a garage, Vincent Finazzo has turned Riverwards Produce Market into a community staple that is creating a better experience for his shoppers, his team, and the food industry at large.

A Goldman Sachs 10K Scholar, Vincent earned Best of Philly honors from Philadelphia Magazine in 2022, while also being named a Local Hero by Edible Philly in 2017. Born and raised in Detroit, MI, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Columbia College in Chicago. Vincent founded Riverwards Produce Market, a Philadelphia small business grocery store which opened in the city’s Fishtown neighborhood in 2016.

In this episode, Vincent joins Sarah to discuss the decisions he’s made along the way as he grew Riverwards into what is now two locations with over 75 employees.

Vincent shares:

How he transitioned from the art world to running a retail business
The thought process behind the wage and benefits he provides his team
His approach to sourcing for Riverwards Produce Market
His unique take on grocery categories
And so much more

By the end of this episode, you will see how Vincent is truly disrupting the food industry through grocery.

Connect with Vincent

Website: Riverwards Produce

Instagram: @riverwardsproduce

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Tyler Dawley is a guy who has lived in one spot his entire life. That spot is Big Bluff Ranch, the family ranch.

Since he was a kid, driving the ranch truck looking through (not over) the steering wheel, he has found purpose and passion working with the land and animals. Starting in 2000, he has been driving innovations on the ranch. Trying everything from farmer's markets to grass-fed beef to pasture poultry to direct marketing. Currently, Big Bluff Ranch is one of the largest producers of organic, pasture raised, no corn/soy chicken on the west coast.

In this episode, Tyler is joining Sarah to discuss all that he’s learned about running a commercial ranch over the years, and how he envisions the future of agriculture at large.

You’ll hear:

The history of Big Bluff Ranch, and how they got to chickens.
Why we think there is so much misinformation about the true cost of food
How Tyler got comfortable with offering his chickens at a relatively high price point
His approach to finding the “right” customer for Big Bluff Ranch chickens
The lessons he’s learned about preserving profit margins

And we wrap up the conversation exploring where Tyler sees room for innovation in the agriculture industry, and how that can preserve the legacy of farming for future generations.

Connect with Tyler

Website: Big Bluff Ranch

Instagram: @thebigbluffranch

Email: Tyler@BigBluffRanch.com

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Saying "no" to opportunities for growth can be a difficult thing to do.

Saying "yes" to the wrong customers can cost you your business.

In this episode, Sarah welcomes Gwen Richardson to the podcast. Gwen is the Sales Director at Repurpose, a leading retail brand of sustainable disposable tableware, garbage bags and soft paper for the home. She cut her teeth in CPG with almost 10 years in the craft beer industry in Boston and the Bay Area before moving to Los Angeles and putting more focus into sustainability with her role at Repurpose.

Having held every outward facing sales position at Repurpose, from entry level sales manager to now Sales Director, Gwen’s experience growing through retail and negotiating with distributors has taught her so much. And now she wants to share those lessons with as many Founders as she can.

You’ll hear:

How Gwen and the Repurpose team approach growth and taking on new customers
The role that vision and goals plays in decision making
Why Gwen never makes a deal without consulting her “Goldilocks model”
How community plays a huge role in creating change in the food industry

Good Food CFO+ and Good Food Revolutionary members can also hear Gwen’s tips for negotiating with intention. This bonus clip will be available inside The Good Food CFO Community.

Gwen will also be joining us inside the community for a Fireside Chat on Friday, April 14th. You can hear this bonus content and join us for this event by becoming a member today.

Connect with Gwen:

Website: Repurpose.com

LinkedIn: Gwen Richardson

Instagram: @repurpose

Instagram: @gwengoesgreen

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Are you ready to expand your production, but are unsure where to begin?

Maybe you’re just starting to produce your product, and want to put the right systems in place now to ensure efficiency when you are ready to move into a commercial kitchen or partner with a co-packer?

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Charlotte Walter, Chocolatier and Founder of Charlotte Truffles, a chocolate shop celebrating the diversity of our community through chocolate. With her unique background and experience, Charlotte was able to successfully expand her unique offerings and her team.

Charlotte is sharing her process to formalize and expand production, either internally or with a co-packer. You’ll learn her 4 phase process for scaling your production from R&D, through defining your quality metrics, to hiring your first employee and ensuring you have everything in place to produce on a large scale.

Sarah and Charlotte are also taking this conversation into The Good Food CFO Community with two follow up bonus episodes! This exclusive bonus content is available to Good Food CFO+ and Revolutionary Members. Join Us today to get access to these episodes, and all other bonus content.

Connect with Charlotte:

Website: www.charlottetruffles.com

Instagram:@chartruffles

Facebook: chartruffles

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Martha Bourlakas launched Storied Goods, a celebration business that creates infused Sugar Cubes for cocktails, coffee, and tea, in 2018. However, Martha considers 2022 the true start of her business. 2022 was the year Martha focused on foundational internal goals like identifying and onboarding a co-packer, transitioning accounting software and bookkeeping firms, setting up invoicing and sales systems and negotiating the rates she needed to succeed long term.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Martha, and welcomes back Ashley Sutterfield, founder of Sage. Together they are walking through the ways they worked together to prepare for the growth of Storied Goods, and how that work changed Martha’s mindset about business.

You’ll hear:

Why successfully scaling Storied Goods meant slowing down, and focusing on the internal systems before focusing on growth
What finding the right partners can mean for your business
Why goal setting should be a deeply personal matter
And a lot more

Ashley and Martha will join Sarah inside The Good Food CFO Community for a Live Q&A on Thursday, March 9th. Sign up today to learn more about this event.

Connect with Martha:

Website: Storied Goods

Instagram: @storied_goods

Connect with Ashley:

Website: Co-Packing with Ashley

Newsletter Sample: Sage Advice

LinkedIn: Ashley Sutterfield

Access Ashley’s co-packing Course: Co-Packing & Beyond

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Stay Connected:

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Jenni Trilik and Marcus Contaldo, Founders of Modest Coffee shared their costly experience with a national distributor on their blog that caught the eye of the good food industry, its supporters, and many more. In response to their story, more than 4,000 individuals answered the call to purchase and/or donate a case of coffee to keep the business alive.

In this episode, Jenni and Marcus join Sarah to share their story as well as the lessons learned and how Modest Coffee is moving forward.

Listen in as they discuss:

How Jenni and Marus got into the coffee business, and the original vision for Modest Coffee
Why they decided to work with a broker and national distributor
The common misunderstanding/miscommunication that had Modest producing more coffee than they could handle
The details of the industry standard distributor contract they signed, and how it nearly cost them their business
How a viral moment kept their business alive
How this experience is shaping the future of their business

Jenni and Marcus’s story, like the stories of many founders, reminds us that we have agency over our own businesses, we can build a business on our own terms, and we can create change in the food industry.

Connect with Modest Coffee

Website: www.modest.coffee

Instagram: @modestcoffee

LinkedIn: Modest Coffee

In addition to running a coffee roasting operation, Jenni and Marcus, along with their co-worker and friend, Stephanie, host an amusing and educational podcast called No Bad Reviews: A Coffee Podcast that explores topics in business, history, and culture using coffee as inspiration.

Website: No Bad Reviews: A Coffee Podcast

Continue the Conversation & The Good Food Revolution

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community to be a part of the conversation with Jenni & Marcus during a Fireside Chat on February 28th.

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

View Details

Have you been looking for a way to access funding for your business that doesn’t include giving up your equity, doesn’t involve traditional bank loans, and doesn’t come with huge interest rates?

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Jackie Chan, COO and Co-Founder of SMBX - the Small Business Bond™ marketplace that connects qualified U.S. small and medium businesses with people in their communities who want to invest in them. Together they are discussing how the SMBX business model is disrupting traditional funding methods for Good Food Businesses.

You’ll learn:

How SMBX works, and how it differs from other funding methods
The benefits of working with SMBX for both the business AND the community of investors
What you need to know before working with SMBX
How SMBX supports businesses throughout the process

Jackie and the SMBX team will also join us inside The Good Food CFO Community for a Live Q&A in February. This event is open to Good Food CFO+ and Good Food Revolutionary Members.

With a Good Food CFO+ membership you can:

Have access to all Live Q&As
Get exclusive podcast bonus content
Attend Live Podcast Recordings.

Become a Good Food CFO+ Member

Connect with SMBX:

Website: www.thesmbx.com

Instagram: @thesmbx

Twitter: @thesmbx

YouTube: @TheSMBX

LinkedIn: SMBX

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Have you been considering opening a B2B E-Commerce channel in your Food Business? Have you already joined a platform like Faire or Mable, and are still trying to figure it out?

In this episode, Sarah welcomes Brady DeLong back to the podcast. Brady is an 8-year Sales and Operations veteran of the CPG industry, spending the first chapter on the Food & Bev side, he’s now working in the Health, Beauty, and Wellness arena. He has grown brands through DTC, DSD, traditional distribution, food service, retail, and B2B e-commerce - a relatively new channel that he utilized to exponentially grow sales after experiencing constraints in traditional distribution channels.

He has since become an expert in the channel, and is sharing what every brand needs to know before going live on a B2B e-commerce platform.

Sarah and Brady discuss:

Exactly how B2B E-Commerce sites work, and the benefits of the channel
Your must-haves before going live on a B2B E-Commerce platform
How to approach promotions and communications through this channel
Some best practices and unique strategies for maximizing your margins

You will walk away from this episode with everything you need to know to get started with B2B E-Commerce.

Connect with Brady:

LinkedIn: Brady DeLong

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

When faced with the decision of how to grow your business, it can be hard to believe in YOUR unique vision and dream for your business if everyone around you and every success story you hear is all the same.

