Running a food production business or a store isn’t easy. Even if the demand for your product is there, finding the time to create and manufacture your own products, while working on branding and running a business can be next to impossible without hiring outside help. Plus, without outside help to assist you in making the leap from small scale production to full-scale manufacturing, you’ll never be able to get your product on supermarket shelves. Having said this, it can be difficult to find quality co-packers, with many of these companies looking to make as much money as possible – even in the form of hidden fees. We’re going to take a look at what to consider when looking for a co-packer, so you can properly plan for your transition and avoid any unnecessary fees.

Manufacturer’s Scope of Services

You must first and foremost consider what you need your co-packer for – you might just need a hand with packaging, or you may want someone to make your product using the exact recipe you’ve laid out. Of course, the less you need your co-packer for the better, as more services will come at a higher cost.

Stemmlers tells us why you need to consider the manufacturers scope of services when it comes to calculating your co-packing costs:

“That’s the beauty of co-packing: flexibility. Co-packing encompasses a wide range of services. A co-packer can manufacture your product outright from start to finish (from sourcing your ingredients and packaging materials to processing and preparing the product to be shipped), or take certain time consuming processes off your hands. Of course, outsourcing your entire process to a co-packer will come at a greater cost than prepping, processing or packaging only. But don’t neglect to consider the hours you’ll gain back once manufacturing is off your plate! Instead of labouring in a small kitchen, you can focus on marketing your product to the people who crave it.”

Utilizing Experts For Product Improvement

Utilizing experts can be a fantastic way to add more credibility to your product, in a large variety of areas. However, this can of course add a significant extra cost to your co-packing fees. Luckily, there are options available if you’d like the additional expert help, without paying an arm and a leg for it.

Chris Bekermeier of Pacmoore.com explains why hiring experts can be a great but costly investment for your food company:

“There are many different places to find food scientists and other product development experts who will help you improve your products. One alternative is to leverage food science departments within our countries’ top universities. The Purdue University Food Science Department is one example. They have experts in many areas. They can help with process design, PH analysis, sensory panels, scaling, micro, and more. Even though there is a cost to cover expenses and development of all the different resources, it’s relatively inexpensive to go through a university compared to a commercial enterprise.”

Tap Co-Packer Knowledge

If you find the right co-packing company, chances are, they will want to help you save money. Developing a great relationship with their prospective clients should be at the top of the list of any great co-packer, and they will guide you towards how to keep your costs down, while still utilizing their services.

Jean Thilmany of Packaging World tells us why you should not be shy when it comes to simply talking to your co-packer about cutting costs:

“A contract packager can also suggest cost-cutting ideas. Arrange at least one formal meeting with your packer to review packaging specifications in detail. In addition, advises Dwight Sevaldson, contract operations manager at General Mills, be sure all the packaging players attend the summit, including material suppliers and any maker of special equipment that the contract packager uses. At these meetings, ask co-packers to share their experiences about similar packaging jobs and to introduce cost-cutting tips based on that experience. Co-packers want to help because they seek repeat business and a close client relationship.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers. 

Not  many years ago, peanut butter was seemingly the only option in the grocery store when it came to nut butters. Now, we’re able to walk down our local health food aisles (or order online of course) and find nearly a dozen different types of nut butters, by different brands. But in this new world of nut butters, which do you choose if you’re trying to find the healthiest option? We’re going to take a look at the 9 best healthy nut butters that are readily available, so you can find the one that’s best suited to specific nutritional needs or fitness goals.

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is, of course, the OG of nut butters. Having said this, the majority of us have opted for the sugary brands since we were children. Not just because they’re cheap to buy, but because they taste great! However, there are much better options for peanut butter out there, that are rich in protein, iron, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin B6 and zinc, without all of the added sugar. 

Almond Butter

Almond butter is usually the first nut butter that customers will try after peanut butter, if their goal is to start expanding their horizons in this department.

Cleveland Clinic tells us why almond butter is top of their list if you want to start making a transition from the more traditional peanut butter:

“Almond butter is a great choice if you’re looking to broaden your taste horizons past peanut butter. Almond butter tastes great and is similar in texture and thickness to peanut butter. The good news nutritionally is that almond butter has about 3 grams more of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat per serving than peanut butter. Plus, unlike processed regular peanut butter, almond butter usually is lower in sugar and provides a little extra calcium, about 60 mg per tablespoon. Look for brands with a single ingredient: roasted almonds.”

