Catalyst Creamery

Getting out of my own way to address single-use plastics in packaged food.

I got a couple of emails from a new vegan grocery store that I have been eyeballing called Black Radish asking to carry Catalyst Creamery.   What are the basics needed to get on store shelves? Packaging Label information Reasonable Shelf life   I go on a bit of a rant about how cheese people do not like the idea of plant-based cheese. Pricing figured out for wholesale and retail

What did I learn in my first foray into direct to consumer sales as a food startup? Boy, did I underestimate the details that you should have worked out!  I'm talking, doing a production run for something very small and not setting quantities. In this episode  I run through what I'll do better next time.

Well, the direct to cheese lovers delivery, up to St. Pete, just happened a couple of days ago and I wanted to share  the magic of in-person contact from a distance.

Where is your super squad? Marketing isn't just selling it's a conversation with your squad. I start this episode off with a look into how I'm having fun on Instagram and meeting some amazing people who love vegan cheese.  I then shift gears into a lesson learned on sourcing ingredients. When you're going to switch suppliers of a key ingredient, it is really important to have them send you a sample and vet, it out to make sure that it is a direct replacement for what you're currently using before you commit to purchasing large quantities. Lesson Learned.

COVID 19 has been a challenge for small businesses everywhere. I've been in a mental slump. After having a few people reach out to get cheeze I finally got back to the work of building a food company. 

All popups and farmers' markets have been canceled.  Now what? 

A full report on our first Popup market!

This week is the week of the natural products Expo, which is the largest trade show for organic and natural products. Everything from home care supplements food vegan products, you name it. If you can find it at a health food store. It's going to be at the show. Well, the years 2020. And this meeting of 85,000 people, 3600  brands represented was canceled due to Covid 19.

Hats off to those solo founders who had a great recipe and went for it, and are out there and those markets every weekend. The truth is that your friends and family will lie to you about how good your food product is! Time to get these cheezes out to the people!

So I just hit this wall of terror, fear, frustration, lack of direction, just difficulty, having a product that truly is in the snack category versus anything even remotely healthy. And it's been a lot of work. It's been three months of product development basically to finally be getting to the point where I'm so happy with the recipes So, I just hit this wall where I was like why. In doing this, and I'm sure you can relate. If you've built a business from scratch on your own, especially a food business. I'm just so surprised that anyone gets past this initial obstacle because it's that. How do you get your product out there? When you've got to pay all this upfront stuff and get all this licensing before you even prove if consumers want it.

But I'm in the final stretch with the required tax forms, business licenses, and food handlers safety certifications. Updtes include packaging, commercial kitchen options, and fermentation.

I've got to get over my own fear that I'm going to fail and that these plant-based cheezes taste like crap   Our first pop up market is announced!

I don't know why I'm trying to build a business in the face of climate collapse. Who cares if I'm recycling Who cares if I'm reducing plastics? Who cares if I'm taking quicker showers or I'm consuming less or I'm eating mostly vegan? It is so much bigger than the act of an individual.

It's important to narrow down the amount of products you offer. Does going all blue cheese make sense?

Should you order an ice cream machine from Amazon?

I finally pulled out a lot of cheeses and set up a taste test with Javan. The results? Cheese changes with age, even a vegan version so I had tossed some out that when we did the official setup tasting were front runners

Today is all about branding and identity and the visual side of how you represent what it is you're doing. So to do that, I reached out to friends in the food space who specialize in logos and branding for food businesses. 

I'm definitely starting to feel the emotional side of making a decision to build a food business. I didn't think I'd experience it so much because I've been running my own consulting business for three years now but man is there a lot of self-doubt.   What am I doing to differentiate my product and company?

Something that you may or may not think about when you're first developing a food product is the shelf life. At what point do you start to consider the shelf life of your product? What are some ways to begin testing your formula before sending it to a lab?

A catalyst is a movement for change, it's something that gets things moving! It heats things up like it's a really cool chemical reaction and it's also a social reaction to the global crisis and how food is a major part of our environmental issues. And now it is the name of my new company.

It can not be understated that it takes a team to bring an idea to a grocery store shelf. In this episode, I talk about the importance of connecting with subject matter experts and I reveal the company name!

You have a great idea to make food - but where can you do that?

The name has been going through an evolution but you have to have a name in order to register a business and move forward.

This week I struggle with indecision on purchase options, expand on the company name, and have a moment with a craigslist seller who seems to be a scam artist of sorts who deals in used ice cream equipment. Goals for next week- Work on the business license, ingredient sourcing, and cheese caves for vegan aged cheeses.

Have you ever done something that scares the crap out of you? You know the odds are stacked against you but if you don't take the risk you know you'll regret it? That is where I have found myself- at the crossroad of knowing what I love but fearing failure so much that I keep talking myself out of going after my dream. I figured a podcast could be a great way to hold myself accountable and maybe help out another foodprenuer as I navigate a food startup from scratch to stomaches everywhere! Follow along each week as I navigate the real world of creating a vegan dairy alternative and bring it to market - fingers crossed