For those ready to follow their foodie dreams (or at least start thinking about it), this book provides the tools to decide if creating a specialty food business is right for you. Whether the goal is selling a single product online or developing a range of gourmet foods for grocery chains, this handbook helps hopeful food entrepreneurs become experts in everything from concept and production to sales and marketing. The author uses real-life examples from more than 75 successful individuals and businesses to illustrate the good, the bad, and the ugly of starting a food enterprise, providing links to useful charts and worksheets to simplify the process and keep entrepreneurs organized and focused.

Business wisdom from more than seventy-five food industry experts, specialty food buyers, and entrepreneurs to help you start and run a small culinary concern. For those ready to follow their foodie dreams (or at least start thinking about it) Good Food, Great Business is the place to get organized and decide whether creating a specialty food business is really possible. Whether the goal is selling a single product online or developing a line of gourmet foods to be sold in grocery chains, this working handbook helps readers become food entrepreneurs—from concept to production to sales to marketing. Using real life examples from more than seventy-five individuals and businesses that have already joined the ranks of successful enterprises, the book walks readers through the good, the bad, and the ugly of starting a food business. In these pages, you’ll learn . . . Personal habits and business fundamentals that will help you in every walk of life How to choose the business idea or ideas that best fit you and your personality How to determine the viability of those ideas Concrete steps you need to take to make your business a reality

Stories and advice for creating a business out of the food you love. Do you have a passion for delicious food and want to create your own business out of it, but have no idea where to start? Cooking Up a Business is essential reading for aspiring entrepreneurs and gives you a real-world, up-close-and-personal preview of the exciting journey. Through profiles and interviews with nationally known food entrepreneurs from Popchips, Vosges Haut-Chocolat, Hint Water, Mary’s Gone Crackers, Love Grown Foods, Kopali Organics, Tasty, Evol, Justin’s Nut Butters, Cameron Hughes Wine, and more, you will gain applicable, practical guidance that teaches you how to succeed today: • How to create a national brand—with no connections or experience • The secret to getting meetings with grocery store buyers • The number one thing you need to know about food safety regulations • Why a grassroots budget might actually help you succeed • Specific advice for gluten-free, organic, wine, and beverage companies • What every entrepreneur wishes someone had told them at the beginning • Why doing what you love is always a good idea

From an accomplished journalist, this illuminating chronicle of the trials, tribulations, and triumph of Zingerman’s—a beloved, $70 million-dollar Michigan-based gourmet food store with global reach—is “thoughtful reading for foodies and entrepreneurs” (Kirkus Reviews). Certain businesses are legendary, exerting immense influence in their field. Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is one of those places. Over the years the flagship deli has expanded into a community of more than a dozen businesses, including a wildly successful mail order operation, restaurants, bakery, coffee roastery, creamery, candy maker, and events space—transforming Ann Arbor into a destination for food lovers. Founded in 1982 by Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman’s philosophy of good food, excellent service, and sound finances has turned it into a company whose reach spans all corners of the gourmet food world.? Famous for its generous deli sandwiches, fresh bread, and flavorful coffee—all locally produced—Zingerman’s is also widely celebrated for its superb customer service and employee equity. The culture is one of respect and innovation, while maintaining very high standards. Every employee has access to the financial records, everyone has a voice, and everyone is heard. It has legions of enthusiastic customers, fans across the food world, and business principles and a work ethic that have been admired, analyzed, and copied. All that is revealed here, in Micheline Maynard’s Satisfaction Guaranteed. Discover how by 2019, Zingerman’s employed hundreds of employees and achieved close to $70 million in annual sales. When the pandemic struck, Zingerman’s growth momentarily screeched to a halt—but it survived by reinventing itself, while still serving its beloved food and selling its wide array of groceries. Now, as Zingerman’s looks forward to a half century in business, it is on track for stronger results than ever. A recipe for success in business and in life, Satisfaction Guaranteed provides a roadmap for manifesting joy and purpose in everything you do.

Previously published as a Gotham Books hardcover edition.

The definitive guide to buying, storing, and enjoying whole foods, in full color for the first time and revised and updated throughout. An inspiring and indispensable one-stop resource, The Essential Good Food Guide is your key to understanding how to buy, store, and enjoy whole foods. Margaret M. Wittenberg shares her insider’s knowledge of products available at national retailers and natural foods markets, providing at-a-glance buying guides. Her ingredient profiles include detailed preparation advice, such as dried bean cooking times, cooking ratios of whole grains to water, culinary oil smoke points, and much more. She also clarifies confusing food labels, misleading marketing claims, and common misperceptions about everyday items, allowing you to maximize the benefits of whole foods cooking. With full-color photography, this new edition of The Essential Good Food Guide is fully revised with the most up-to-date advice on organics, heirloom grains and legumes, gluten-free cooking options, and the new varieties of fruits and vegetables popping up at farmers’ markets across the country to help you make the most of your time in the grocery aisle and the kitchen.