Pistachio Butter

Pistachio butter is one of the best options out there if you’re looking to up your protein intake – plus, it naturally tastes delicious without any added sugar. This nut butter is also loaded with vitamin B, which can help turn calories into energy.

Walnut Butter

While walnut butter may not be as widely spoken about as peanut or almond butter, it’s incredibly good for you and offers a wide variety of important health benefits.

Dieticians Keri Gans and Scott Keatley weigh in on the many health benefits of walnut butter on Womenshealthmag.com:

“In addition to a solid serving of protein, walnut butter also offers alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the omega-3 fatty acid found in plants. According to Keatley, ALA can help lower your risk of heart disease, lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, and reverse hardening of your blood vessels, so there’s that. Walnut butter also offers nut butters’ usual heart-boosting properties. “It also provides heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and vitamin E, which both have anti-inflammatory properties,” Gans says.”

Sunflower Seed Butter

Ever heard of sunflower seed butter? This is a fantastic alternative nut butter for anyone with a nut allergy or sensitivity. It’s high in vitamins E and A, and boasts more magnesium than any other butter on this list. It’s important to remember that sunflower seed butter is higher in calories and a little lower in protein than other nut or nut substitute butters, so it should be used somewhat sparingly.

Hazelnut Butter

Hazelnut butter is a fantastic alternative for those who specifically have a peanut allergy – not an overall nut allergy. Hazelnut butter is rich in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that can help lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. It’s also completely free of natural sugars, and is a great source of vitamin E. And no, hazelnut butter does not include hazelnut spreads like Nutella!

Tahini

Tahini is technically a seed butter as it is made from sesame seeds, but has become more popular in recent years as a nut butter alternative. Tahini is a great source of vitamin E and also contains a large amount of copper, which aids in the creation of red blood cells.

Cashew Butter

Cashew butter is a popular pick amongst nut butters (if not one of the more expensive), and naturally has a great taste. It’s also rich in the good monounsaturated fatty acids, while keeping the less beneficial fats at bay.

Kristen Mancinelli MS, RD of Livestrong.com tells us why cashew butter is a great lower fat option amongst the nut butters:

“Cashew butter has a relatively sweet taste and a smooth, creamy texture. Although cashew butter is somewhat lower in fat than other nut butters (two tablespoons contain 16 grams of fat, compared with 18 grams for almond butter and 19 grams for walnut butter), its fat profile is a winning one. Sixty-two percent of the fat in cashew butter is of the monounsaturated kind, making it one of the top sources of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) in the nut category. MUFAs, also found in high proportions in olive oil and avocados, have beneficial effects on blood pressure and cholesterol levels.”

Coconut Butter

Coconut butter is technically another nut butter alternative, with coconuts being classified as a fruit. However, it’s great for you in small doses, providing a source of protein, potassium, magnesium and iron. The reason why it’s only good for you in small doses, is because coconut contains a high amount of saturated fats, so it’s best not to go overboard on this nut butter alternative.

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers. 

Anyone who owns and runs a small food business knows that it is truly a labor of love. Whether crafting your own recipe from scratch or coming up with the perfect name and packaging, there are a multitude of steps that come before delivering that final product to stores. And when you’re constantly having to focus on the little details that come along with creating your masterpiece, it can be difficult to even have time to focus on growing your business, or how to market this product that you’ve just put in so much time and effort to. If you’re finding that this sounds like you, you might be ready to bring in the help of a co-packer. In this article, we take a look at what a co-packer is and you know that this is the right decision for your business.

What is a Co-Packer?

Bringing in the help of a co-packer can shave many valuable hours off of the time of a hardworking food business owner, allowing them to keep their focus on where it should be – running their business. While of course it is up to the owner to come up with the initial concepts and even the recipe for their products, a co-packer can take their product all of the rest of the way.

Pod Foods explains what a co-packer is and why your food business may highly benefit from one:

“A co-packer, or a contract packer, is a company that manufactures and packages a certain product for a client. For small businesses, outsourcing their manufacturing to a co-packer allows them to scale-up and meet growing demand, without having to invest in their own industrial setting. This can be a game changer for food businesses. Often, small teams are spread thin with production alone and don’t have any time to focus on the main driver for their business — sales. By offering their expertise and resources, co-packers help small businesses free up their time, letting them shift their focus to marketing and growing their brand.”