It’s time to disrupt Food Business media, and change the success stories being told, because the truth is, what we're hearing, reading and being taught doesn't represent the stories of the majority of successful businesses.

In this episode, Sarah is talking about Bo Burlingham’s Small Giants, a book that shares success stories of founders who carved their own path. It is a must-read for anyone who is ready, or wants to build a business on their own terms.

From the book, Sarah shares:

Why studying the success of publicly traded companies is a mistake
Two pervasive myths we are fed about successful businesses
What it really means to be a small business
How you can measure success outside of growth and sales

Sarah, other founders, industry experts and disruptors are coming together here and in the new The Good Food CFO community to support you. And we’ll continue to share books, articles and other podcasts that are also changing the narrative.

If you’ve read a good book, listened to a great podcast or otherwise read or heard a story of someone building a business on their own terms please share it with us via email to jointheconvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Stay Connected:

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in The Good Food CFO Community

View Details

Where do we go from here? That was the question Sarah found herself asking back in September as she was calling for change in the food industry.

As we prepare to take a big step forward in The Good Food Revolution, we want to take you back to where it all started, so we are going to rewind through what we consider essential listening for this movement.

We ended Season 4 of the Podcast calling for change in the Food Industry, and you answered that call. From posting on social media, flooding our inbox, and even joining our first ever Good Food CFO Fireside Chat; you let your voice be heard. The Good Food Revolution has arrived.

At the beginning of Season 5, we were asking: What now? How do we continue to disrupt? How do we create REAL CHANGE? And how do we move this revolution forward together? These are the questions Sarah ponders in this episode. She didn’t have all the answers yet, but she did have a pretty good idea about where to start, and that was with YOU.

The Good Food CFO is creating spaces to continue to support you and this movement. To stay up to date on all we are doing, sign up for our newsletter. You can also join in by participating in our Good Food Revolution Survey.

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

The Food Industry is broken. Good Food Founders have the power to change that.

Today on the Podcast Sarah speaks straight from the heart; discussing the truth about the current state of the Food Industry, and how it is rigged against small, mission driven food businesses. But she doesn’t stop there; she provides insight into how to create meaningful and equitable systemic change. This is the Good Food Revolution.

If you have felt the effects of this broken system on your business, and wondered what options you have to take a stand against inequity, this is the episode for you! Tune in, stand up, and speak out.

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Instagram: @The.Good.Food.CFO

Join our Newsletter to stay up to date on The Good Food Revolution

View Details

Earlier this year as The Good Food Revolution began to take shape, Sarah shared her thoughts around how to build momentum in this movement. One of the most important steps was keeping the conversation alive. That led to the creation of JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com, a place for you to send questions and comments about specific episodes, and even to share what topics you would like to hear in future episodes.

In this episode, Sarah is going through the inbox and answering listener questions related to goal setting for the year ahead, forecasting for a business that isn’t IN business yet, and budgeting for trade spend with sustainable profitable growth in mind.

Got a question or idea for the show?

We’ll be doing more episodes just like this in the future, so send us your questions! Email JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Stay Connected!

Instagram: @TheGoodFoodCFO

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

Having a Financial Forecast is like having a road map for your business. The more robust that forecast is, the more confident you can be that you are headed in the right direction. But many Food Founders don’t complete the process due the uncertainty around sales projections and promotional planning.

In this episode, Sarah welcomes back Felice Thorpe as they discuss forecasting, and introduce the brand new Annual Planning Workshop they have created to help founders simplify the financial forecasting process.

You’ll hear:

What you’ll need to get started with your Financial Forecast
Why you should include your team in the process
How to get over the fear of getting your Sales projections wrong
Where to include promotions in your plan
And so much more!

Financial Forecasting is a valuable process for your Good Food Business. The resulting 12-month Financial Forecast is a tool you can revisit throughout the year to ensure that you are on track to reach your goals.

If you are interested in the Annual Planning Workshop, visit our website. You’ll find more information on this workshop, as well as our new Good Food CFO Courses as they become available.

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Instagram: @The.Good.Food.CFO

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

Influencer marketing can change the trajectory of your business overnight. It can also lead nowhere, leaving you wondering why you invested any time, effort or money in the first place.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by TikTok influencer Becca Murray and Piquant Marketing Agency Founder, Lindsay O’Donnell for a round table on all things Influencer Marketing.

Every angle is covered in this conversation, as you hear perspectives and gain insights from both sides of an influencer marketing deal/relationship. And you might be surprised about what you learn!

The panel discusses:

The importance of building an organic relationship with an Influencer
The surprising negotiation details you’ve probably never thought about
How much work is actually involved for both the Influencer and the Brand
A completely different way to look at ROI
And so much more!

Connect with Becca

Website: Becca Murray Photo

Instagram: @thebeccamurray

TikTok: @thebeccamurray

Connect with Lindsay

Website: Piquant Marketing

Instagram: @piquantmarketing

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@thegoodfoodcfo.com

Instagram: @The.Good.Food.CFO

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

The Good Food CFO is evolving.

In this special bonus episode Sarah is sharing what is next for The Good Food CFO, and how we can take this movement to the next level.

Sarah is sharing:

The Good Food CFO’s new mission statement, and the why behind it
Our new website and social media handles
How you can take action and join this movement

Episode Links:

Website: TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Newsletter: Sign Up

Instagram: @thegoodfoodcfo

Got a question or idea for the show?

Email us at JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

Are you struggling to understand your cash flow? Have you ever thought “How can I scale my production without taking on more debt?”

In this episode, Sarah is answering that question and rethinking how we talk about, and understand cash flow in food businesses. She will break down everything you need to know in order to grow your business sustainably, while still working toward your goal of profitability.

Sarah is sharing:

Key terms for understanding your cash flow
Exactly how your gross profit margin relates to your cash flow
How to understand the impact of your profit margins across sales channels
How to rethink your sales channel strategy to meet your cash flow goals
4 Steps for gaining knowledge and confidence around your cash flow today

You’ll leave this episode with a better understanding of the relationship between your margins and cash flow so you can make informed decisions about funding the growth of your business.

Got a question or an idea for the show?

Email us at: JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

There has been a lot of talk recently about the ”need” to implement accrual accounting instead of cash accounting if you are, or plan to be, seeking investment for your Good Food Business.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Danielle Hayden, Founder and CEO of Kickstart Accounting - an accounting firm designed to help female entrepreneurs understand their financials in order to grow their businesses and become more profitable.

Sarah and Danielle are breaking down cash and accrual accounting, and why the method you choose matters to your business. You’ll hear:

The differences between cash and accrual accounting
How the accounting method you choose ties to your taxes
What systems and people you must have in place if you want to implement Accrual accounting successfully
How to think about choosing an accounting method for your business, whether you’re seeking investment or not
And a lot more!

Choosing the right accounting method for your business will look different for everyone. Every business is unique, and your accounting method should be serving your specific needs and goals. Getting clear on the differences is the best place to start.

Connect with Danielle:

Website: Kickstartaccountinginc.com

Podcast: Entrepreneur Money Stories

Got a question or an idea for the show?

Email us at: JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

As a native to New Jersey, Emily Winston always looked forward to the days when her father would bring home H&H bagels after a long day of business in New York. After moving to the west coast and learning that H&H went out of business in 2011, Emily was devastated and became determined to recreate the bagel that she remembered cherishing as a kid. After 5 years of trial and error, Boichik Bagels was born.

Today, Emily joins Sarah on the podcast to share how she is building a bagel empire on her own terms. From testing her recipe on friends and family and launching at the Eat Real Festival in 2017, to opening her first retail space and now growing that to a multi-location operation, Emily walks us through it all.

You will hear how Emily:

Developed the perfect bagel recipe
Tested to find out if there was a market for her premium product
Ran the numbers and sold HERSELF on her business plan
Approached funding in a creative way when she didn’t like what the Banks were offering

Emily has been doing things her own way since day one, and her story is proof that with a lot of passion and a little bit of chutzpah, you can too.

To connect with Emily:

Website: https://boichikbagels.com

Instagram: @boichikbagels

LinkedIn: Emily Winston

Got a question or an idea for the show?

Email us at: JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

If you have been following along with The Good Food Revolution, you know that I recently asked this community of Good Food Founders where they feel knowledgeable and confident in building a business on their own terms, and what they want to learn more about. There was a resounding response that you want to know more about alternative and unconventional sales channels. You want to know what’s beyond the retail store, and you were most interested in learning about Food Service.

In this episode, I’m joined by Kim Bryden, the Founder and CEO of Cureate - an education, consulting and procurement firm devoted to building an empowered supply chain to meet changing consumer demand.

Kim is sharing:

What the Food Service channel really looks like (it’s not just supplying restaurants)
Channel opportunities that you may not have thought of
How the traditional Food Service supply chain works
What Cureate is doing to disrupt the channel and open doors for small good food brands

Connect with Kim:

Website: https://www.cureate.co

Instagram: @cureateco

Got a question or an idea for the show?

Email us at: JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

If building a business on your own terms includes selling your products via your brand’s own website, and you want to drive traffic to your site, this is the episode for you!

Today, Sarah is joined by Andy Janaitis, the founder and chief strategist of PPC Pitbulls, to discuss the digital marketing space, and how to determine if Google Ads is the right fit for your business.

