Pro Food Maker

Want to open a restaurant? You don’t need a brick and mortar location or even a food truck. Fred Corder, Co-Owner of Maryland Chickan, walks us through how #DeepFriedWatermelon does pop ups at night markets and food events in Southeast Asia and the U.S. Fred also talks about:

• Why Black entrepreneurs need to do more business internationally
• The importance of decentralization of business and media and why this is the best time to be a food entrepreneur
• Why pop up restaurants are profitable and don’t have to be a stepping stone to a food truck or physical restaurant

Mentioned in this episode

• Pockets Fulla of Pillz
• VeganDale Food & Drink Festival
• Emporiyum Food Market
• 626 Night Market
• Queens Night Market
• Smorgasburg
• Charm City Night Market in Baltimore, Maryland
• Baltimore Seafood Fest

Connect with Fred Corder & Maryland Chickan

Instagram: @marylandchickan

Facebook: @marylandchickan and @pocketsfullapillz

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Website: profoodmaker.com

Instagram: instagram.com/profoodmaker

Facebook: facebook.com/profoodmaker

Twitter: twitter.com/profoodmakerpod

Hashtags: #profoodmaker #profoodmakerpodcast

A podcast introduction that includes who I am, why I started this food podcast, why we need to support Black owned businesses as a lifestyle, not a special occasion, and episode topics you can expect:

• The steps a food entrepreneur took to start their food business
• How to conduct market research
• How to price your products
• How to write a business plan
• How to get customer feedback
• Navigating food and safety laws
• The types of funding available and how to secure funding for your business

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Today’s guest is...no one! Hey everyone. I’m Mercedes Gosby, the host of the Pro Food Maker Podcast and welcome to the first episode.

Pro Food Maker’s mission is to provide a blueprint on how to grow your food career and/or food business by:

• Interviewing Black food professionals and entrepreneurs about their career and/or business
• Sharing what I’m learning as a food entrepreneur

Mentioned in this episode

• Fertile Ground Food Cooperative
• 5 Steps to Buying from Black Owned Businesses Every Day

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Listen to this episode:

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Reach out to the Pro Food Maker Podcast

Website: profoodmaker.com

Instagram: instagram.com/profoodmaker

Facebook: facebook.com/profoodmaker

Twitter: twitter.com/profoodmakerpod

Social media hashtags: #profoodmaker #profoodmakerpodcast

Reggie Kelly, former NFL player, discusses the similarities between playing pro football and running a food business. You’ll learn:

• Strategies to overcome marketing & brand awareness challenges
• The importance of conducting research before developing products
• How to get your children involved in the family business

KYVAN Foods, is a line of seasonings, sauces, jams & jellies, and salsas. Reggie Kelly is a former football tight end, and played for the Cincinnati Bengals & Atlanta Falcons.

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Timestamps

[3:01]: How Reggie & his wife Sheila started KYVAN Foods.

[5:25]: Reggie and Sheila’s kids are also involved with the family business.

[7:02]: How cooking with family has influenced KYVAN Foods. Cooking with family is about the experience and making memories together

[11:02]: Reggie’s experience figuring out what he was going to do after his NFL career.

[15:13]: Similarities between playing sports and running a business. Reggie learned the importance of selflessness, being focused, paying attention to details, how to deliver a great product, and perseverance.

[18:04]: How Reggie and Sheila pitched their products to Walmart

[24:04]: The importance of conducting research before developing products

[28:46]: Marketing and brand awareness were the biggest challenges for KYVAN Foods.

[30:36]: Social media engagement, product giveaways, sending emails to your email list are inexpensive marketing tools. You also need to know the right demographics to market to.

[36:15]: New KYVAN Foods products are on the way.

[37:21]: Family is everything. Reggie gets his drive from his family.

Mentioned in this episode

• Honey Apple Salsa https://kyvan82.com/shop/ols/products/kyvan-mild-honey-apple-salsa
• Honey Apple Butter https://kyvan82.com/shop/ols/products/kyvan-honey-apple-butter
• KYVAN Foods website: https://kyvan82.com/
• KYVAN Foods on Instagram: https://instagram.com/kyvan82
• KYVAN Foods on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyvan82

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Listen to this episode

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Reach out to the Pro Food Maker Podcast

Website: profoodmaker.com

Instagram: instagram.com/profoodmaker

Facebook: facebook.com/profoodmaker

Twitter: twitter.com/profoodmakerpod

Hashtags: #profoodmaker #profoodmakerpodcast

Jornae Rideaux, better known as the Modern Day Milk Lady, is a public health professional and the owner of Produce Milk, a dairy-free and plant-based almond milk brand based in Houston, Texas. Jornae discusses:

• Her recipe development process for her almond milk flavors
• The importance of collaborating with other food entrepreneurs in Houston
• How Jornae applies her Masters in Public Health (MPH) experience to running her food business

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Timestamps

[1:32]: How Jornae got started with Produce Milk. There were several months of trial and error for Jornae when she developed her almond milk recipes.

[3:55]: Jornae’s friend, Kim, introduces her to Ella, the owner of Crumbville, which is where Jornae had her first pop-up.

[7:38]: Working with her hands is important to Jornae and is influenced by her grandfather. He finds a lot of joy working with his hands and Jornae believes that it’s his fountain of youth.

[9:39]: Jornae talks about her experience working with the community as a public health professional.

[12:00]: How Jornae applies her MPH experience to Produce Milk. She enjoys the relationship building aspect with the community and that carries over into her business.

[14:20]: It can be a journey being comfortable with who you are.

[15:52]: Strategies Jornae uses for getting people, who may be initially reluctant, to try her almond milk. Samples usually help.

[17:39]: Jornae was on a quest to create almond milk that tasted good enough to enjoy on its own. A lot of plant-based milks need to be paired with something else in order to be tolerable.

[19:06]: How Jornae prepared for her first pop-up and some of the challenges she ran into.

[21:02]: Other business challenges and set backs. Jornae explains how helpful the SURE program was for her and her business.

[23:06]: Some of the fears/concerns that Jornae has as an entrepreneur. Jornae’s perspective is that there’s something great on the other side of fear, so that inspires her to keep moving forward.

[25:33]: Jornae’s top resources that are helping her get to the next level in her business.

[27:30]: The ultimate goal is to have a storefront. Jornae wants to expand her line and has plans to partner with Sweets by Blackbird owner, Abwori.

[30:17] Jornae partnered with Kim and her husband, owners of Jinka, a turmeric paste company, to create a golden milk.

[31:09] Jornae created Produce Milk with the intention of it being a lifestyle brand and helping people take small steps to sustainable, healthy lifestyle. In 2020, Jornae is planning to create healthy living content.

[32:27]: How can you help? Jornae is motivated by your support!

Mentioned in this episode

• Change Happens
• Kim of Eyebrow Energy
• Ella Russell of Crumbville
• University of Houston SURE program
• SCORE
• University of Houston Law Center small business services where they pair you with law student and attorney
• Blue Apron
• Abwori of Sweets by Blackbird
• Kim , co-owner of Jinka turmeric paste

Connect with Jornae Rideaux & Produce Milk

Website: https://www.producemilk.com/

Instagram: @producemilk

Facebook: @producemilk

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