Understanding Why You Want to Work With a Co-Packer

There are many reasons outside of saving the time of manufacturing your own products why you may wish to work with a co-packer. Not only is a co-packer able to take the load off of your hands when it comes to preparing your products to be sold in store, but they are able to take care of the many legalities that comes along with selling a commercial food product.

Matt Aaron of Food Tech Connect explains why the benefits of working with a co-packer go far beyond saving you time:

“Investing in a larger production facility comes with a lot of costs like equipment, rent, labor and certifications. Depending on your clientele, you may need additional quality control certifications like HACCP, Kosher and USDA Organic. Big box retailers require a ton of certifications in order to carry your product. This means a lot more money if you are starting a new facility, and is the main reason many startups turn to co-packers as they scale. A co-packer also saves you time, allowing you to focus on growing your business versus being stuck in the kitchen and managing a production facility.”

How To Decide on a Co-Packer

Now that you’ve decided that the idea of working with a co-packer is in fact for you, it’s important to make sure that this is a feasible decision for your company. You will be required to do your research when it comes to picking a co-packer to find one that best fits your company. This will of course come down to the relationship you’d like with your co-packer, if they are able to handle your production size, and arguably the most important factor – who you can afford. 

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers. 

Not unlike other industries, the food and beverage markets saw hardships throughout 2020. Going forward, various market segments are likely to see ongoing challenges. Navigating the proverbial waters can be tough and a skilled food business consultant can help you achieve your goals and avoid problematic issues in 2021.

Problems with Market Concentration

Cornering a market segment is a good thing, until you get too large. What happens to companies that become too successful with market concentration? For starters, competitors often merge or acquire smaller companies which gets the attention of law enforcement over antitrust allegations.

Assertions of price-fixing or setting artificially high prices are also common for companies who dominate an industry which leads to class-action civil lawsuits and other litigation. This has an impact on the entire industry. In 2020, regulators focused on tech, but the food industry is another market they are watching. It would not be surprising to see more activity in 2021.

Small or struggling companies can develop smart approaches to focus on innovations in 2021 rather than selling off to the big guys – a food business consultant can help develop a strategic plan.

Price Fixing vs. Gouging in Pandemic Conditions

The COVID-19 pandemic sent the economy reeling in 2020 and many companies were accused of gouging to make a quick profit. Those businesses in question maintain the spike in demand caused prices to soar. Law enforcement seems to disagree, stating due to the nature of the pandemic, the situation constitutes an emergency, and demand for food was not due to routine market forces. Going forward, it’s almost certain food industry regulators and law enforcement will be watching closely to ensure gouging doesn’t occur.

Recovering From the Pandemic

In 2020, many food and beverage companies struggled and will spend much of 2021 recovering from the conditions set by the pandemic. Struggles to recover from including restrictive containment measures driven by social distancing requirements, supply chain disruptions, remote work, temporary closure of stores and, in some cases, revamping business models to accommodate pandemic conditions.

Additionally, most had to quickly adapt and implement technology solutions to facilitate social distancing and touchless processes. Pivoting to a technology strategy was both a learning curve and expense for many companies. One some will still be reeling from throughout 2021. However, in the long-term, these strategies can be used as an advantage to gain a stronger standing in niche markets. Projections say the food and beverage stores market will increase from $1707.29 billion in 2020 to $1872.9 billion in 2021. By 2025, the projection jumps to $2472.93 billion as companies rebound from the pandemic.

Ready to Work with a Food Business Consultant? Contact The Greater Good Today

The Greater Good offers consultant services for businesses in the food industry. Our Ontario-based company works with customers in both Canada and the United States, offering them a wide range of solutions for challenges the industry currently is facing. Ready to learn more? Contact us today for a free consultation.

Whether you’re trying to pick a nut butter at your local grocery store, or you’re in the food industry and you’re looking for the healthiest options to sell or use, you certainly have a plethora of options. Choosing the healthiest nut butter can be a bit confusing – after all, how are you supposed to know which nut is healthiest? Choosing the healthiest nut butter goes beyond the type of nut it contains, and also depends on other factors like number of ingredients and unnecessary additives. In this article, we take a look at 3 rules to help you choose a healthier nut butter, so you can know what you’re searching for ahead of time.