Andy has over 10 years of agency experience in the digital space, across several industries and now focuses on creating custom digital marketing strategies and driving measurable results for his craft food, beverage and clothing brand clients - for whom they now manages over $1M in annual ad spend

For anyone that is new to the digital marketing space, Andy is helping us understand:

Everything Google Ads and optimization tools can do
The three things you should have in place before you are ready to use Google Ads
The important role your margins and shipping costs play in determining if Google Ads are the right fit for your business
The return on investment that you can expect
And so much more

Andy and PPC Pitbulls are also offering our listeners a free download of their Digital Marketing Maturity Model. And don’t forget about our DIY Profit Assessment Course. This is THE tool that we offer to help you understand your margins and how to move forward in your business profitably.

Connect with Andy Janaitis:

Website: PPC Pitbulls
LinkedIn: PPC Pitbulls

LinkedIn: Andy Janaitis

Youtube: PPC Pitbulls

Got a question or an idea for the show?

Email us at: JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Today on the podcast, Sarah is joined by Brady DeLong. He is an 8-year veteran of the Natural CPG space, building Hen of the Woods as their COO and National Sales Director. Brady is sharing some key lessons he and his team have learned over the last 8 years.

His story includes:

The company’s early growth strategy, and how it evolved
How they recovered from inequitable deals
What they learned from navigating distribution and sales channels
How they currently analyze every opportunity and determine if it’s a yes or a no-go.

Brady has never been one to do things just because “that’s the way it’s always been done”, and his story is proof that you don’t have to either. You can Build a Business on Your Own Terms.

Connect with Brady DeLong:

Website: www.henofthewoodsotr.com

Instagram: @Henofthewoodssnacks
Facebook: @Henofthewoodssnacks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brady-delong/

Special Offer for Our Listeners:

Use Code GoodFood15 to build your own snack box from Hen of The Woods

Email the show: JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Where do we go from here?

As we begin a new season, the biggest questions are: What now? How do we continue to disrupt? How do we create REAL CHANGE? And how do we move this revolution forward together? These are the questions Sarah ponders on today’s episode. She doesn’t have all the answers yet, but she does have a pretty good idea about where to start, and that is with YOU.

The Good Food CFO is creating spaces to continue this two-way conversation. You can join in by participating in our Good Food Revolution Survey, or by reaching out to us directly at JoinTheConvo@TheGoodFoodCFO.com and telling us what you would like to hear on upcoming episodes.

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or here to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

The Food Industry is broken. Good Food Founders have the power to change that.

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Owning and operating a good food business comes with an endless number of decisions that need to be made each day. Among them, big financial decisions cause the most stress, and the most regret if things don’t pan out how you hoped.

Whether you’re in the midst of making a big financial decision, or want to prepare for the next one that will inevitably come your way, we’ve got you covered!

Today on the podcast, Sarah is sharing her three step financial decision making process:

Remember Your Business Objectives
Determine if the investment will move you closer to your business objectives
Consider the 2nd Order Consequences of Your Decision

If your goal is to create a sustainable business that minimizes risk and grows profitably, and you're considering a big purchase, a long term investment or expense, taking on debt or maybe opening a line of credit, this three step process is designed for you!

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

*Mentions

Good Food CFO Blog

Building a Successful Business on Your Own Terms with Katie Mleziva: Ep. 23

View Details

In this episode Sarah is joined by Asha Mody, a certified brand strategist, award-winning designer and the founder and Chief Brand Officer of Mindsy.

Asha sheds light on how your brand strategy not only serves to reach customers and boost revenue, but also creates clarity, alignment and a clear direction for your business internally- from the CEO, to the CFO, and to customer facing teams - increasing your ROI and profitability.

Asha also shares four reasons for building a strong brand and how creating a mindful roadmap will help you achieve:

Customer Growth
Customer Loyalty
Increased revenue
Increasing profit margins

Asha explains Brand Strategy and its internal and external benefits in such an approachable way, and presents so many financial benefits!

If you think you’ve heard all there is to hear about the importance of brand strategy I encourage you to listen in!

About Asha

Asha Mody, a certified brand strategist & award-winning designer who specializes in building brands, and whose visual identity connects mindfully & seamlessly to the story that needs to be told. Asha has worked for over 15 years in the design industry, both in the U.S. and India. She draws on her authentic roots and international experience in her approach to clean, mindful design. Asha has designed for an INC 500 company, and her work has been featured in World Packaging Design and Awarded in GDUSA. Her work consistently elevates her client's brands and products to the top of their markets, resulting in a loyal and engaged audience that drives profits.

Connect with Asha:

https://www.mindsy.design/

https://www.instagram.com/mindsydesign/

Special Offer for Our Listeners:

Free brand consultancy (Ask me anything) for 30 min only for podcast listener:
Visit Mindsy Design website sign up and mention the words “Good food CFO” Or DM Asha on IG or LinkedIn

Connect with Sarah:
Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting
Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Visit sarahdelevan.com to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

We have had brand experts, social media + ad experts, and a Shopify expert on our show to discuss attracting your audience, getting them to your website, and even what target conversion rates and Average Cart Value look like for good food brands, but the missing link has been HOW we convert our website visitors to customers, until now…

Today on the podcast Sarah is joined by Anna Bradshaw, a copywriter and content strategist specializing in website copy and email marketing for CPG brands.

Anna’s approach combines data-driven research with a proven copywriting process to create rich, flavorful brand messages that generate more sales online.

Today Anna is sharing how to do just that.

Know Your Audience
Descriptions & Removes Objections
Do you have to have professionally designed page to achieve this
Knowing when to invest in your copy

Connect with Anna:

Website: www.annakbradshaw.com

Email: anna@annakbradshaw.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/anna-bradshaw

Instagram: @anna_k_bradshaw

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Trade shows are an important part of building a good food business, but just being there isn’t going to create a return on your investment. Making the most out of your tradeshow experience takes more than just being there.

Today on the podcast, Sarah is joined by Lindsay O’Donnell - she is the owner and founder of Piquant Marketing. A digital marketing agency of visionaries, creatives, and marketers who grow food brands ready to change the world. Whether it be social media, content creation, online ads, branding, and design, or influencer marketing, Piquant believes in building communities and evangelists around natural health CPG.

Lindsay recently partnered with Planted Expo, Canada’s largest plant-based event with hundreds of local and international food brands.

Today Lindsay is sharing:

4 Key Ways to Gain Value from Trade Shows - not related to sales!
Best practices for preparing your team for a tradeshow
How to make the most of your financial investment.

Connect with Lindsay:

Website
Instagram
LinkedIn

Making The Most Of Trade Shows Training: https://www.plantedlife.com/making-the-most-of-trade-shows-webinar Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

We’re celebrating small business month all month long, and this week we’re back with another bonus episode! Each mini-episode will feature the owner of a small business in the world of Good Food sharing their experiences and “aha” moments.

Today on the show I’m joined by Shannon Hiller-Webb, the Principal of Prosparus, a marketing and operational strategy consulting agency guiding businesses to their next level of prosperity.

In this episode she’ll be discussing how collecting data can help you customize and personalize your content and marketing strategy to your audience. How reflecting on your values strengthens your brand and how your audience is more than your customers. She also asks the question: What data are you collecting and why?

This may be an “aha” moment that inspires you, and may help you build your business on your own terms. If you’re a small business owner, you don’t want to miss this episode!

Connect with Shannon:

Website: www.prosparus.com

Instagram: @prosparus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/capergirl/

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

The moment that sparks an idea for a business can start anywhere. The stories and the people behind small businesses are what makes them unique and authentic. But, building a business from an idea into a success, takes planning, structure, facing challenges, dedication and a clear vision.

Today on the podcast Sarah is joined by Skyler Mapes, the co-founder of EXAU Olive Oil, an Internationally recognized award-winning olive oil company based in Calabria Italy.

Skyler is an amazing female founder who is shaping her business and career on her own terms.

In this episode Skyler shares:

The origin story of Exau Olive Oil
How the company vision guides her decision making
Challenges and lessons learned from starting her business
How Exau pivoted during Covid, and they continue to consider growth options
The importance of understanding her finances, and more

Connect with Skyler:

Website
Instagram: @EXAUoliveoil
Facebook: @EXAUoliveoil
LinkedIn

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

May is Small Business month, and we’re celebrating by bringing you bonus episodes all month long! Each mini-episode will feature the owner of a small business in the world of Good Food sharing their experiences and “aha” moments.

Today, Ashley Sutterfield, CEO and owner of Sage is joining Sarah to discuss how she thinks about her business’ calendar year, and how a similar shift in thinking could look for other small business owners.

It was an “aha” moment that inspired Sarah, and may help you build your business on your own terms. If you’re a small business owner, you don’t want to miss this episode!

Connect with Ashley:

Website

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community to connect with other small business owners like yourself!

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

May is Small Business Month and to celebrate we invited Sarah Marshall, Founder and Creator of Marshall’s Haute Sauce, author of Preservation Pantry : Modern Canning From Root to Top & Stem to Core, and Co-host of the Meaningful Marketplace Podcast to the show to share how she built her business.

Sarah founded her good food business in 2011, sourcing ingredients from local farmers, producing her sauces by hand, and building relationships through farmer’s market and community events.

From a very early stage Sarah considered how the numbers shaped what role she wanted to play within her business, and the role she wanted the business to play in her life.

Sarah is sharing:

Steps she took to educate herself on being a business owner
How her past professional experiences complimented her food business journey
When to say “no” and stay true to your vision
How knowing her numbers helped to build the business of her dreams

Being a small business owner has its challenges, but the rewards are priceless when you take the steps to build the business you want.

