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Food Related
Food Related The Food Entrepreneur Resource
Latest Reviews
This site is a place for:
- Food Business Owners — A free place to post and promote your company, products and services. Share with the world about your exciting experiences, struggles and achievements. Allow others to have an inside look at why you are a Foodpreneur (food entrepreneur) and what makes your products or services valuable.
- Food Media — People in the food media business (TV, Radio, Magazines, Newspapers) should use this site as a reference for finding people in the food biz for your next article or interview. Looking for the next great product? How about a seasoned veteran that can talk about the trends in the food industry while speaking with years of experience? Or, you need a bunch of young food entrepreneurs for an upcoming article or TV event. This is the place for you!
- Thinking of Entering the Food Business — Everyone has to eat! Why not make your next business venture a way to feed people? You might be thinking of opening a restaurant, developing a new product for grocery stores or being a private chef for the elite. This site will make you keep looking over the edge or jump!
- Foodies — Amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news (wikipedia). You are not in the Business of food but do love everything about it. Welcome!
Indulge in the food business below:
Entries in Food Related (3)
Sunday
22Jun
My Grandma's Coffee Cakes of New England
Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 01:46PM 
Foodpreneur:
Robert Katz
About the Foodpreneur:
In 1979 I was elected the youngest Alderman in the history of the City of Newton Mass. (21 years and 77 days old).
I graduated Northeastern University in 1980. In 1993 I was in sales and I found a great coffee cake and started to bring it out for morning appointments. My business exploded with sales and requests for morning meetings. When I asked the owner for more cakes he told me "no" and that if I thought I could do better than him I should "buy him out". I moved back into my parents house and bought him out. One year later my father joined us as our Comptroller (eventually VP of Finance), in what were the most enjoyable 7 years he ever had in his working career. We lost him in 2001.
I have a plaque of my father up on the wall in the lobby that reads "he taught us that true wealth is judged by how much you give back, and not how much you accumulate. He will always be known as the wealthiest man we ever met". I am a passionate environmentalist and we even paid smoking employees $20/week if they tried to quit.
About My Grandma's Coffee Cakes of New England Biz:
We are a mail order and wholesale manufacturer of 12 flavors of trans-fat free kosher coffee cakes.
Founded:
1990
Number of Employees:
32
Clients:
Nordstrom (Northeast and Midwest), QVC
Marketing Strategies:
To continue to maintain quality while relying on our customers to spread the word by sharing something special and offering us sales ideas.
Fun Food Story:
Our cakes were approved to be served for The Ryder Cup in THE Country Club (the cakes were there but we weren't allowed). Our cakes were served at the Plaza Hotel Tea Room in New York City from 1994 until they closed for renovations in 2006, selling out every week at $8.00/slice.
We were in the May 2005 episode of the Sopranos when they were on the golf course talking about how much they'll miss a guy they killed and one of them said "not as much as his mother..every Christmas he used to send her one of those My Grandma's Coffee Cakes"...
Robert knew My Grandma's Coffee Cakes of New England was a hit when:
We reached $1 million in sales; Arnold Schwarzenegger called to order a cake; we sent cakes out for Jamie Lee Curtis.
In the News:
NY Times, USA Today, Good Housekeeping, "O" Magazine, The Food Network (Roker on the Road), The Forward (Jewish newspaper), The Denver Post, The Chicago Sun Times, The Boston Herald, The Detroit Free Press, The Wilmington Delaware News Journal, Boston Business Journal
Why is Robert in the Food Business?
It is exciting and fulfilling to please people and be able to see and hear their satisfaction.
Words from the Wise:
If your employees and customers maintain a dialogue, your questions will be answered before you can ask them.
Contacting My Grandma's Coffee Cakes of New England:
My Grandma's Coffee Cakes of New England
1636 Hyde Park Avenue
Boston, MA 02136
(617) 364-9900
Website: My Grandma's Coffee Cakes of New England
Monday
11Feb
Murielle Winery - Florida Wine Strategy!
Monday, February 11, 2008 at 09:21PM Foodpreneur:
John Biglin
About the Foodpreneur:
I have been entrepreneurial my entire life. I was raised as one of 9 children, second to youngest (Yes, from the same parents). This opportunity to grow up in a family of this size gave me a wonderful opportunity to see my older brothers and sisters mature and teach me some of the most important life skills that a parent may not be able to instill in you.
