Food & Beverage Talk by Morgan & Westfield

The agricultural industry’s broad supply chain and complex distribution system feed the world. Cale Rice, VP of lending with National Bank Holdings, brings his passion and extensive experience to the table to discuss financing, banking, and the challenges that exist for the food and agricultural industry. He discusses the complexities of the supply chain, factors that impact the commodity markets, advice about taking on debt, and the influence of technology on growth and productivity in agriculture. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More About This Episode: Buy-Side Food and Beverage M&A AdvisoryFood and Beverage M&A Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business, Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Dealcontact Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Bringing a Niche Food Product to the MarketplaceLeveraging Marketing Data for Success in the Food & Beverage IndustryHow Artificial Intelligence Is Impacting the Food Industry

Iconic branding will stick in a consumer’s mind for years. Presenting a consistent brand experience across every touchpoint is critical to a successful marketing campaign for any F&B product. Branding expert Alexandra Liebler shares insights on how to build brands and deliver profitable growth. She discusses building brand experience and creating emotional connections, shares insights into how branding has changed over time, and highlights the branding points of memorable global brands. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More About This Episode: Buy-Side Food and Beverage M&A AdvisoryFood and Beverage M&A Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business, Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Dealcontact Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Bringing a Niche Food Product to the MarketplaceLeveraging Marketing Data for Success in the Food & Beverage IndustryHow Artificial Intelligence Is Impacting the Food Industry

Functional beverages are sweeping the markets, and the intersection between mental wellness and organic living meets at the first plant-based smoothie made from whole coconut – Genius Juice. Alex Bayer, founder of Genius Juice, discusses the evolution of his company, scalability, supply chain issues, launching a new product line, and building a sustainable business. Hear insights from this entrepreneur who has imagined, developed, and marketed a niche food product and garnered investment partners on the TV show Shark Tank. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: Food Industry Trends that Can Affect M&A ActivitySpecialty Food ManufacturingThe Serious Sweet Company Acquires John Bull Confectioners in the UK Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business, Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Dealcontact Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Bringing a Niche Food Product to the MarketplaceLeveraging Marketing Data for Success in the Food & Beverage IndustryHow Artificial Intelligence Is Impacting the Food Industry

Chocolate makes the world go round – at least it does for Sarris Chocolates. William Sarris discusses the growth and evolution of a small family chocolate company into a major player in the independent chocolate business, Sarris Chocolates. He discusses the universal love of chocolate, the company’s growth from the family’s basement to a destination retail shop, the production facilities that produce over 3000 chocolate novelties, and how this family has built a brand that continues to evolve and grow. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: Food Industry Trends that Can Affect M&A ActivitySpecialty Food ManufacturingThe Serious Sweet Company Acquires John Bull Confectioners in the UK Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business, Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Dealcontact Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Hot Cocoa – From Cottage Industry to Regional FavoriteWhat Does It Take To Bring a Small Chocolate Snack To a Large Market?The Sweet Coconut Success That Led to Shark Tank Interest

Combining an entrepreneurial spirit with his passion for the planet and compassion for animals, Brett Christoffel is trying to make Texas the largest plant-based protein producer in the USA while creating a company that also makes money. He discusses the health benefits to people and the planet of plant-based proteins, the manufacturing process, finding the right co-packer, handling taste testing, and the challenges in bringing snacks to the marketplace through independent retailers and Amazon. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: Food and Beverage RetailersSpecialty Food Manufacturing Resources Mentioned Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business, Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue,Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Dealcontact Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Bringing a Niche Food Product to the MarketplaceLeveraging Marketing Data for Success in the Food & Beverage IndustryHow Artificial Intelligence Is Impacting the Food Industry

