ABOUT FOOD BIZ WIZ®

Let's transform the food industry.

Courses & coaching to help conscious packaged food entrepreneurs get on the shelves and increase sales once you're there.

 

Let's be honest.

 
 

The packaged food industry has
historically looked like this:

That’s why we’re on a mission to
make it look more like this:

 
 

Psst...if you want to join us in our mission, J.E.D.I. Collaborative is our favorite resource for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion training, specific to the packaged food industry.

 
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Our Philosophy

Everyone deserves the knowledge & tools they need to give their business a real shot at success.

When we empower entrepreneurs and help their food business succeed, we are able to increase diversity on our shelves, deepen connections to our food sources, and support consumers as they shop more consciously and with integrity.

If this is a change you want to be a part of, we’d love to have you inside Retail Ready®

 
 
 
 

Who we help.

Hey there, food industry founders! Food Biz Wiz® has solutions for you if you...

 
 
  • Created a packaged product but now need to build a network of loyal fans and repeat purchasers

  • Want to get super clear on who you're selling to and how to communicate what’s special about you, your product, and your brand

  • Are passionate about your business, and are willing to put in the work to grow your business

  • Are committed to producing sustainable food and care to create a great culture for your employees

  • Are looking to finally be proactive in your business and gain decision-making confidence, rather than feeling reactive to each thing that comes up and uncertain about the path forward

  • Realize you have room to grow and want to push yourself, but need someone to help you do just that

  • Understand that systemic racism exists in our food systems, and that we need to work together as an industry to actively dismantle outdated systems and educate ourselves on how to create more inclusive, diverse and equitable food businesses

 
 
 
 

Winging it isn’t a long-term solution.

You can only get so far by hustling, hoping, and working harder. It’s time to develop a proactive sales strategy and start investing in the tools & support you need to grow your business to the next level.

 
 
 
 

MEET THE TEAM

Owning a packaged food business is hard.

The expert Food Biz Wiz® team is here to make it easier.

 
 

The Buyer’s Perspective

Alli, Founder & CEO

Alli provides consulting & coaching to our Retail Ready® students from the wholesale buyer’s perspective in our student group and on our live Q&A calls. Alli helps producers understand what it takes to get your products on the retail shelf - and keep them there - by sharing the behind-the-scenes secrets and thought processes of Wholesale Buyers as they assess new products for their stores or online shelves.

Prior to launching Food Biz Wiz in 2014, Alli was essential in the development of the Bi-Rite Family of Businesses, sourcing product & consulting hundreds of up-and-coming food businesses for years as an Assistant Buyer for Bi-Rite 18th Street in San Francisco, and then as Head of Grocery & Store Manager at Bi-Rite Divisadero, building and managing a team and operations to support over 3,000 SKUs & $7M in annual sales in the grocery department alone.

In addition to assisting over 1,000 brands inside of Retail Ready®, Alli has consulted with retail stores across the US to train grocery buying teams on category review practices, increasing sales, launching private label brands, and fine-tuning operations for multimillion-dollar departments. She has supported The Good Food Awards for seven years as the Founding Pantry Chair, and the Committee Chair Manager, and volunteers for La Cocina, a nonprofit working to solve problems of equity in business ownership for women, immigrants and people of color.

You can find Alli on industry stages such as Expo West, The Fancy Food Show, or ECRM Sessions, or weekly on Food Biz Wiz®, an award-winning podcast for emerging packaged food brands.

 
 
 

The Founder Mindset

Charlie, VP of Product & Student Success

Charlie provides strategic support & consulting within our Retail Ready® student community, on our monthly group Q&A calls, and on 1:1 VIP calls with our current students. He also ensures that the educational content is EXACTLY what emerging food & beverage brands need as they grow their businesses, and that brands learn from all the mistakes that he’s made over the years.

He brings over 18 years of experience in teaching, consulting and most recently the CPG space as the founder & operator of Element Shrub, a 7x award-winning line of cocktail mixers and RTD shrub sodas that have been featured in Oprah, Bon Appetit & VOGUE Magazine. He is also a founding partner at The Fountain Inn, a spirits tasting room in Georgetown DC, bringing hands-on-knowledge of building a brick & mortar concept from the ground up. Finally, to further demonstrate that he doesn’t care much about sleep, he currently volunteers as the CPG Expert-in-Residence at SEE-LA (The Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles), a Los Angeles non-profit, connecting people to healthy food through farmers’ markets, nutrition education, and food access programs.

Through this experience, he teaches our students exactly what he wishes he knew when he was an early-stage entrepreneur, from a first-hand founder perspective.

He currently lives in Arlington, VA with his wife & two kids.

 
 
 

Supportive Guidance

Gabriela, Student Success Coordinator

Gabby ensures that each of our Retail Ready® students has an exceptional experience in our program: from welcoming you into our community & getting you oriented, to guiding you through the educational content, connecting you with the resources that you need in order to grow your business within Retail Ready®, and bragging about your successes on our social media channels, Gabby holds our student’s hands from start to finish, anticipating their every need before they even realize it themselves. She also coordinates our podcast guests and ensures that they, who are experts in their fields and share our values of creating equity in our CPG industry, get the digital downloads they deserve each week!

 
 
 
 

Social Media & Marketing

Miranda, Marketing Assistant

Miranda works tirelessly behind the scenes here at Food Biz Wiz ® to ensure that larger sales & marketing initiatives are executed for our audience without a hitch. She serves as the point-woman for various digital marketing endeavors, and her affinity for project management allows our internal quarterly projects to remain organized and timely. She's determined to become a jack of all trades with her hands in our web design, asset creation, and even advertising. If you've participated in one of our 5-day Wholesale Week challenges in the past, you've witnessed the fruits of her labors!

 

Abby, Digital Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

Abby is the thread that ties our Food Biz Wiz® podcast listeners, our future clients, and our Retail Ready® students together. She ensures that our digital marketing & social media is helpful & relevant to our audience, that our broader communities know exactly how we can support you, and that our team stays connected with other leaders in the food industry. Each week, Abby ensures that our digital community is in the loop on what’s going on in our industry, how we can support you as you grow your packaged food business, and what our students are celebrating in their own businesses. Abby is likely one of the very first people you interact with when connecting with us at Food Biz Wiz®!

 
 
 

Success Stories

 

“3 months after completing Retail Ready®, we convinced the Whole Foods Midwest region to pick up our products. Securing that retailer helped me raise our first round of funding, and we've since gotten our retail sales to six figures and growing!”

— EMILY GRIFFITH, Lil’ Bucks

“Since Retail Ready®, I’ve gotten really great feedback from buyers about our pitch and being interested in our product. One literally called me Thursday morning and was like ‘how do I get this immediately?’ I can’t say thanks enough for having such an incredible platform and content.”

KRISSY SCOMMEGNA, Boonville Barn Collective

“When we joined Retail Ready®, we were a B2B focus company; however, Covid pushed us to open new sales channels and re-invent ourselves. Retail Ready® gave us the right tools to effectively change our strategy to get our product onto shelves and have the language to speak to large retailers.”

MARIA PALACIO, Progeny Coffee

 
 

Grow With Us

If your values align with ours and you are ready to grow your business, you are invited to join our community. Click here to grow with us:

 
 
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