Connect with Sarah Marshall:

Website: http://www.marshallshautesauce.com

Instagram and twitter: @spicymarshall

Facebook: @marshallshautesauce

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

*Mentioned links: Farmers Market Pros includes access to their podcast and conference details

View Details

Today on the Good Food CFO Podcast Sarah is joined by Felice Thorpe and Shannon Hiller-Webb. The three have recently joined forces and founded the Good Food Consortium and they can’t wait to tell you about it, and share their vision for how the Consortium supports Good Food Business owners like you!

About Felice

Felice is the founder of Felice Foods, through which she provides sales director consulting services. Felice has strong roots in American agriculture and began her food career over 20 years ago as Director of Business Development for an organic grains company. She then moved on to become National Sales Director for O Olive Oil, where she gained placement into Target and Walmart. And served as Sales Director for many of our favorites… Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, Laura Chenel, Marin French and St Benoit Creamery; where she achieved exporting cheese to Asia, and expanding national distribution.

About Shannon

Shannon is the Principal of Prosparus, a marketing and operational strategy consulting agency guiding businesses to their next level of prosperity. She brings creative innovation and resources together to evaluate whole company health to define the business value proposition, mission and goals and collaborates to offer solutions that foster change. Her consulting focuses on branding, competitive & profitability assessments with SWOT analysis to inform a go-to-market strategy that includes advertising, marketing, sales funnel, pricing, channel strategy, promotional planning, resource allocation and operational analysis with performance metrics.

Today Sarah, Felice & Shannon are sharing:

How they met and where the idea for the Consortium was born
The Goal of the Consortium
How they’ll be collaborating with industry experts to achieve that goal
Upcoming Events

If you’ve been looking for meaningful education and access to resources in the Good Food Business industry, this episode is for you!

Visit us at: https://goodfoodconsortium.org/ for more information and to register for the LIVE event in Portland, OR or to purchase the RECORDING.

Oregon Entrepreneurs Network

Oregon State Food Innovation Center

Connect with

Felice:

Website: www.felicefoods.com

Instagram: @thorpefelice

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felice-thorpe-75482943/

Shannon:

Website: www.prosparus.com

Instagram: @prosparus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/capergirl/

Sarah:

Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

There is no one-size-fits all production solution for Good Food Businesses.

But there are considerations that will help you make the right decision for yours.

Ashley Sutterfield is back on the podcast! She is the founder and director of Sage Expert, formerly Metzger & Roth, which she founded after seeing food entrepreneurs constantly struggling to understand when and what to do to grow their businesses, Ashley and her team offer empathy-based food production coaching that helps food brands understand their production options so they can get the answers they need to feel empowered to act.

Ashley helps food business owners scale production profitably so they can finally have more time to spend with family and focus on other areas of their business.

In this episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast Ashley is sharing:

The 4 production options every business should consider
How to determine which option is best for you and your business
Why choosing your production type isn’t solely a financial decision
Some questions to think about before choosing a co-packer

If you’re struggling to understand what to do about production to grow your businesses profitably, or are ready to start considering your options, this episode is for you!

Connect with Ashley: Website

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

*The Good Food CFO Podcast Episode 15: CoPacker Costs with Ashley Sutterfield

View Details

Today on the podcast we’re talking about Financial Workflows. Exciting, right?!

It really is, and you’re about to find out why!

Creating smart financial workflows is your ticket to a smooth bookkeeping process, clear monthly financial reporting, and sales data that you can cut and slice any way you’d like - helping you forecast sales and make informed strategic and financial decisions.

In this Episode Sarah is sharing:

4 Goals a Financial Workflow can achieve for your Good Food Business
How to start building your Financial Workflow
What data in your workflow to use to make informed financial & strategic decisions
How to choose tools that best support your food business & your workflow

If you’re a business owner who dreads month end and the back and forth with your bookkeeper, who wishes they had better sales data (or any sales data) to review in order to forecast production and sales for the future, this episode is for you!

If you could use some support in creating Financial Workflows that work FOR you, join us in the Profitable Food Business Community where we’ll be discussing this topic in our April Live Q+A, and all month long.

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Today on the podcast, we’re going to geek out on a couple of financial terms and the numbers behind them. We’re talking about “Real Revenue” - What is it? And Why is it SO Important?

Today Sarah is sharing:

What “Real Revenue” IS
What “Real Revenue” ISN’T
3 Primary Goals “Real Revenue” Should Achieve
How a Profit Assessment Can Show You if Your Real Revenue is Working for You

Without a healthy “Real Revenue” number it’s difficult if not impossible to achieve financial sustainability and profitability within your business. Do you know your Real Revenue number?

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Having a Profitable PRODUCT does not guarantee that you can build a Profitable BUSINESS, but it is an important first step.

Today on the podcast Sarah is joined by Adam Pollack, Vice President of Marketing at Rodeo CPG. Together they are discussing the foundational elements of ensuring that your product is viable (aka you can sell it for more than it costs to make) and then how you go about ensuring that you can build a profitable business around that product.

Whether you’re a food business veteran, or thinking about launching your first food business, this episode offers up insightful info about:

What COGS are, and how to calculate yours
What “good” COGS look like for a mission-driven food business
The BIG misconception business owners have around COGS and Volume
How Profit Margins change as you grow into new sales channels
Why Bottomline Growth outweighs Topline Growth
How you can create a realistic and helpful financial model for your business

And SO much more!

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

Then join us in the FREE Profitable Food Business Community to continue the conversation

Want to Connect?

Connect with Adam Pollack:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Rodeo CPG Links:

Jumpstart Course

Build a Sales Plan

View Details

Today on the podcast we’re talking about Budgeting and Forecasting - What is the difference?
And do you REALLY need both for your food business?

Spoiler Alert! The answer is Yes.

In this Episode of Sarah is sharing:

What Financial Forecasting Helps You See & the Questions it Answers
How Financial Projections and Budgeting Work Hand-in-Hand
How Budgeting Creates Financial Ease and Confidence
Real-Life Client Wins, thanks to Budgeting

If you have questions about creating financial plans, or a budget for your business
Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

For a 34 day free trial of my favorite budgeting app, YNAB, click here.

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consultingVisit sarahdelevan.com to learn about our Profit Assessment + CFO Consulting Services

View Details

Here on the Good Food CFO Podcast we want you to have your most profitable year yet, so today on the podcast we’re sharing 4-Steps to make that happen.

We’re covering a lot of information in today’s episode, from setting clear goals, understanding your finances and everything in between as well as tools and processes to support you throughout your profitable food business journey.

Grab your favorite note-taking device, we’re getting right to it!

Get your YNAB 34 day free trial here: YNAB Free Trial

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

As a business owner you may have heard of these three important words “mission, vision and values”. Do you have them defined for your brand? Have you thought about what they can do for your business? Having these three areas defined in your business can do so much if you use them the right way and share them with your consumers. Defining who you are as a brand takes time and thoughtfulness, don’t leave it up on a shelf. Consumers want to know!

Today on the podcast Sarah is joined by Felice Thorpe, founder of Felice Foods, through which she provides sales director consulting services.

Felice has strong roots in American agriculture and began her food career over 20 years ago as Director of Business Development for an organic grains company. She moved on to become National Sales Director for O Olive Oil, where she gained placement into Target and Walmart. She served as Sales Director for many of our favorites… Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, Laura Chenel, Marin French and St Benoit Creamery; where she achieved exporting cheese to Asia, and expanding national distribution.

Felice is joining us to talk about how having a clear Mission, Vision and Value statement can:

-Positively affect your business financially both internally and externally

-Better align you with potential buyers and customers

-Help you make business decisions to grow as a company

-Bring you loyal customers

Connect with Felice:

Website: www.felicefoods.com

Instagram: @thorpefelice
LinkedIn: Felice Thorpe

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

View Details

Should I sell my product on my website or should I sell my product on Shopify? If you’re a CPG brand it’s pretty likely you’ve asked yourself that question. If you still aren’t sure, today’s episode may provide the answers you need to help you make a decision.

In this episode Sarah is joined by Chase Clymer, Co-founder of Electric Eye, an agency that increases sales for ecommerce brands.

Chase is also the host of Honest Ecommerce, a weekly podcast, community & educational resource providing online store owners with honest, actionable advice to increase their sales and grow their business.

Chase is sharing

The functional benefits of building your online store on the Shopify platform
The financial benefits of a Shopify store
His favorite Shopify apps
The 3 KPIs that make up his “brand scaling framework”
Tips for maximizing your Return on Investment in your online store

Connect with Chase:

Website: Electric Eye + Honest E-Commerce
LinkedIn
YouTube
Twitter

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

*Sarah’s mentions: Building a Successful Business on Your Own Terms with Katie Mleziva Ep 23

View Details

Today on the podcast Sarah is joined by Ellen Rawley, founder of Ellen Rawley Creative & Strategy where she helps farms and food businesses launch & grow profitable product lines. Her go-to-market services include organic and food safety compliance, grant writing, and product strategy.

Since founding her business in 2016 Ellen has secured $800,000 in grant funding for budding farm businesses, and helped launch countless products - many of which have been featured in the debut of Martha Stewart’s American Made Shop, Food & Wine Magazine, and Oprah’s list of favorite things.

Her work has been recognized through speaking engagements with the Stonebarns Center for Agriculture, the Food Craft Institute, and the California State Grange.

Today on the podcast Ellen is sharing:

-What it takes to become Certified Organic

The costs are involved in becoming Organic Certified
Benefits of offering a Certified Organic product
Grant opportunities to help promote Organic Certified products

Connect with Ellen:

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

We’re revisiting one of our most popular episodes because it’s just too good to release only once!

We’re taking you back to Episode 04 of our first season, in this special “Round Table” episode of The Good Food CFO podcast Sarah joins Alli Ball and Katie Mleziva, CPG experts in Sales Strategy and Brand Strategy, respectively to talk about the 3 Pillars of a Successful Food + Beverage Brand.