Number of Ingredients

When choosing a healthy nut butter, one of the very first things you need to be looking at is the number of ingredients. The highest quality (and also healthiest) nut butters will have incredibly minimal ingredients, with little to no “filler” ingredients, or ingredients meant to alter the taste.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D.N., author of Read It Before You Eat It: Taking You from Label to Table explains why the nutrition label should be a simple read on Aaptiv.com:

“According to Taub-Dix, the first order of business should be to study the nutrition label. “First and foremost is that the ingredients contain the nut … I try to choose nut butters that don’t have a lot of other things added that would be ingredients you wouldn’t necessarily want—like salt and sugar,” she explains. Ideally, if you choose an almond butter, the one and only ingredient should be almonds.”

Macro and Micronutrient Profile

If you’re choosing a nut butter partly or even primarily for the health benefits, taking a look at the macro and micronutrient profile is a great way to quickly find out which is best for you. Of course, choosing a nut butter based on their nutrient profile can require more flexibility in both budget and taste.

Amy Lorraine Nutrition tells us why in some cases, you should heavily consider the macro and micronutrient profile of your nut butters:

“If you’re lucky enough not to have an allergy or intolerance to any nuts or seeds and don’t mind shelling out a few more bucks for a different kind of nut butter than peanut, then you can start evaluating the nutrient profile of various nuts. Are you wanting to use your nut butter primarily as an additional source of protein? A good source of healthy fats? A boost to your calcium intake?”

Avoid Butters With Added Sugar

Although added sugar will of course sweeten the taste of a nut butter that may naturally taste a little bitter, avoiding added sugar is key if your goal is to search for the healthiest nut butter. Having said this, making the switch to a healthier nut butter with just a little bit of the right kind of added sugar can certainly still allow you to reap its health benefits.

Heather McClees of One Green Planet explains why you should refrain from added sugars in your nut butter if you can avoid it:

“Added sugars found in nut butters include: sugar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, coconut sugar, coconut syrup, evaporated cane juice, evaporated cane syrup, cane juice, cane syrup, dextrose, maple syrup, agave, brown rice syrup, and tapioca syrup. Even though some of these may pose less damage than others, keep in mind that they are all added calories that provide little nutrition. It’s also important to remember that when you eat sugary and fatty foods at the same time, it can alter your body’s ability to use insulin efficiently. This can lead to blood sugar problems and possible weight gain.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, including the way people eat. Those who used to eat out often suddenly had no choice but to eat at home when their favorite restaurants closed for virus control. Although most restaurants have since reopened, the experience of dining out still isn’t quite the same. Food manufacturers understand the need to work with a food business consultant to meet challenges posed by the pandemic and continue to serve their customers well. 

Food Consumers Are Looking for New Options Too

Whether it’s limited seating, having to make reservations, or having far fewer menu options, the pandemic may have changed the restaurant experience forever. This can be both good news and bad news for the food industry. The downside is that food manufacturers may have fewer opportunities to earn revenue from restaurants since most are likely to place smaller orders. However, that problem creates the opportunity for foodservice companies to step in and replicate restaurant-style meals for people to enjoy at home.

How a Food Business Consultant Can Help Clients Meet Changing Customer Needs

Creating new products and serving customers in a different manner always present a financial learning curve. While companies struggle to adapt, costs can skyrocket before a business begins to post a profit. The following issues may be especially problematic when starting a new product line:

• Finding a reliable food ingredient supplier that offers reasonable prices and deep discounts for high-volume orders.
• Inability to find ingredients to create food products due to supply chain issues.
• Ordering from a supplier only to find that the texture, purity, taste, or quality of the food does not meet company standards.
• Inability to locate food ingredients or suppliers with the type of the certifications a company needs.

Food service consultant businesses exist to resolve these pain points for clients. After all, the idea behind any type of business is to reduce costs and increase profits, not the other way around. With years of food industry experience behind them, consultants enable clients to meet these challenges in outside-the-box ways.

One example is focusing on creating signature food items that mimic what food consumers used to order in restaurants. People often stick with their favorites and would naturally gravitate towards food they love offered in another way. The ability to place an order on a smartphone application with a local grocery store or restaurant and then pick up a meal they can just heat up would be a big selling point as well.

With the purchasing power of a food business consultant company at their disposal, food manufacturers can significantly decrease their packaging and ingredient costs. Consultants also have extensive food industry connections, ensuring a prompt response to any food chain supply issues that arise.