If 95% of food start-ups fail, how can entrepreneurs hope to get new products into the marketplace? Bernard Verkaaik offers expert advice on the competitive challenges start-ups face, what acquirers look for when they consider buying an F&B start-up, tips on building a brand that is difficult to replicate, the importance of scalability and how often consumers replace a product, when to work with a co-manufacturer, how the right broker can help get products on shelves, and what gets a retail buyer’s attention. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: Business Broker and M&A Advisor Fees: A Comprehensive GuideDo I Need To Hire a Local Business Broker?M&A Basics | Why Do Business Owners Sell Their Business? Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business, Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Dealcontact Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: How a Start-up Company Is Leading a Snack Food RevolutionThe Future of Food & Beverage DistributionTips for CPG Brands Looking for the Right Co-Packer

Impact investing can make a difference in regenerative agriculture. Will Harris, a 4th-generation farmer in rural Georgia, talks about the evolution of the beef industry into a vertically integrated food system, the positive impacts of grass-fed beef, and the benefits to animal welfare – areas that are returning to being valued aspects of food production. Will weaves this into a broader discussion of how to make farming more sustainable, more environmentally friendly, and more beneficial to us all. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: The Food and Beverage M&A UpdateFood and Beverage Industry TrendsHistory of the Global Food Industry Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business, Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue,Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Dealcontact Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Farm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agricultural Supply ChainFarm to Table – An Insider’s Take on the Beef IndustryHeirloom Farms – Vibrant Produce with Less Waste

Research can be key to unlocking market growth for an established business, identifying new locations for growth, and highlighting the perfect franchise opportunity. Jayson Tipp has over 30 years of experience in franchising and specialty retail in the food and beverage industry. He discusses how market research data, analysis, and technology have changed over the years, how they can be used to map out locations for growth, and the importance of doing research before jumping into the world of franchises. Learn More: Food Industry Trends that Can Affect M&A ActivitySpecialty Food Manufacturing Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueA Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: The Future of Food & Beverage DistributionFood Business Accelerator – Can Someone Explain This To Me?Rags to Riches – From Busboy to a $70 Million Startup Valuation

What goes into the art of creating a wedding cake? Stephanie Chain, business owner and pastry chef of the micro-bakery Sweet Luncheonette, specializes in creating bespoke wedding cakes. She discusses the health and safety concerns that led to her emphasis on creating sugar flowers for cakes, the specifics about what goes into making custom wedding cakes, the different perspectives she has encountered as an owner versus being an employee, and the role of food in important social and cultural events. Learn More: Our Food and Beverage M&A ExperienceBuy-Side Food and Beverage M&A AdvisoryFood Industry Trends that Can Affect M&A Activity Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueA Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: A Winning Recipe to Help Relieve Hunger and Reduce Food WasteUsing Flexible Commercial Kitchens to Scale Your BusinessFarm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agricultural Supply Chain

Finding the right co-packer can make or break a CPG brand. Vince Tseng of PartnerSlate offers insights into the complex world of co-manufacturing from both the CPG and co-packers’ perspectives. He discusses what co-packers and CPG brands are looking for in a partnership, shares tips on how to appeal to the right partner, talks about the impact of technology on innovations in the F&B industry, and offers a promotion to CPG brands looking for support in their search for a co-packer. Learn More: Our Food and Beverage M&A ExperienceThe Serious Sweet Company Acquires John Bull Confectioners in the UKFood and Beverage Industry Trends Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueA Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Flexible Commercial Kitchens – The Answer for F&B EntrepreneursPitfalls and Solutions: Common Supply Chain Issues in Manufacturing and DistributionBreaking Barriers: Strategies for Encouraging Consumer Trial in the Enhanced Water Sector

The complex and underappreciated topic of production planning and supply chain optimization is the focus of this episode of F&B Talk. Lisa Anderson takes a look at the different components of production management and how they fit into the supply chain world. She discusses the steps of the production planning process, the importance of the sales forecast, common issues in the supply chain on the manufacturing and distribution sides of operations, and keeping all the elements and players on the same page. Learn More: How Does Supply Chain Management Affect Working Capital? Additional Resources: Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today. Download a free PDF copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business and Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue. Purchase your copy now of A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business. To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield. Listen to Other Episodes: Food Business Accelerator – Can Someone Explain This To Me?Farm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agricultural Supply ChainM&A Operational Due Diligence