Join three food industry experts as we discuss:

The basics of each pillar: Brand, Finance and Sales strategy
How the 3 Pillars come together and inform one another (and what order to tackle them)
The 3 C’s of Brand Strategy
When businesses should start thinking about their Brand Strategy
The benefits of Financial Modeling
Pricing for product profitability vs. business profitability
How to rollout a price change with a distributor or retail partner
Katie’s “Do, Build or Buy” Strategy

MEET KATIE

Katie Mleziva is a Food Brand Strategist and host of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast. She has 20 years of experience in Brand & Marketing Strategy across a range of brands from Fortune 500 companies to local startups and farms. Katie is driven to help emerging food businesses go from making a great product to building a strong brand that stands out in order to help get good food into the hands of more people.

MEET ALLI

Alli Ball is a former Grocery Buyer turned Wholesale Consultant, and the creator of Retail Ready®, an online course for producers of packaged product in the food industry. Alli has helped hundreds of emerging brands understand what it takes to get their products on the retail shelf- and keep them there- by sharing the behind-the-scenes secrets and thought process of Wholesale Buyers as they assess new products for their stores or online marketplace.

LINKS + RESOURCES

Visit Alli’s website

Follow Alli on Instagram

Learn More about Retail Ready

Visit Katie’s website

Follow Katie on Instagram

Learn more about Katie’s Program, Brand Strategy Streamlined

Visit Sarah’s website

Follow Sarah on Instagram

Learn more about the Financial Success Formula Program

View Details

Filing for bankruptcy is not an experience most business owners talk about, and that’s unfortunate. Shared experiences is just one way business owners can learn, grow and make informed decisions. Nothing is predictable and everyone’s situation is different, but there’s always something valuable to learn from other business owner’s journeys.

Today on the podcast Sarah is joined by Luisa Alberto, CEO of People First Finance, a virtual CFO agency that provides bookkeeping, tax planning and financial strategy services to women business owners.

Luisa has eighteen years of finance and operations experience working alongside visionary leaders of successful Bay area startups and earned her first entrepreneurial stripes as owner and operator of a boutique Made to Order Juice bar in San Francisco. Her mission these days is to ease the financial burden and overwhelm that holds too many talented self employed women back from reaching their full potential and making a successful living as the brilliant creators they were born to be.

Luisa is sharing her bankruptcy story, insights and advice including:

Why HOW you take on debit in your business matters (even for an LLC)
How taking on business debt the ‘wrong way’ led her to filing for bankruptcy
Her journey from Bankruptcy to a thriving new business
How she views debt and risk today
Tips for assessing risk and taking on debt in your business

Connect with Luisa:

Website

IG: @peoplefirstfinance

Facebook

LinkedIn

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or here to learn about our new + updated services.

*Sarah’s episode mentions: “The Road Less Stupid” by Keith Cunningham

View Details

Today on the podcast Sarah is sharing some of her top tips for a profitable holiday season - or any season! We’re talking about how to build profitable product bundles, determining the best sales and discount values for your business, and more.

Sarah is sharing actionable tips that can be put in place before the busiest shopping season of the year and will benefit you all year long including:

3 Steps for Creating Profitable Product Bundles
How to price discounted and “on sale” products
Important considerations when discounting your products

This is a busy time of year and it’s right around the corner so listen in and start preparing for a profitable holiday season!

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

If you’ve been unsure how much of your budget to allocate to marketing, how to track your efforts, and how to make informed decisions regarding your efforts and your spending - you don’t want to miss this episode!

Today on the podcast Sarah is joined by Alison Smith and Karin Samelson, co-founders of UMAI Marketing - a boutique, Austin-based marketing agency that scales CPG brands.

They are well known in the industry for their “Core 3 Method” which focuses on Organic Social, Paid Social and Email Marketing, and in this episode they are sharing:

The importance of each marketing element
How to determine the right budget for each for your business
Industry benchmarks
Exactly how to track your outcomes and calculate your Return on Investment.

This episode is full of actionable advice, so grab your favorite note-taking device and hit play!
Then be sure to let us know where you’re listening by tagging us on social.

RESOURCES and LINKS

Follow UMAI Marketing on:

UMAI Marketing Website,

Instagram,

Facebook,

UMAI Resources: Breakeven ROAS Calculator

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

As we approach the holiday season and expect to see increases in online shopping, now is a great time to check in on your shipping offer and ensure that you’re maximizing profitability while benefiting your customers.

An enticing shipping offer can be helpful in securing online sales, but you need to make sure that your offer isn’t negatively impacting your margins and that it's helping, not hurting, your efforts to build a profitable food business.

In this episode Sarah is discussing the ongoing impacts Covid-19 has had on online shopping, customer expectations and shipping costs, and sharing:

Four key considerations for determining the right shipping offer
How to Price for “Free Shipping”
A few free resources to help you do this work

RESOURCES & LINKS:

Receive free resources to get you on your way to creating a shipping offer that benefits both you and your consumers by clicking here!

Get your holiday shipping offers ready and reserve your seat in our “Free Shipping Workshop” happening October 26th and 28th 2021! Sign up now, space is limited!

Follow along on Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the thegoodfoodcfo.com to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

In this episode of the Good Food CFO podcast, Sarah is talking with Catt Fields White - Founder of the Little Italy Mercato - San Diego County’s largest weekly year-round farmers market, and Founder & CEO of Farmers Market Pros.

Catt and her team at Farmers Market Pros provide small farmers and food makers with education in the basics of starting a food business, and making it financially sustainable through their Vendor 101 Course, Annual InTents Conference, and Tent Talk Podcast.

In this episode Catt is sharing:

The 4 Ps of a Successful Farmers Market Business
Benefits of being a FM based brand, and why it's not just for early-stage businesses
Lessons learned from her 13+ years as a market manager
Why it’s important for you to MAKE MONEY in your food business

No matter if you are just getting started or have been in business for years, are planning to or currently selling at Farmers Markets, or are building your business in another way, Catt’s insights on business and finance are valuable.

Catt Fields White is the director of San Diego Markets, the Founder and CEO of Farmers Market Pros and a host of Tent Talk, the farmers market podcast. She writes and speaks at conferences and events worldwide, teaching market organizers and participants to make their operations stronger and educating consumers about the importance of supporting small farmers and food businesses. She consults with community organizations, market managers and emerging and evolving entrepreneurs.

Resources + Links

Tickets to for the 6th annual InTents: the Farmers Market Conference are now on sale! The event is happening in San Diego March 7th-9th, 2022. You can purchase your tickets here.

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Today on the podcast we’re going back to basics and Sarah is sharing her #1 piece of advice for food business owners - Slow Down.

We’re challenging the belief that profitability comes only by doing more and selling more. The truth is that consistent cash flow and profitability come when you've got a profitable framework in place and you're setting and achieving the right goals for your business.

Sarah is also sharing 3 Real-Life examples of business owner’s slowing down and the financial impacts it had on their business.

We’d LOVE to hear from you and how you’re slowing down in your business to make informed decisions and help ensure your financially sustainable growth.

Snap a screenshot of you listening to this episode and share one way that you’re slowing down on Instagram. You can use #thegoodfoodcfo and tag @sarah.delevan.consulting.

If you’re interested in having a partner or a group of fellow food business owners to slow down with. Check out our 1-on-1 Consulting and Group Coaching Options by visiting thegoodfoodcfo.com

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Do you ever feel like building your business the way you “should”, isn’t right for you?

You’re not alone.

There are many paths to building a successful food business and how you’ll do it is truly up to you! You don’t have to make decisions based on ‘how it’s always been done.’

In this episode we’re talking with Katie Mleziva, Food Brand Strategist and host of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast to discuss how you can build a successful business on your own terms.

Katie and Sarah are discussing:

The benefits of creating a business that aligns with your personal + financial goals
Key considerations to help you get clear on your Business Vision
How a Clear Vision, Purpose + Values impact key decisions
How to bring it all together as part of a successful financial and brand strategy

Whether you’re just getting started, or a seasoned business owner it’s never too late to dig into this work.

Katie Mleziva: Food Brand Strategist and host of the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast. With 20 years of experience in Brand & Marketing Strategy across a range of brands from Fortune 500 companies to local startups. Katie is driven to help emerging natural food businesses and farms position themselves to stand out so they can go from making a good product to building a strong brand that stands out.

Links and Resources:

Find Katie Mleziva:

Website
Instagram
Facebook
LinkedIn
Facebook Group

Ready to start moving toward a cash-based business? Take the first step with a Profit Assessment

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the thegoodfoodcfo.com to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

Today on Podcast we’re talking about Credit Cards, Letting Go of Negative Thoughts around Personal Business Debt, Avoiding the Debt Cycle in your Food Business so you can eventually be debt-free, and the steps you can take toward becoming a self-funded, cash-based business.

If you have any guilt or shame around having business debt, I want you to let it go because...

You're not "bad with money" because you have debt.
Having debt and being profitable are not mutually exclusive.
You can be profitable AND have debt!

And, if you're ready to stop relying on your credit cards and become a cash business, in this episode Sarah discusses:

You as an Equity Investor in your business
Steps for paying down debt WITHOUT becoming cash-strapped
How examining your financial efficiency helps increase profitability
Using profit reserves to pay down your debts more quickly

Ready to start moving toward a cash-based business? Take the first step with a Profit Assessment

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the thegoodfoodcfo.com to learn about our new + updated services.

View Details

In the last episode of the Good Food CFO Podcast, Sarah shared how she learned about Profit First, her experience in the Profit First Certification process and she answered the question: Will Profit First Work For Your Good Food Business?