Ready to Work with a Food Business Consultant? Contact The Greater Good Today

Based in Ontario and serving Canada and the United States, The Greater Good offers a wide range of solutions for current food industry challenges. Businesses looking to reduce costs, increase profits, find reliable suppliers, and solve other common problems should contact The Greater Good through this link.

No matter how long you’ve been a part of the food industry, you’ll know that launching a product in today’s highly competitive market is highly competitive. That’s why it’s necessary to set yourself up for success as much as you possibly can before your product launch. There are many factors that go into a successful food product launch, including the clear establishment of your product’s market and how your customers are most likely to buy it. We’re going to take a look at our key tips to any successful food product launch, so you can ensure you have all your ducks in a row before you roll out the red carpet.

Research the Market

The most important thing you should do before so much as wishing your product into fruition is researching your target market. Knowing who you’re most likely to sell your product to is a key factor in marketing it properly and ensuring its success. Knowing your target market will affect where you sell your product, how you sell it, and even which social media channels you will promote it on.

Max Byer of Business 2 Community tells us why you need to ensure that in order to successfully launch your product, you need to ensure that it’s not the same as every other product out there:

“Research the market thoroughly and make sure you have a product that is new and unique that consumers will need or want. Also, research local and state food production and distribution laws to determine an appropriate go-to-market strategy.”

Do Plenty of Testing

Test, test, test, and then test some more. Don’t jump the gun when it comes to launching your product, and don’t consider your launch to be your “testing phase”. Do your testing before you launch your product in the form of a pre-launch. This will help you understand ahead of time what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be changed.

Greg Keating of Hangar12 explains why you need to participate in a pre-launch before you officially launch your food product:

“The money you spend pre-launch learning about specific market segments, gathering information from consumer marketing panels, testing ideas, asking for feedback, and learning which possible variants of your product may be most appealing is small compared to the costs of production, distribution, and advertising once the product goes live. If, for example, multiple consumer panels indicate that your packaging could be problematic, listen to them and determine how you could revise it to better suit target consumers.”

Ensure You Have Retail Distribution

Just to make things clear, not everyone will be selling their food products through physical retail stores, as selling products online can be just as beneficial. Whichever the case may be for your business, it’s necessary to ensure that you have a place to sell your product before your launch.

Chris Gould of Harbinger tells us why lining up retail distribution before your launch is definitely the best idea:

“Do you have any retail distribution for your product? If not, it may be premature to invest in a big launch strategy. However, if you have an e-commerce platform that has been generating strong sales, there are definitely ways to create additional awareness and inspire new consumers to purchase your product.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers. 

The food and beverage industry underwent some radical changes in 2020. In fact, most industries across the board look drastically different than they did at the end of 2019. With so many events that impacted us on social and economic levels, a global pandemic among them, a major shift in some areas is expected. Your food business consultant can help you through this time of transition, but this information will get you started.

As companies tried to respond to a quickly changing consumer demand, new trends began to emerge, pandemic food and beverage trends, if you will. They clearly reflected the current state of our society and what is on consumers’ minds. Now as we enter 2021, the emerging trends of fourth-quarter 2020 are now very apparent. Is the crisis over? No, not yet. But it’s better.

These trends in the food and beverage industry are worth noting. They could shape your production, distribution, and most of all, sales.

It Starts With a Story

Consumers want to hear the story behind the company and the product, says the report “Top Ten Trends 2020” conducted by Innova Market Insights. In fact, 56% of consumers around the world say that their purchasing decision is strongly influenced by the story around a brand. These stories tell of the brand’s stance on the community, sustainability, and the environment. The consumer can learn the origin of the ingredients and if that company is one they want to support based on their ethical or moral standards.

Health and Wellness

One trend that is really no surprise is the growing interest in health and wellness products. There’s nothing like a pandemic to spur people into taking a more focused interest in their health. As people are eating healthier and looking for food and beverage products that enhance health, it seems that the line between supplements and food is becoming increasingly blurred. More food products are making bolder health and wellness claims and consumers are snapping them up.

Plant-Based Foods

Plant-based meat and dairy alternatives are no strangers to grocery store aisles but foods that fall outside of that parameter are enjoying a surge in popularity. In 2020, more than 67% of new products that claimed to be plant-based were not directly within the meat or dairy categories. This is a rapidly growing sector that is well worth tracking. One area that stands out in regard to growth is plant-based confectionery products.

