Home to food tech incubators, a strong food entrepreneurship scene, and many multi-national consumer product goods (CPG) companies it's no wonder Chicago is one of the best (if not the best) city for food entrepreneurship. To create a thriving food startup, consumers need to discover your brand. With many of us spending hours a day on social media, influencers are a natural fit to help a business drive sales. This panel discussion will feature Influencers working with consumer product goods…

Follow your dreams of starting a food business with our help. The Hatchery's cornerstone curriculum course will help you launch a successful food and beverage company. Learn all about the food entrepreneurship space as well as required licensing, certification, financing, and branding. Each attendee will receive our Starting a Food Business checklist, taking you through each license and certification you need to consider, so you'll get started on the right track. An experienced business attorney will also cover the many…

In this introductory course, we will take a look at the basics of accounting, financial statements and financial analyses - specifically as it relates to food & beverage companies. We'll go through accounting methodology for important aspects of the business, as well as key KPI's to track as you grow. Time and again, incredible companies with amazing visions are unable to scale because they lack a good handle on their finances. Don't let this happen to you! Let's take a…

In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn the basic framework of the 4 Ps: Product Assessments (size, costs, “look”), Pricing (the best model, staying competitive, maximizing margin), Promotions (extending to the customer, calendar planning, demos), and Placement (costs of entry, slotting, e-commerce). Other topics covered include broker & distributor relationship management, strategies for market entry, and evaluating sales data. About the presenter: Andrew Kramer has worked in the food industry for over 25 years, on both retail and distribution areas of the business, leading teams in Operations, Marketing, Advertising, and…

What is public relations in today’s crowded communications environment? Why is it important for small brands looking to carve a point of difference in and/or make it to mass in the marketplace? In this workshop with Laura Shulman (Founder, Food Future Strategies), we'll explore how to effectively utilize multi-channel/platform storytelling, third party credibility, building advocacy, and basic tenets to effective storytelling. We'll take a look at successful case studies, as well as workshop your brand's story! About the presenter: Laura Shulman is…

Join us for another exciting #HatcheryNetworking event! Our monthly Hatchery Networking events are a great place to meet entrepreneurs and other members of our community! You'll always learn about an interesting trend or topic in the food industry, meet a member of The Hatchery team, and get to sample products from our Hatchery Entrepreneur members! Exciting speaker(s) to be announced very soon!

Join Science Retail for an overview on popular trends in restaurant technologies, and learn how to choose what's best for your business. We'll cover everything from data networks, POS, wifi, cameras, music, cloud-connected services and even website basics. Understand the biggest trends in restaurant technology, how to establish an IT strategy that fits your budget, and how to manage & avoid IT nightmares. Snacks will be generously provided by Science Retail and Upserve! *This class is free for residents of the West Side communities.…