In this week’s episode Sarah shares:

The 4 steps you need to take to start implementing Profit First in your business
How Profit First differs for Good Food Businesses
Answers to some frequently asked questions,
One common mistake that many business owners make when implementing this strategy - so you can avoid it and be successful!

(Before implementing those steps Sarah will revisit her general philosophy and strategy for building financially sustainable and profitable food businesses:

- Becoming Sustainable won’t happen overnight

- It’s difficult to maintain with fast, sweeping changes

- You’ve got to know where you are right now, and where you want to be, in order to create a clear path to profitability

- It takes WORK and an understanding that MORE SALES is not the answer.

-You’ve got to build a financially sustainable business from the inside and once that’s done growing sales WILL produce more profits -- but if you haven’t yet done that work, MORE SALES can equal BIGGER Losses.)

This episode is FULL of information you don’t want to miss out on!

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the thegoodfoodcfo.com to learn about our new + updated services.

LIVE Q+A Session

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community and RSVP for our Monthly Live Q&A focused on PROFIT FIRST 11:30am PT on Tuesday, August 3rd by visiting profitablefoodbusinesscommunity.mn.co

View Details

You started a business to do good, create change, and earn a living doing something you love... No matter what your WHY is, Financial Sustainability and Profitability ensures that it becomes and remains a reality. Profit First is a national best selling book and Cash Flow Management strategy utilized by businesses across countless industries - from dentist offices to construction firms to real estate agencies to cross-fit gyms - and everything in between.

Many of you have been asking… Will Profit First Work For Your Good Food Business?!

Today on the podcast Sarah is sharing:

WHAT exactly Profit First Is
Common misconceptions
Her journey learning about and implementing Profit First principles
Why she decided to become a Profit First Certified Professional
The answer to the burning question...Will Profit First Work for Your Good Food Business?

As a Mission-driven business owner it’s important for you to do things like pay your team a fair wage, and source the best ingredients.

The Profit First System is the perfect extension to Sarah Delevan Consulting’s already proven systems and strategies for building Profitable Good Food Businesses. We’ve implemented Profit First with a few existing clients and group coaching members, and I’m excited to be officially rolling out updated services and tools to everyone TODAY.

Tune in to learn more, and visit sarahdelevan.com or the thegoodfoodcfo.com to learn about our new + updated services.

LIVE Q+A Session

Join us in the Profitable Food Business Community and RSVP for our Monthly Live Q&A focused on PROFIT FIRST at 11:30am PT on Tuesday, August 3rd by visiting profitablefoodbusinesscommunity.mn.co

Links and Resources:

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Group hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Getting your product in front of the right buyers is one of the biggest challenges for CPG brands. While there are multiple platforms to assist brands in getting noticed, they don’t come without nuances and learning how to make the most of them can be complicated and time consuming. Today on the show we’re talking to Georgiana Dearing, RangeME expert and founder of Water Street Marketing for Manufacturers, to learn how to get noticed and make sales with your RangeMe profile. In this Episode Georgiana shares:

-What is RangeMe, and how it can grow your businesss

-The 5 most common mistakes brands make when using RangeME

The 3 Levels of RangeMe and the benefits of each
WHEN it’s the right time to “level up”

-Proven tips for creating a successful RangeMe profile

-Services Water Street Marketing can provide to assist in creating and maintaining a successful RangeMe profile

If you’ve got a RangeMe account that isn’t performing like you hoped, or if you’ve been considering the platform – this episode is for you!

Meet Georgiana Dearing:

Georgiana Dearing, owner of Water Street Marketing for Manufacturers, has been helping national and regional brands sell in and sell through retail and distribution channels since 1998. She's also the founder of VaFoodie, a digital community celebrating Good Food, Good People, and Good Brands in and around Virginia. A mentor to small business leaders and craft food brands, George hosts The Virginia Foodie, an educational podcast for food entrepreneurs.

LINKS:

Website: https://www.vafoodie.com, https://www.h2ostreet.com

Instagram: @vafoodie @thevirginiafoodie
Facebook: Virginia Foodie Marketing Group
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gdearing/

Twitter: @GeoDearing
Clubhouse: @GeoDearing

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Group hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Don’t wait until you’re drowning in tasks to hire help! And rethink that strategy for saving money by hiring contractors…

Kira La Forgia, founder of Paradigm Consulting - the go-to People Operations resource for business owners ready to protect, streamline, and scale their businesses - joins Sarah for a candid conversation about growing your team.

In this episode Kira’s sharing:

When it’s the right time to hire
How to determine what position to hire for first, or next (she’s got a free quiz too!)
Her 4 Paradigm Pillars
Contractors vs. Employees and which is the right relationship for your business
3 Steps you must take before hiring your first employee
The truth about offering employee benefits
How to build a business that aligns with YOU and YOUR MISSION and avoid recreating the corporate culture you left.

MEET KIRA LA FORGIA

Kira La Forgia founder of Paradigm Consulting, the go-to People Operations resource for business owners ready to protect, streamline, and scale their businesses.

With a decade of experience in People Operations in the corporate world, Kira founded Paradigm to bridge the gap between corporate HR policies and the modern needs of entrepreneurs.

Her resources and intensive training programs take a people-first approach to building a company culture and hiring practices that speak to the heart of your brand, then supports that with the necessary HR processes, frameworks, and documentation, so you can build your UNIQUE business without becoming legally or ethically vulnerable.

RESOURCES and LINKS

IRS National Guidelines for Hiring Contractors vs. Employees

Follow Paradigm Consulting on Instagram

TAKE THE QUIZ: Who Is Your Next Hire?

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Profitability Roadmap

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Group hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Selling your product online is a great way to reach potential customers nationwide and almost every food and beverage business that I work with does. But, how do you know if your online sales are profitable?

If you can’t answer that question with confidence, you’re not alone. Nine out of ten business owners are unclear on how to gather financial details from the online platforms they sell through, and how to record them in Quickbooks. And, if you don’t have the data, you may not have the profitability you think you do.

In this episode I’ll be covering:

5 Reasons WHY recording income based on deposits isn’t the best method
How to properly track your online income
The steps you should be taking each month to ensure you’re gathering + recording all the necessary financial information to evaluate your profitability on Amazon and Shopify
My recommendations for utilizing this new financial data to see the profitability of each channel + make informed decisions.

As a business owner you need accurate data to make fully informed decisions… So let’s get to it!

LINKS + RESOURCES

Register for the “How to Record Amazon + Shopify Financials to Improve Profitability” Workshop. Click here to learn more!

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Profitability Roadmap

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Group hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Not seeing profits on Amazon?
Unsure if the Amazon marketplace is right for your brand, or how to make the most of it?

You’re not alone!

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Alexander Johnson, Founder of Mixt Solutions - a turnkey solution for brands of all sizes to optimize their Amazon presence.

Alexander is laying out the Costs + Realities of selling on Amazon!

In this episode we cover:

Determine the RIGHT time to utilize Amazon for your business
All the fees associated with selling your products on Amazon
Benefits of Amazon Fulfillment and how to choose the right shipping model for your business
The Target Profit Margin that you should be shooting for!
Pricing Strategy
How businesses like Mixt Solutions can help you succeed on Amazon.

And much more!

MEET ALEXANDER JOHNSON
Alexander started Mixt Solutions in 2014 with $1,000 in a basement. Seven years later, it has since been named the Fastest Growing Company in Central Ohio and has made Inc Magazine’s list of the Top 5,000 Most Successful Companies, twice.

Mixt works as a turnkey solution for brands of all sizes to optimize their Amazon presence.

In 2021, Mixt will do over 1 million transactions on Amazon.

RESOURCES + LINKS

Learn More about Mixt Solutions

Follow Mixt on Instagram

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Profitability Roadmap

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Group hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Scaling a food + beverage business often requires outsourcing your manufacturing to a Co-packer, and if you’re new to the industry there is a lot to learn!

Ashley Sutterfield, CEO of Metzger & Roth joins Sarah in this episode to help you clear on the process and (you guessed it) costs of partnering with a Co-packer.

In this episode Ashley covers:

When it’s the right time to partner with a Co-packer
Keys to creating a long-term relationship with your co-packer
The Co-packer selection + onboarding process
Costs + Options for Developing your Product Formulation
How Per Unit Costs are Determined by the Co-packer
Production Test Runs + Costs
Process Authority Letter Purpose + Fees
Additional costs and considerations for shelf-life testing, storage, shipping + more.
The importance of Cash Flow for your Initial Product Run

Ashley is a wealth of knowledge, and we’re excited for you to listen in!

MEET ASHLEY SUTTERFIELD

Ashley is the CEO of Metzger & Roth. A boutique consulting firm that helps packaged food entrepreneurs prepare for commercializing their product with a co-packer. In her 15 years as a Food Scientist Ashley has helped companies scale over 100 million pounds of food products. Ashley combines her expertise in manufacturing, strategic planning, and one-on-one coaching to guide companies as you navigate the world of co-packing. She specializes in helping you simplify the process step-by-step.

LINKS + RESOURCES

Learn more about Metzger & Roth

Book a Free Strategy Call with Ashley

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Profitability Roadmap

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Group hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Thinking about raising capital? Wondering which type of investment is right for you + your business? Want to make sure you’re well prepared to meet potential investors?

This week’s guest MichaeI Movitz will help you get clear on all othat, and more!

Michael is the founder of The Movitz Group and founding partner of Brandjectory, an online platform that helps early stage CPG founders and investors discover each other, connect, share information, and build momentum before, during and after a capital raise.