Back to Basics

As people were required to shelter in place or quarantine in their homes, cooking at home suddenly came back into vogue. The basics, the pantry staples, had an incredible surge in early 2020 when the pandemic first took hold. The popularity has remained mostly consistent as home chefs get creative and those new to cooking improve on their talent and skill. Dried beans, rice, pasta, sauces, broth or bouillon, and spices are gaining popularity, but specialty staples like applewood-smoked salt, vegan corn dogs, and hearts of palm pasta are also pretty hot right now.

Tighter Budgets

There are a lot of food and beverage trends out there, but one that resonates with all of us is a tighter budget. Consumers have spent months in lockdown, many have lost jobs or had their work hours reduced – most are struggling to make ends meet. In this time of economic uncertainty, people are going to be looking for ways to get the most for their money. They will be cutting corners wherever they can and looking for products that do double duty, such as immune boosting and offer multi-serve or variety packages. Shelf stable products are also rising quickly to the top.

A Food Business Consultant can Help You Make Adjustments to Meet Consumer Demand

The food and beverage industry is growing and changing like never before. Let us help you make the necessary adjustments so that you can meet consumer demand and increase revenue. As a food business consultant, we can look at current trends as well as consumer behavior and help you create a strategy that will keep in at the top of your game. Contact The Greater Good today to find out how we can help your brand keep up and even surge ahead in the quickly evolving food and beverage market.

Did you know that the success rate for new product launches in the food and beverage business is around 10%? This isn’t because the other 90% was just plain inedible or didn’t taste great. It’s because the food company behind them wasn’t able to adequately differentiate them from all the super similar products out there. This is why finding your niche in the food product industry and making it undoubtedly clear why your product is different is key to your success. We’re going to take a look at the niche food product industry, along with some tips on how to effectively promote your product.

Does Niche Marketing Work For Every Brand?

Developing a niche in the food product industry can be a highly effective strategy for targeting a specific consumer demographic, and can drive the success of your product to new levels. With the food market already containing unlimited choices, releasing a product that is different from the competition in any way, shape or form can create immediate success. This is especially useful for companies who have smaller budgets, and do not have the financial backing to heavily market their product in a way that they would need to if there was little differentiation between their product and others. However, niche products and niche marketing can’t necessarily work for every company.

Beth Day of Food Business News explains why niche marketing may not work with every brand and with every food product:

“Niche marketing is not for every brand. While large companies often use such strategies, it is difficult for them to reposition well-known core products. Consumers have difficulty seeing them as something else.”

Identifying Your Niche

In order to start your journey into the niche food product world, you first need to clearly identify what your niche is. A niche product doesn’t mean that you’re putting essentially the same product in packaging with a different label. What benefits does your food product have that others generally do not? What will a consumer gain by bringing your product home to their family over another?

Domenick Celantano of The Balance Small Business expands on what it truly means to identify your niche in the food product industry:

“Consider what makes your food and beverage product different from all of the others like it on the market. That is your niche. To be clear, it takes more than a great tasting product to pitch the supermarket buyer and then to get the customer to try your product, much less buy it again. Your product must be positioned as truly different from the competition. You have to separate your emotional investment in the product to really answer that question.”

Telling Your Story 

When launching a niche product, it’s important to connect a story to your product mission. This truly applies to any product you sell, in any industry. Even if you’re selling a niche product, it’s likely that someone still has something similar out there. So how can you evoke that emotional connection so that a customer is drawn into your product without ever trying it?

5W Public Relations tells us how to communicate your story in How to Stand Out in a Niche Food Market:

“Everyone loves a good story. If you want to separate yourself from your competition, then learn how to tell your story. As a matter of fact, once you become great at telling your story, then you immediately eliminate all of your competition! You may be in competition with others if you are selling the same product, but there is no way that your competition can take your story from you and use it. Telling your story properly will create loyalty in your audience. People will begin to look for you specifically rather than putting you in line with the rest of your field.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers. 

It’s no secret that when running your own food business, your choice of suppliers can ultimately make or break your business. After all, at the end of the day, without great food and a service to ensure that it’s delivered to you when you need it, you have no business. There are several factors that play into choosing the perfect food supplier for your business, that go well past the best price. We’re going to take a look at 3 important steps to finding your perfect food supplier that you’ll want to consider before committing.