I started my career as a young child shoveling snow for our neighbors and then began a traditional newspaper route. Well, the newspaper route did not last very long considering I had to ride my bicycle up the hills of the Mid-Atlantic and I realized very quickly that I would rather use my mind rather than my muscles to make a living.
My first real summer job was at a health food store (GNC) when I was in high school. I was very athletic and involved in many sports. This job was a great fit for me. Once I started college, I found an interest in sales. I got involved in the optical industry and remained there throughout college. My studies at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland included Business Management, Accounting, Computer Science, with a great deal of interest in Business Law and Contract Negotiations. I know you are probably thinking how this related to the food industry. I will get to that in a little bit……
Well, I landed in the computer science industry at a network integration company. We designed, installed and maintained computer network solutions. This was my first real full time job. Once I learned the ins and outs, I moved on to a new integration company to develop a business in the emerging computer market in the early 90’s and remained there for 10 years. After developing and negotiating major contract, I wanted a greater challenge and decided to see if I could build another company in the same industry. During the next three years, I was doing exactly what I wanted to do except for one thing. I wanted to move to Florida and start my own wine distribution company to help build our family wine business.
Our family started a winery in Tampa Bay Florida in 1998. I developed a passion for nice wines in the early 90’s after attending a champagne tasting at my brothers house. I was hooked! Murielle Winery was a brain child of my oldest brother Michael. Michael has had some of the finest wines of the world and he felt he would like to make wine himself. Michael came from the corporate world as well and CEO and CFO of major corporations. He wanted a change in life as well.
Murielle Winery, as a said, is a family winery. The name came from my mother. Her name is Muriel and my brother wanted to honor her in all the things she did for our family as we were growing up.
I always knew I wanted to move to Florida and live by the beach and be a part in the development of our family wine business. I had been a part of the winery since the beginning; however, I was 1000 miles away. Well, the timing was right and we were now ready for me to come onto the scene. I started Biglin Brothers Distributors to take Murielle Winery to the streets. I came up with a plan to present the wines to exclusive and boutique shops. This was a very conscious decision considering our wines are all hand crafted and take a great deal of attention to produce, unlike most of the big wineries in the world. Now that we have been in business for 1 ½ years, I am pleased with the response from our clients and look forward to bringing on clients that understand our personal passion for the wines we make.
About the Murielle Winery Biz:
Murielle Winery has been in business since 1998 and has developed many new wines including the Tropical, Traditional, and Vintners Series. Our wines are made from traditional grapes that have been fermented from raw materials imported from around the world. The winery obtains raw materials from many different regions to provide the highest quality wines available. Our philosophy is that "We are not tied to a Vine".
If a particular region have a spectacular growing season, we contract for the raw materials to be shipped to the winery and we do the rest. All of our wines are Hand Crafted and nurtured through out the wine making process offering a high quality wine not offered by the big manufactures.
Our Tropical Series of wines are a great introduction to the wine tasting experience. They are traditional wines "Infused" with the nectar of fruits to offer a slightly sweeter wine, yet with all the characteristics of a traditional wine.
Our Traditional Series is exactly that, traditional. All the characteristics of a traditional wine are in this series.
Our Vintner Series is a select group of wines that have been hand crafted by the wine maker and are very unique. They are wines that take an extreme amount of care and attention to produce a select group of wines worthy of the Vintner himself.
Murielle Winery also provides custom labels for our wines for Special Events (Weddings, Breast Cancer Awareness), Corporate Imaging (Corporate Gift Giving, Golf Tournaments, and Hotel, Restaurant and Club Logos), and Personal Custom Wines for the individual. The winery staffs a graphics artist and has the ability to make any wine label to meet your needs.
Biglin Brothers Distributors is a Florida Wine Distributor located in Clearwater Florida specializing is boutique wines from around the world. We are a family owned and operated company offering wines and other gourmet products to the retailer. We are the wine distributor for Murielle Winery, our family winery. The distribution business was started in 2006 to present Murielle Wines to gourmet shops and boutique liquor stores. Murielle Winery is very special to our business considering my brother is the wine maker.