In this episode of the Good Food CFO Michael shares…

:: The many different sources of funding available to founders

:: Key reasons to seek capital investment
(and the one financial situation that investors AREN’T interested in)

:: WHY investors invest + the importance of compatible investor relationships

:: 10 foundational items that founders need to have in place before seeking investment

:: The 4 Primary investor objectives that founders must overcome

:: How Brandjectory can support you through the process of getting “capital ready”, building relationships with potential investors and choosing the right partners.

MEET MICHAEL MOVITZ

Michael is currently Managing Partner of The Movitz Group, an advisory group of industry experts to help early stage conscious brands raise capital and build go to market strategies. Michael is also one of the founding partners of Brandjectory, a one-of-a-kind relationship building platform for early stage CPG founders and investors to discover each other, connect, share information, and build momentum before, during and after a capital raise.

EPISODE RESOURCES + LINKS

Movitz Group Website

Brandjectory Website

Michael’s Instagram: @mikemovitz

FREE Download: 10 Elements of a Solid Business Foundation (that every investor will want to see!)

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Community hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Starting a food business takes money. Bootstrapping, taking out a line of credit, and pitching to investors are not the only routes to funding your business!

Elizabeth Eichhorn says that Crowdfounding is a great alternative to these traditional routes, and in fact she recommends it!

In this Episode of the Good Food CFO Podcast...

Why Crowdfunding is a great first step for funding your business (instead of credit cards, bank loans and outside investors)
Elizabeth’s advice for a successful crowdfunding campaign
The importance of knowing your target market, and making them part of your network BEFORE launching your campaign
Why narrowing your audience and your message is a key ingredient for successful crowdfunding
Different Types of Crowdfunding you can consider:
- No Reward
- Rewards-based
- Equity-based
Other Alternative Funding options and what you should get clear on before you choose your funding option and determine how much money you need to raise.
How IFundWomen can support you as you build your business and explore funding options

MEET ELIZABETH EICHHORN

Elizabeth is a startup coach for IFundWomen and is on a mission to help female entrepreneurs achieve success for their business. She has a background in leadership development, community building, and crowdfunding. Her work has taken her around the country to help engage communities (large and small) to combat loneliness and help spread the importance of human capital.

She is a two time female founder who has successfully raised capital through crowdfunding to get her business off the ground and wishes that IFundWomen were around when she began that business. After taking her companies to completion, she is able to use her expertise in business development to encourage female entrepreneurs to reach their full potential through IFundWomen!

RESOURCES + LINKS

Elizabeth’s LinkedIn

IFundWomen Website

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Community hosted on Mighty Networks

Watch Sarah’s 3-Step Goal Setting Process video

View Details

Marketing can be a significant expense for growing food businesses - from reaching new customers, to encourage repeat business, to costs associated with acquiring new wholesale customers, the list goes on… so you want to be sure you’re investing in the right places and that your investments are making an impact on your bottom line!

In this episode of The Good Food CFO Sarah is joined by Christie Lee, founder of Nourishing Foods Marketing to discuss how to identify the right marketing strategy + tactics for your business, including…

What is a Marketing Strategy, and why is it important to have one?
The role your Business Objectives play in creating your marketing strategy
SMART goals - what they are and how to set them for your business objectives
How to determine which marketing tactics are the right ones for your business + budget
The bell curve of efficiency and effectiveness of marketing tactics and the role that plays in how well a tactic can work for your business.
Benchmarking + cost insights for coupons, digital marketing, ad spend and other tactics.
How + Why to track your Return on Investment, and more!

MEET CHRISTIE LEE

Christie Lee is the founder of Nourishing Food Marketing, a brand marketing consultancy that offers strategic services and tools specifically designed for new and emerging CPG brands.

In her work Christie blends the thinking of Big Food, which she learned while working at Clorox, with the resource-constrained realities of small brands, something she knows personally as the founder of the food brand - Tiny Hero.

LINKS + RESOURCES

Visit Nourishing Food Marketing Website

Remember to use 'DELEVAN5' - to save 5% off on Christie’s Tools!

Download Christie’s Definitive Guide to Creating a Marketing Plan Framework

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Download Sarah’s Profitability Roadmap

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Community hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

The Pittston Ketchup Co. was born out of a desire to create a local product and become contributing members of a community that many young entrepreneurs and professionals were fleeing for “better” opportunities.

In this episode Sarah is joined by co-founder Amos Valenti, and he is sharing Pittston Ketchup Co.’s journey from idea, to their first bottling, to today’s efficient production, and how they plan to grow their regional brand.

Throughout the conversation Amos shares valuable insights and important lessons for food business owners, including…

What their financial modeling process looked like
How getting clear on the business they DIDN’T WANT has helped them make key business decisions.
How they balanced their ingredient and sourcing standards with the reality of producing a consistent high quality product
The importance of letting go of control (not making sacrifices) as you grow
3 Lessons he’s learned that he hopes will help young food business owners

This episode is sponsored by the Financial Success Formula Online Program.
Get support building your Financial Model, identify your Financial Success Formula and access proven tools and systems for building a profitable food business!
Click here to learn more and jumpstart your journey to financial success!

LINKS + RESOURCES

Learn more + buy Pittston Ketchup on their website

Follow Pittston Ketchup Co. on instagram @pittstonketchupco

Learn more about Sarah Delevan Consulting

Follow Sarah on instagram @sarah.delevan.consulting

Download the Profitability Roadmap

Join the conversation with Sarah and other food + beverage business owners in the Profitable Food Business Community.

View Details

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) tell us how efficiently and effectively we’re achieving our business objectives.

In this episode Sarah is focusing on the Financial KPIs that will reveal your business’ financial efficiency, and get you moving in the direction of financial sustainability, profitability and consistent cash flow!

Sarah’s also sharing…

5 Essential Financial KPIs that all food + beverage businesses should be tracking
How to determine the Where, How, Who, and When your KPI data will be tracked
The importance of tracking KPIs consistently over time
1 Strategy for using KPI to create meaningful change within your business

This episode is sponsored by the Financial Success Formula Online Program.
Get support in identifying your Financial Success Formula, and access to proven tools and systems for tracking your Financial KPIs as a member of the Financial Success Formula Online Program! Click here to learn more and jumpstart your journey to financial success!

LINKS + RESOURCES

Learn more about Sarah Delevan Consulting

Follow Sarah on instagram @sarah.delevan.consulting

Download the Profitability Roadmap

Join the conversation with Sarah and other food + beverage business owners in the Profitable Food Business Community.

View Details

“...Before you get excited about what you are going to GET. Make sure you understand what you have to GIVE. Many a brand have paid slotting fees and free fills to get into a chain they could NOT afford to support only to get discontinued.”

This quote from Sandra Valasqueze instagram feed was the source of inspiration for this conversation, centered around the costs involved in growing your CPG brand through retail grocery expansion.

In this episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast…

The role of brokers and distributors and the financial investment you can expect to make with each.
What Free Fills and Slotting Fees are and how they’ll affect your budget.
The benefits of a promo calendar to forecast your marketing budget.
The average margin that a distributor will expect, and how to set the right expectations for your partnership
The important difference between margins and markups and how to calculate each
“Velocity over doors” - what it means, and why it matters.

… and so much more.

Sandra packs this episode with helpful information for CPG brands, and she joined me for a short bonus video on YouTube afterward!

MEET SANDRA

Sandra Valasqueze is an NYC-based Sales & Distribution Manager who has worked across several categories in the Natural & Specialty Channel, opened hundreds of accounts and onboarded several companies with national distribution without the help of brokers.

She now shares her expertise through her course, DISTRO 101 to help new and emerging brand owners understand the ins & outs of the grocery world.

LINKS + RESOURCES

Learn more about Sandra and her Distro 101 course at www.distrotalk.com
Follow her on instagram where she give lots of blunt tips: @distrotalk
Email Sandra at sandra@distrotalk.com

Learn more about Sarah Delevan, her services and programs at http://sarahdelevan.com

Follow her daily on instagram @sarah.delevan.consulting

Download Sarah’s Profitability Roadmap

Join the conversation with Sarah and other food + beverage business owners in the Profitable Food Business Community.

Watch the Bonus Video!

View Details

It’s common for good food business owners to calculate their perfect product price, only to find that it’s higher than they think they can (or should) sell it for.

Doubts often follow as to whether or not they can successfully sell their product at a premium price, and whether or not the right move is to lower costs.

In this episode Sarah and CPG Consultant Alli Ball discuss the steps you can take to build a successful food business selling a “high priced” product.

In This Episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast…

Why looking to your target market is key to landing on the right price for your product
5 Key Brand Questions to gain clarity on pricing decisions
The freeing truth that Everyone is not your target audience
The customer touch points that are important to identify + ensure are “on brand”
The worst business advice Alli has ever received, and what you can learn from it!

MEET ALLI BALL

RESOURCES + LINKS

Listen in to her weekly podcast about wholesale strategy, Food Biz Wiz®

Instagram: @itsalliball

Hop on the Retail Ready Waitlist!

Download Alli’s 9 steps to building a brand that flies off the shelf.

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Download Sarah’s Profitability Roadmap

Join the Profitable Food Business Community hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Setting your prices to achieve Product Profitability does not guarantee that you can build a profitability business

In this episode, Sarah is diving into this critical financial concept and sharing 3 rules for pricing that will help you understand your business better and ensure that your products are priced right, so you can build a profitable business.

She also touches on:

Financial Modeling, how it can help you price your products right, and save you time and money
The Financial Success Formula™ - your roadmap to building a profitable business
How looking at your business holistically, and creating the right Cost Targets for your business, offers a new way of seeing and thinking about business. And helps you make informed decisions not only in regard to pricing, but really any financial decision.