Have a Clear Idea of What You Are Looking For

Before ever approaching food suppliers, you need to have a clear idea of what you’re looking for. While your wants and needs may change down the road, you need to take stock of your current business needs and expectations before narrowing down which suppliers can give them to you.

Checkit.net gives us their thoughts on what decisions you need to make before you find your perfect food supplier:

“Finding a supplier that fits your business starts with having a well-defined idea of what you’re looking for. So before you begin hurling questions at potential suppliers, you need to ask yourself some. Would you like ingredients to be sourced locally? Do you need your supplier to deliver to your premises at certain times? Knowing what you want before you begin searching will save you a lot of time, so it’s worth some thought.”

Look at Certificates

We cannot stress enough the importance of finding a food supplier who is playing by the rules when it comes to food safety certification. As a business, your first concern always needs to be your customers’ safety. With a product as critical as food, you must ensure that what you’re serving to your customers is safe. Not only is this important for good business and establishing positive relationships with your customers, but it’s also important for ensuring that you don’t have a potential future lawsuit on your hands on account of food poisoning. 

Small-bizsense.com explains why working with a food supplier who is certified to understand food hygiene rules is an absolute must:

“All businesses working with food should have accreditation confirming they understand food hygiene rules. It’s important that you see these to ensure your supplier is encouraging cross-contamination. But, you also need to check in case they have any certificates or awards for their produce. Not having an award doesn’t mean they don’t provide high-quality food, but, having one does help you to know what you’re getting.”

Ensure They Have Market Knowledge

Making sure your food supplier has an array of market knowledge can be incredibly important when it comes to growing your own business. Suppliers who truly understand the culinary industry can provide valuable insight into your own business and can give you advice on the value that certain products or ingredients can bring to your business.

Will Harmon on BlueCart tells us why your food supplier should have a wide array of market knowledge on Winnowsolutions.com:

“The right supplier will be able to supply you with much more than products and materials.  Suppliers can be vital sources of industry information. This allows them to help you evaluate the potential of adding new items/ingredients to your order list, target new opportunities, and gain competitor insights.  Ultimately, this turns a business relationship into a partnership which creates value for both parties involved.”

Here at The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers. 

The importance of food safety certification in a workplace that handles food is absolutely critical. Food safety certification does not only provide proof that the product itself is safe to use, but also warrants that the business holding this credential has met both the professional and ethical standards to run a business selling food to the public. Your customers should be particular about what they put in their bodies, and they are entitled to request to know that anyone who’s serving their food and the establishment itself  has passed food safety certification. We’re going to take a look at the importance of food safety certification and who is required to have it.

What Does Food Safety Certification Mean?

The Food Code in both the United States and Canada (where it is known as the Food Retail and Food Services code) requires that there always be at least one employee on site who is certified in food safety. But what does this actually mean and what’s involved in obtaining a food safety certificate?

Kara Lynch of Michigan State University explains more on what obtaining a food safety certification means and why it’s necessary for at least one employee on site at any given tie to obtain it:

“Currently, the Food Code states that a person in charge of a foodservice operation become a certified food protection manager. This has been a standard for many years, but what recently changed was that there always needs to be one person certified in safe food handling onsite during hours of operation. This food safety training covers the details of the food code, such as the source of pathogens, the flow of food from purchasing to serving, cleaning and sanitizing and more.”

Why Do Businesses Want Or Need Food Safety Certification?

There are a number of reasons why businesses want or need food safety certification. First and foremost, an establishment that sells food is breaking the law  in the case that they do not have food safety certification. But secondly, it’s truly just bad business to not obtain proper food handling certification when operating a business that the public is trusting to handle their food.

The Global Food Safety Resource tells us the importance behind obtaining food safety certification:

“Food safety certification conveys to consumers and the marketplace, as well as to employees and key stakeholders, that a food sector business has successfully met the requirements of a national or internationally recognized best practice approach. Certification by an objective third party can be invaluable to any business as it signifies good governance and corporate responsibility. With heightened awareness stemming from recent high profile food recalls, consumers are demanding an increase in food safety standards throughout the global supply chain. Those businesses which become certified to a particular food safety scheme will gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

Who is Required to Obtain A Food Safety Certificate?

So, is it required for all food handlers to be trained in food safety? Depending on where you live, an establishment may or may not be required to have all of its food handling employees certified in food safety. Your province or territory may require just one of its food handlers to be certified, while others may require all food handling employees to obtain this requirement.

