 Where can I get help in starting a FOOD Business? “Starting a Food Business in North Carolina” is an excellent web-site provided by NC State University that walks you through the process of setting up your small food business according to which regulations you will need to follow. All food entrepreneurs should start here:
www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/ext/programs/ncfood/tree.html
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also publishes a Guide for the New Entrepreneur, available at the following website: www.agr.state.nc.us/markets/redtape.htm
In Asheville, Bob Grooms is the Western North Carolina Agribusiness Developer for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and will help small farms and food businesses in their business planning and marketing. Call him at 828-670-7518.
Other resources from the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are at their website: www.ncagr.com/
Once you have entered into this process, you should consult the websites of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that give even more detail on your food business. FDA's primary focus as a regulatory agency is food safety. FDA does not offer financing or business tips for starting up and maintaining a business. FDA offers information on food safety guidelines and regulations it has established that are required for informative labeling and the safe preparation, manufacture, and distribution of food products. www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/foodbiz.html
Many of the above federal documents are available in Spanish and other languages. Go to www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/internat.html
Developing your Product and your Business Plan
In addition to the resources mentioned on starting a small business, there are many resources at the library, in books, and on the web to help you develop a business plan. For food businesses in particular, several older kitchen incubators have developed a set of resources and worksheets to help you through the process of product development and business planning. We recommend that you use these to help you develop your ideas. The Director of BRFV and the business planning resources mentioned in the first section can help you with them as well.
• ACENet Food Ventures in Athens, Ohio has a curriculum and worksheets on their website that is full of helpful information to help you work through your questions associated with setting up your food business. www.acenetworks.org/training/index.php?page=129
• The University of Pennsylvania has some good resources as well:
foodsafety.psu.edu/processor/resources.htm
• Cornell University is the home of the Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship at the New York State Food Venture Center and as such has a wonderful website full of information and fact sheets on starting a food business. www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/pubs/booklet.html
Pricing Your Product
Here is an Excel spreadsheet that can help you figure the cost of making your product at BRFV
Back to FAQ's
Back to Blue Ridge Fodd Venture Home
|
Directions
Driving directions from I-40 west bound or east bound: Take Exit 44. At the traffic light at the end of the exit ramp, turn right (south on 19/23). Go to the fourth traffic light and turn left on Sand Hill Road. Go to the second entrance on the left and turn into the campus. The Haynes Conference Center will be on your right and Blue Ridge Food Ventures in the Incubator Building on your left.
Blue Ridge Food Ventures
Testimonial
AdvantageWest and Blue Ridge Food Ventures enabled me to turn my idea for a business into a reality. You rock!
Leslie Suber
Owner
Sadie’s Caribbean Fish Cakes
Testimonial
Using Blue Ridge Food Ventures, I was able to move quickly to get my award-winning product from testing to full production in just a year.
Ricardo Fernandez
Owner
Chef Ricardo's Authentic Appalachian Tomato Sauces
Mary Lou Surgi
, Executive Director
Blue Ridge Food Ventures
1461 Sand Hill Road
Candler, NC 28715
ph. 828-348-0128
fx. 828-348-0486
Email Mary Lou Surgi
|