LINKS + RESOURCES

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Reserve a Seat in the FREE Masterclass

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the Profitable Food Business Community hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Our personal money mindset and financial beliefs translate into our businesses and can affect how we deal with our finances; from pricing, to how much we pay ourselves, to how much we pay others, and so much more.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Caroline Snyder, Financial Coach and Founder of Verdi Daily to discuss the many ways that our emotions can play a role in our financial decision making and how we can recognize and overcome the barriers to success that they create.

If you’re a food business owner that feels anxiety, hesitation or fear around the money matters of your food business, you’ll find a ton of value in this episode!

In this Episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast…

How growing up in a household with an emphasis on doing good, and the belief that making a lot of money was bad, affected Carolines’ personal relationship with money.
How your personal money narrative can cause fear, anxiety and strong emotions around making important financial decisions like pricing your products right and paying yourself a fair wage from your business
5 things you can do to overcome fears, anxiety and resistance to a price changes and other financial decisions in your food business
Real-life scenarios and reasons WHY food business owners don’t pay themselves, or severely under-pay themselves.
When it’s OK to NOT pay yourself from your food business.
The power of having a goal + creating a plan for how to make paying yourself your goal salary a reality!
What an “In-Kind Donation” is, and how it can help you change your money mindset and reach your salary goals?

MEET CAROLINE SNYDER

Caroline Snyder started her career in public education as a high school teacher and department head. After falling in love with financial literacy she returned to school to get an MBA and worked in the financial industry before founding Verdi - a financial coaching company designed for feminists who want to create their own unique versions of financial success. She believes in the transformative power of mindfulness, financial empowerment and experiential learning - all areas of focus can be seen throughout the Verdi coaching process.

EPISODE RESOURCES + LINKS

Verdi Advising Website

Caroline’s Newsletter Signup

Caroline’s Journaling Prompts

Caroline’s Email: Caroline@verdiadvising.com

Caroline’s Instagram: @verdidaily

Save 10% on Verdi Daily’s 1-on-1 or group coaching with promo code "GOODFOOD"

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Community hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Having a good working relationship with your bookkeeper means accurate, timely financial information and that has a BIG impact on your ability to build a profitable food business.

But, every bookkeeper is not going to be a match for your business and you can’t simply hand over your receipts and access to Quickbooks and walk away from the task.

In this episode of The Good Food CFO podcast Sarah is joined by Erin Lehr, a food industry veteran turned Bookkeeper whose unique experience on BOTH sides of financial reporting offers a realistic look at what it takes to find and build a successful working relationship with your bookkeeper.

Erin is sharing insights into…

What to look for, key questions to ask + red flags to be aware of when interviewing Bookkeeping candidates
How to communicate + create clear expectations
What to expect when you’re getting “up and running” with a new bookkeeper
Keys to building a great long-term working relationship with your Bookkeeper
Recommendations to ensure you’re setting yourself up for a successful long-term relationship with your bookkeeper
How to improve a imperfect relationship with your current Bookkeeper
Pricing Structures :: The different ways Bookkeepers Charge, and how to choose the one that’s right for your business

MEET ERIN LEHR

Erin Lehr is the owner of KPI Bookkeeping & Consulting. Erin has been bookkeeping since 2011 and started KPI Bookkeeping in 2018.

Prior to that, she spent 17 years managing restaurants and all the numbers that come with them. That meant she was responsible for delivering accurate cost of goods, payroll, accounts payable, profit & loss statements, cash flow & balance sheets to corporate and independent restaurants.

She understands the power of accurate, timely numbers on a business and it’s success.

RESOURCES + LINKS

Download Erin’s Free Guide to Finding the Right Bookkeeper for Your Business

Erin’s Website

Erin’s LinkedIn Profile

Erin’s Instagram: @kpibookkeeping

Profitability Roadmap

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Group hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

In this special “Round Table” episode of The Good Food CFO podcast Sarah joins Alli Ball and Katie Mleziva, CPG experts in Sales Strategy and Brand Strategy, respectively to talk about the 3 Pillars of a Successful Food + Beverage Brand.

Join three food industry experts as we discuss:

The basics of each pillar: Brand, Finance and Sales strategy
How the 3 Pillars come together and inform one another (and what order to tackle them)
The 3 C’s of Brand Strategy
When businesses should start thinking about their Brand Strategy
The benefits of Financial Modeling
Pricing for product profitability vs. business profitability
How to rollout a price change with a distributor or retail partner
Katie’s “Do, Build or Buy” Strategy
Our exciting Giveaway!

WIN A 1 HOUR 3-PILLAR CONSULTATION WITH US!

We’re giving away one hour of round-table time to one emerging brand who needs support around these three pillars. Together, we’ll get on Zoom and talk strategy with you!

To enter:

Follow @sarahdelevanconsulting, @realfoodbrands and @itsalliball on Instagram
Comment on one (or all!) of our giveaway posts to be entered for up to 3 chances to win.
We’ll tally all the comments together to select a winner.

The winner will be chosen on Wednesday, January 20th, 2021 at 10 AM PST, announced on instagram, and notified via DM.

MEET KATIE

MEET ALLI

LINKS + RESOURCES

Visit Alli’s website

Follow Alli on Instagram

Learn More about Retail Ready

Visit Katie’s website

Follow Katie on Instagram

Learn more about Katie’s Program, Brand Strategy Streamlined

Visit Sarah’s website

Follow Sarah on Instagram

Learn more about the Financial Success Formula Program

View Details

This episode focuses on the MOST popular topic on this blog + in Sarah’s social media posts.

Sarah is shining a light on:

The fact that Many food business owners are working with Financial Reports that don’t serve them, why that matters
3 Signs that will help you identify if YOUR Financial Reports are in need of a revamp, and the steps you can take to improve them
Tips for communicating reporting changes to your bookkeeper

If you are someone who looks at their Profit + Loss statement often or every now and then and you don’t LEARN anything from it, or your eyes glaze over, or if you’ve EVER thought that maybe you just don’t know how to interpret the information.

I want to ensure you that It’s Not You - It’s Your Financial Reports!

EPISODE RESOURCES + LINKS

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Profitability Roadmap

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

Join the FREE Profitable Food Business Group hosted on Mighty Networks

View Details

Building a solid financial foundation for your food business will save you time + money on your way to achieving financial success.

In this episode Sarah is joined by CPA and Business Finance Coach, Melissa Houston

Together they are covering the elements of building a solid financial foundation for your food business.

In this episode of The Good Food CFO Podcast

The difference between a bookkeeper + accountant, and the benefits of working with both.
Benefits of outsourcing bookkeeping and working with a bookkeeper
The value of being able to interpret the financial data of your business, and ‘Big 3’ Reports
When you should be requesting your monthly financials from your bookkeeper, and why timely reports are critical to financial success
The importance of Categorizing your financial data correctly (and the consequences when it’s not)
Budgets! Why Melissa (and I) believe you should have one, how frequently you should review it, and the biggest benefits of utilizing one.

This episode is packed with helpful info no matter where you are in the life of your food business!

MEET MELISSA HOUSTON

Melissa Houston is a CPA, utilizing her more than 20 years of financial management experience to help entrepreneurs overcome their finance issues so they can earn more profit in their business through her signature coaching program "The CFO Money Method"

She is also a finance columnist for Forbes.com and Entrepreneur.com and hosts her very own podcast called “Think Like a CFO”!

EPISODE RESOURCES + LINKS

Melissa’s Website

Melissa’s LinkedIn Profile

Melissa’s Instagram: @melissahoustoncpa

Sarah Delevan Consulting Website

Profitability Roadmap

Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah.delevan.consulting

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

View Details

The Good Food CFO podcast is a weekly podcast for Good Food Business owners striving to achieve financial sustainability and maximum profitability.

Whether your good food business produces a packaged food or beverage product, is a catering company, Meal Delivery Business, Wholesale Business, regional market or cafe - you will find value + inspiration in this podcast.

A new episode will be released each Monday, and will general fall into 1 of 3 categories:

Solo Episodes
I'll be sharing foundational information for building a profitable food business like...
How to create financial reports that truly serve you + your business
How to price your products for Business Profitability (not just product profitability)
3 Steps for setting the right sales goals
Expert Guest Episode
In conversations with guest experts we’ll dive into a specific part of your business and look at it through the lens of financial strategy
Our first expert guest is CPA Melissa Houston, she joins us and shares key information for creating a solid Financial Foundation for your food business
Erin Lehr, a Food Industry veteran turned bookkeeper will help you build a successful working relationship with your bookkeeper - something I KNOW so many food biz owners struggle with
We’ll talk to CPG experts like Alli Ball, Sandra Valasquez + Christie Lee about Sales Strategy, Distribution + Marketing and how they all tie in to your financial strategy

We’ll also spend a little time on Money Mindset, and Funding and LOTS more!

Founder Stories
When Good Food Business Founders join us, they’ll be sharing their stories from start up to where they are today highlighting lessons learned along the way.

There are also some special roundtable episodes, Frequently Asked Questions, and Client Coaching Sessions!

New episodes are released every Monday on your favorite podcast platform AND on YouTube. Stay up to date on all episodes AND special bonus content by joining our podcast mailing list and subscribing on your platform of choice.

Then, join me in conversation after every episode, inside the Profitable Food Business Community now on Mighty Networks (we said goodbye to Facebook) by clicking here.

The Good Food CFO podcast: Recent Episodes

Sarah Delevan

1 Strategy for using KPI to create meaningful change within your business