Biglin Brothers Distributors offer free wine tasting at your location to assist in the promotion of Murielle Winery wines. If you have a special event, grand opening, or celebration, we can help make it a success with the addition of Murielle Wines.
Marketing Strategies:
Biglin Brother Distributors focuses on the gourmet and boutique shops. Our wines are hand crafted and perform the best in shops that have the ability to taste wine with every customer. Once someone has tried our products, they usually purchase a bottle or more.
Our Tropical Series of wines are unique and offer a light and refreshing beverage. Our tropical wines will introduce someone to wines who have not tried them in the past or they make a great transition from white wines to red wines. Red wines traditionally are dryer than their white counterparts.
Even if the buyer is a discerning wine consumer, we make products to meet their needs as well in our Traditional Series and Vintners Series.
Our strategy is to leverage the fact that all our raw materials are imported from around the world. This allows us to choose the best raw materials regardless of the region. If a particular region has a difficult growing season, we can go to another region that had a good growing season. We use the term "We are NOT tied to a Vine".
This unique manufacturing process allows us to present our wines that no one else is making. What a Strategy Huh!
Fun Food Story:
One of the best food stories I can tell is really about the winery. My brother hosts wine tastings at the winery nearly every Saturday. One Saturday, a gentleman came into the winery and wanted to taste our wines. The tasting went off as normal and conversations were flowing. After he began enjoying our wines and was extremely impressed with what we have created, we offered him a taste of our Late Harvest Ice Style Wine. He nearly fell over on how tasty the dessert wine was. Well, my brother asked this gentleman who he worked for and his reply nearly blew my brother over with a feather. This gentleman is one of the select few people in the WORLD that has the ability to release a batch of Molson Beer!!!!! He took a bottle of our dessert wine back to the brewery and was going to show how a small winery in Florida can hand craft such a wonderful product and that maybe they could learn a few things. As he said, it was the best Ice Style Wine he has ever tasted in his life and he is from Canada (Which is where ice wines come from). WOW !! Thanks Molson ! Great Beer by the way!
John knew Murielle Winery was a hit when:
Well, we are still working at this. We are making headway each and every day. Would I say we are a hit,well yes, with the people that have tried our wines.
Why is John in the Wine Business?
I LIKE WINE! Oh and I get to do a lot of research!
Words from the Wise:
The only thing I don’t care for in this business is the way the other distributors handle some transactions. I see other distributors forcing the shop to purchase products they don’t want in order to get products they do want. I know this industry has been going on for a long time and I am new at this, but, I take care of my customers as I would want to be taken care of. If I know I can’t sell a certain product, I would rather get rid of it than force it on my customers to sell.
Contacting Murielle Winery:
Murielle Winery & Biglin Brothers13131 56th Court
Suite 304
Clearwater, Florida 33760
727.612.9960
Website: Murielle Winery & Biglin Brothers
Saturday
15Dec
LuNcHoLOgy - A Winner in the Bag!
Saturday, December 15, 2007 at 10:41AM Foodpreneur:
Kristi Thomas
About the Foodpreneur:
I am a Mom-Preneur....Balancing the FAM and the BIZ!
About the LuNcHoLOgy Biz:
"LuNcHoLOgy® Lunch Bag: That Educate, Entertain and Inspire" has created more than 1,000 Themed Lunch Bag Sets designed for children of all ages, as well as adult brown-baggers. Made from recycled paper and printed with non-toxic soy-based ink, LuNcHoLOgy® Lunch Bags are biodegradable. Each Themed Set includes 25 one-of-a kind creations where no 2 bags are alike. Original Illustrations and Age Appropriate Fun Facts are printed on one side of each bag, while space is allocated for a child's name, room number and teacher's name on the other. Topics span the gamut, from foreign languages to grosser-than-gross tidbits and sports trivia. The interesting facts and figures entice children so much, that kids are learning when they don't even realize it! LuNcHoLOgy®: Building Brains, Bite By Bite!®
Founded:
2002
Marketing Strategies:
Net-Weave,...with Other Entrepreneurs,....DAILY! Connect with Writers and Editors Frequently to remind them to take the LuNcHoLOgy® story out of the Freezer and put us in the Microwave/in print!
