Retail Ready: Taking Your Food Business to the Next Level
Transitioning from direct-to-consumer to retail is a major milestone for many small food and beverage brands. However, the excitement of landing shelf space at major retailers can be short-lived if companies don't know how to effectively navigate the key challenges of entering the retail space.
Join us for a half-day event to gain an inside perspective from experts in retail, warehousing, marketing, branding, and food safety.
Topics we'll cover include:
- Evaluating your retail readiness
- Defining your marketing strategy
- Navigating food safety regulations
- Avoiding common retail pitfalls
- Evaluating your warehousing options
- And more!
Event includes lunch, presentations, and Q&A.
Lunch is sponsored by Georgia Grown and will include products from Georgia Grown companies!
Speakers:
Wendy White, GaMEP Food and Beverage Industry Manager, leads GaMEP's food industry services, which include regulatory compliance, HACCP food safety plans, and third-party audit certification preparation.
Andrea Hines, GaMEP Food and Beverage Project Manager, helps food entrepreneurs and manufacturers bring their products to life through commercialization, food safety and quality systems, implementation of GFSI audit schemes, and preparation for animal welfare audits.
Caley Landau, GaMEP Marketing Strategist, oversees the marketing and outreach efforts for the GaMEP, drawing on her expertise in marketing strategy, project management, event coordination, content development, and email marketing.
Diana Earwood, Founder and Managing Member of plain.stated., is the link to all things local. An agricultural liaison passionate about connecting growers and producers with their target markets, she brings the best blend of sales, education and account management. Having worked with brands, farmers and brokers, plus industry and government organizations big and small, Diana knows what it takes to state your story.
Nathan Baggio, Manager of Food Safety Vendor Audits for Costco Wholesale, has 15 years of experience at Costco in Operations, Buying, and Food Safety & Quality Management, and currently leads Costco's US Food Safety Vendor Audit, FSVP, and HACCP teams.