Foodsafety.ca tells us more on who is required to possess a Food Safety Certificate:

“By law, all Food Handlers must be adequately trained in food safety. Depending on your province or territory, Food Handler certification may be a legal requirement. Food Handler certification requirements are set and enforced at a provincial and municipal level. As a food business owner, training manager or general manager, you need to have a clear understanding of specific food safety laws in your province or territory to ensure that the business is adhering to federal, provincial and municipal laws.”

At The Greater Goods, we offer consultation services for your business, from food production to distribution. If you’re looking for advice on how to get up and running, we offer a free consultation with our expert food industry consultants and food brokers. 

Nuts and nut butters are healthy fats that have improved and expanded the food industry. They are versatile, tasty, and can be used in a variety of ways. Did you know that peanuts aren’t nuts at all? They are actually legumes, which is a type of pea. This makes it different from other nuts, like almonds, hazelnuts, and cashews.

Peanut butter used to be the only nut butter available on the market, making it impossible for those who were allergic to peanuts to enjoy one of the most adaptable flavors ever made.

Peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and peanut butter, ants on a log, buckeyes; these are just a few of the many recipes you can make using peanut butter, but only those who weren’t allergic got to enjoy these combinations.

That is until nut butter came on the scene.

What is Nut Butter?

Nut butter is a spreadable food paste made from grinding nuts into a butter-like consistency. Nut butter is mixed with sugar to sweeten it and a flavorless oil like coconut oil to make it smooth.

The most popular nut butters include almond butter, cashew butter, hazelnut spread, and sun butter. Nut butters used to be available only in specialty health food stores, but they are becoming increasingly popular that they are now available in most grocers nationwide.

Most nut butters are available in creamy or crunchy versions just like peanut butter, and the taste is extremely similar as well.

Many schools have now replaced peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their cafeterias with sun butter or some other nut butter alternative so that those with peanut allergies can enjoy them too.

Natalie Butler explains how dangerous peanut allergies can be in her article on Healthline by saying, “Peanut allergies can be dangerous. The ACAAI reports that this is one of the food allergens most commonly associated with sudden and severe reactions, such as life-threatening anaphylaxis.”

What to Look for in Nut Butters

Not all nut butters are the same, so it is important to know what to look for and what to avoid.

Nut butters with ingredients like partially hydrogenated oil mean you will be consuming trans fat; a type of fat that can contribute to heart and cholesterol issues.

Alisa Hrustic with prevention.com discusses the effects of trans fat on the body by saying, “Trans fats spike your LDL (or the “dangerous”) cholesterol, which clogs your arteries. At the same time, they cause your HDL (a somewhat protective) cholesterol takes a dip, meaning excess cholesterol can’t be transported back to your liver to be flushed from your body.”

Nut butters can also have additional salt added to them which can increase your blood pressure and cause you to retain water.

When it comes to finding the right nut butters, check the label to see the amount of sugar and salt that is in the nut butter. In the ingredients list, check for partially hydrogenated oil to be listed. If so, you know there is an additional trans fat included in the nut butter. This can play a role in your overall heart health.

Why is Nut Butter so Successful in the Food Industry?

Nut butter is made from nuts, not legumes. Nuts are a single seed that is produced on a plant with its own individual shell that opens when the nut is ready to be eaten. Legumes are part of the pea family because there are multiple seeds in one pod.

Nuts are healthy fats while legumes are healthy proteins. The food industry has capitalized on creating and providing a product to people who have peanut allergies or those who are trying to limit the amount of pea and legumes they consume. They have successfully achieved this by creating nut butters made from all different types of nuts.

At eleatnutrition, they explain the nutritional difference between peanut butter and other nut butters by saying, “Nut butters (peanut, almond, cashew, etc.) are a good source of healthy fats and protein. As for the whole “almond butter is better than peanut butter” debate, variety is better. Each nut has their own unique nutrient content, so by occasionally switching between all the different kinds, you will be getting a wider variety of nutrients. Almond butter is slightly higher in monounsaturated fats and minerals, and peanut butter is slightly higher in protein. Cashew butter is a good source of magnesium, and walnut butter has more omega-3 than them all.”

To maximize using nuts and nut butters in all of your food industry needs, let us help you! Book a free consultation today and we will gladly outline how to make this area of your business successful.