In The News:
LuNcHoLOgy® has captured the attention of the national media, has received several Entrepreneurial Awards and has been highlighted in newspapers and magazines all over the globe. Features include Entrepreneur Magazine, Kid Around Town Magazine and the February 2007 - 75th Anniversary Edition of Family Circle Magazine. LuNcHoLOgy® has been featured on NBC's Emmy Nominated, "Mommy, Inc.," CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° and on Business Week TV, just to tout a few.
Kristi knew LuNcHoLOgy was a hit when:
When The Bag Was In and Out of the Can!
Each morning, I spent a few moments adding a special touch to my daughter Madison's school snack and lunch bags to ease her separation anxiety and homesickness. Some days, it was a love note or word of encouragement, other days it was a brainteaser, joke or fun fact. Whatever the theme, I always took the time to hand-print it, along with some cool artwork, on her otherwise ordinary brown lunch bag. Not only did the lunch bags give Madison a, "Dose of Home" in the middle of the day when she needed it most, but the decorative bags quickly became a hit with her classmates. In fact, kids began asking to keep Madison's used lunch bags when she was done with them or they would wait until she threw them away and retrieve them right out of the trash can! Children, teachers and parents began requesting their own sets. I experienced a "Light Bulb Moment," filed my first patent, outlined a business plan and dove into the family's nest egg, and launched LuNcHoLOgy®.
5 years and 1,500 retail stores later, LuNcHoLOgy® is now run by myself and my now 12 year old daughter,..a Mother-Daughter Duo, if you will. Leveraging our company's Brand Identity, we are turning our, and youngest customer's, attention from the Artwork on the OUTSIDE of our LuNcHoLOgy® Lunch Bags, to what kids pack on the INSIDE of LuNcHoLOgy® Lunch Bags. Together they have created a, "We're Kids and We're Cookin'®" LuNcHoLOgy® LIVE Stage Show that tours throughout the country (15 Cities in 12 Months) alongside Celebrity Chefs from the Food Network. The show delivers Kid Friendly and Heart Healthy Recipe Ideas to Kids in a fun and memorable medium, where the recipes are created by Madison herself, to be published in her "We're Kids and We're Cookin'®" Cook Book in 2008. The "We're Kids and We're Cookin'®" LuNcHoLOgy® LIVE Stage Show provides audiences a glimpse into the LuNcHoLOgy® "We're Kids and We're Cookin'®" DVD Series and up-coming 2008 TV Show.
LuNcHoLOgy® LIVE delivers an important message: "Eat Smart and Feed Your Brain!®" Given the health crisis of our young children, LuNcHoLOgy's® message is one that is more pressing than ever before. Our message is conveyed in a memorable, zany and purposeful medium that kids remember. The LuNcHoLOgy® LIVE Stage Show is chalk full of Fun Food Factoids, Food Science and Nutritional Information delivered via, "Betcha' Didn't Know®" moments that resonate with everyone watching. LuNcHoLOgy® helps kids connect with their Moms and Dads both in school and at home in the kitchen, creating Kid Friendly Heart Healthy Recipes. Our Mantra, Think Before You Eat®!
Words from the Wise:
There have been so many days when Madi and I have been soOoOo tired. I knew that birthing a business alone, might present times when we would be tired and feel like we couldn't possibly take one more step forward. When Madi and I have those days, we just look over our shoulders to see how far we've come. It gives us the energy, to take the next step, to work even harder toward our next Big Break in the TV industry.
Foodpreneur Says:
I first found LuNcHoLOgy while they were presenting at The Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland Ohio this past November 2007. There eye-popping booth display got me to look and their concept got me interested. What a brilliant idea! It is another one of those things that make me say, "why didn't they have that when I was a kid?" Anything that can make it easier for a child to learn, excite and inspire should be praised. The Eco-friendly illustrated bags are readily available at retail stores in the North/Mid-West as well as California. Not available near you? Don't worry, they have a wonderfully designed e-commerce site that you can purchase them from anytime. Parents, add these to your grocery list.
Contacting LuNcHoLOgy:
LuNcHoLOgy
540 South Main Street
Suite 813
Akron, OH 44311 US
(888) 485-8624
Website: LuNcHoLOgy
