SO2141 Food Starter Programme - Helping you to set up your food business

Food Starter Programme - Helping you to set up your food business.

This ‘Food Starter' programme will be delivered over four half days. If you have a food idea or are at a very early stage (typically the 1st 24 months) of starting up a food business, this programme is ideal for you.

The objective of the course is to provide you with a base knowledge of what is involved in setting up a food business. The content is designed to provide you with information which will allow you to avoid the pitfalls normally associated with this journey.

The programme content assumes you have the required business knowledge to run your enterprise e.g. you must already understand the basics of setting up a business, tax compliance rules, creating a business plan etc, if not you can do this in conjunction with our Start Your Own Business Programme.

While certain aspects of the programme are relevant to those setting up cafes/restaurants, the core programme content is designed for those producing food to be sold through third parties i.e. food producers.

If you are considering applying for the Food Academy Programme in the future, this programme will provide you with an excellent opportunity to boost your chances of securing a place.

The programme is run over four half day online group sessions. You must attend each online session.

Venue: Online

Date: 02th March, 09th March 23rd March and 30th March 2021.

Workshop Timing: 09:30am – 1.00pm each day

Cost: €75

Programme Overview:

Workshop One - Delivered over two days.

First Half Day

09.30 - 10.00 Introduction and programme outline.
10.00 - 10.30 Course Participant objectives Review.
10.30 - 11.15 Successful small business stories, videos and case studies.
11.15 - 11.30 BREAK
11.30 - 11.45 Outline of business feasibility study
11.45 - 12.00 Consumer and market research
12.00 - 12.30 Market Trends and drivers.
12.30 - 12.45 Primary Market research
12.45 - 13.00 Measuring market gaps

Second Half Day

09.30 - 10.30 Food safety and legislations
10.30 - 11.00 Packaging
11.00 - 11.30 BREAK
11.30 - 11.45 Considerations for developing your product for launch
11.45 - 12.30 Selecting the right channel/route to market
12.30 - 1.00 Close and talk through exercises to be completed for the next workshop

Workshop Two - Delivered Over Two Half Days.

Third Half Day.

09.30 - 10.00 Exercise reviews.
10.00 - 10.30 Costings and Managing Finance.
10.30 - 11.00 BREAK
11.00 - 11.30 State Agency Supports and sources of funding
11.30 - 12.00 Case Study
12.00 - 1.00 Distribution and Logistics

Fourth Half Day

09.30 - 10.00 Identifying you Unique Selling Points
10.00 - 11.00 Understanding Branding
11.00 - 11.30 BREAK
11.30 - 11.45 Brand and Packaging Review Exercise
11.45 - 12.15 Communicating your brand - Marketing/PR
12.15 - 1.00 Next steps & Q&A

The Trainers:

This programme will be delivered by Mr. Conor Hyde of Bullseye Food Marketing who has a wealth of experience working with the food production sector.

Workshop Material:

Handouts, templates and case studies will be provided to you as part of the programme.

Mentoring:

This programme includes four hours one to one mentoring for each business.

If you have any queries, please email localenterprise@sligococo.ie