Hello Alice's
Circular Summit 2019
Circular Summit 2019
Food & Beverage Industry Resource Center
Find the exact tools, community and funding info you need
How do you sell your delicious kombucha when customers can’t sample it in grocery stores? What do you do with surplus organic veggies when wholesale customers are no longer placing orders? Food and beverage owners are adapting to these problems and more, from unreliable supply chains to erratic customer demand. In fact, Hello Alice has found that food and beverage businesses applying for our COVID-19 Business for All Emergency Grants report day-to-day operations are their biggest problem, followed by acquiring customers, growing their business, and marketing/building awareness. It’s time to find a path forward. Below, find a curated list of industry-specific resources, experiences from fellow food and beverage owners about the challenges they’re facing, and how-to guides designed to help you reopen your doors and get back to business.
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Find Resources Specific to Food & Beverage Entrepreneurs
SUBMIT RESOURCESWhat Your Peers are Sharing with Hello Alice
Christina Angell
Root Cellar Foods
“We have staff currently employed, but all staff hours have been cut because most of our business is based off wholesale customers. We are trying to expand into the online, direct-to-consumer market so that individuals can have weekly veggies boxes, consisting of prepped and unprocessed veggies, delivered directly to them in order for them to feel safe while shopping.”
Twann Wilkerson
Kool Treats by Mama Dukes
“Most of my sales are made in direct contact with my customers, and due to COVID-19 the personal interactions have eliminated essential connections that I made with frequent customers causing sales to decline. In addition, since my business provided financial and emotional support for employees, the effects of COVID-19 has also severely impacted their well-being, preventing my staff from attending classes and gaining the mental support that is needed to survive during this time.”
Create a New Business Plan
Customers aren’t spending money on food and beverage products like they were six months ago, and retail partners are adjusting orders or potentially closing altogether. Throw in new expenses like PPE, and the landscape for your business likely looks very different. Now is the time to take control of your future by exploring opportunities, testing the waters, and investing time, money, and energy where it matters.
HOW-TO GUIDE
Reopen Safely & Reinvigorate Company Culture
The safety of your employees and customers comes first. Learn how to outfit your food and beverage business to meet best practices, and strategize how to support your team with open communication, mental health resources, and more.
HOW-TO GUIDE
HOW-TO GUIDE
Rethink How You Sell Your Food & Beverage Product and Manage Inventory
As food and beverage brands struggle with fluctuating wholesale demand and lagging in-person sales at grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and similar in-person venues, it might be time to connect with customers in new and exciting ways. Take this time to solidify your e-commerce presence and consider direct-to-consumer sales in order to cut out the middleman. Most of all, learn how to tackle issues with your supply chain and streamline your inventory practices.
HOW-TO GUIDE
HOW-TO GUIDE
HOW-TO GUIDE
Learn How to Sell Yourself Online
Selling a food and beverage product often means appealing to a lifestyle or personal connection. How do you take advantage of these intangibles when trade shows are a bust and one-on-one sampling opportunities remain risky or non-existent? Learn how to take advantage of virtual sales techniques from across industries so that you can use social media, video content, and other tools to create lasting customer relationships and move inventory.
HOW-TO GUIDE
Printable Flyers for Your Place of Work
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has put together common COVID-19 templates to post in your physical location: one safety poster to describe safety measures taken to minimize risk for your staff and customers, and another poster with a standard employee health questionnaire to help screen for COVID-19. You’ll be able to customize these posters to fit your needs. All you’ll need to do is print them out.
TEMPLATESEMPLOYEE QUESTIONNAIRE
Online Community
Post questions, offer advice, and share resources with thousands of entrepreneurs navigating these uncertain times alongside you. Our online Business for All community and twice weekly Community on Call virtual meetups are here to help you support each other as well as receive expert advice.
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