Food waste and hunger relief are not about food scarcity – it’s about logistics. Blake Engelhard of Goodr.co discusses using technology to address hunger and waste issues. From the logistics of a 2-hour turnaround time identifying surplus food to distribution to working with clients making donations that enable families to get groceries in a dignified manner and the staggering tax benefits to the corporations. This goes beyond the idea of making a difference and shows a direct path to significantly impact the lives of people and reduce food waste. Learn More: Food and Beverage M&A (Book)The Food and Beverage M&A UpdateBuy-Side Food and Beverage M&A AdvisoryFood and Beverage Industry Trends Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueA Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: (based on podcast notes) Saving the Planet One Plant-Based Food Company at A TimeA Deep Dive Into the Water BusinessRags to Riches – From Busboy to a $70 Million Startup Valuation

Hot cocoa tends to be considered a seasonal treat. Dean Packingham of Mike & Jen’s Hot Cocoa proves that a small cottage industry can grow into a regional business success year-round. He discusses the power of starting with your passion when developing a new product, the advantages of being in an F&B category with less competition, the value of simplicity as a business model, tips on finding the right co-manufacturer, distributor, and retail partners, and scaling a small business up. Learn More: Our Food and Beverage M&A ExperienceThe Serious Sweet Company Acquires John Bull Confectioners in the UKFood and Beverage Industry Trends Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue.A Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: The Influence of Alcohol on the F&B IndustryThe Sweet Coconut Success That Led to Shark Tank InterestEvolution and Growth Potential in the Craft Brewing Industry

Scaling from start-up to multi-million dollar business takes time, ingenuity, and perseverance. Yanni Hufnagel, founder of Lemon Perfect, discusses the 6-year growth of his company into a major player in the enhanced water sector. Discussion includes going from sourcing regional ingredients to international sources, delivering consistent quality, getting consumers to try a new product, the importance of relationships with contract manufacturing partners, distributors, and retailers, and how perseverance is key. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: Buy-Side Food and Beverage M&A AdvisoryHistory of the Global Food IndustryFood and Beverage Industry Trends Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue. A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Everything You Want To Know About the Cannabis IndustryBringing a Niche Food Product to the MarketplaceFood and Beverage Lending Update

This episode of Food & Beverage Talk will give you insight into everything you could possibly want to know about beef and the beef industry. Renan de Lima leads with a definition of high-quality meat and why this is an important distinction. He discusses the influence of genetics, grass-fed versus grain-fed beef, the impact of a free-range lifestyle, international organic standards, regulatory differences and challenges, meatless alternatives, and his thoughts on upcoming influences in the industry. Learn More: Food and Beverage M&ABuy-Side Food and Beverage M&A AdvisoryFood and Beverage Industry Trends Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in RevenueA Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Farm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agricultural Supply ChainBeyond Meatballs and MarketingSupply Chain Issues in Food Manufacturing and Distribution

Getting a new product to market takes passion, vision, funding, and answers to lots of questions. Elena Rosenblum shares lessons learned from her work at Union Kitchen, a food business accelerator company that helps set up new companies for long-term success. Topics include using the lean approach in the F&B industry, trends, logistics, creating a scalable product, incremental innovation, and overviews of successful stories from entrepreneurs who have made the leap to regional and national operations. Learn More: Are you Considering Selling a Business in the Food Industry?What’s Trending? A Food Wholesaler Shares His Perspectives Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue.A Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Behind the Scenes of a Shark Tank SuccessRags to Riches – From Busboy to a $70 Million Startup ValuationBeyond Meatballs and MarketingCreating Unforgettable Branding for the F&B Consumer

The cannabis industry is a multi-billion-dollar business in California. Nick Brandis reviews everything you want to know about this growing industry. He discusses cannabis forms and related products, types of CBDs and THC, and the many challenges that exist in the industry, from cultivating to marketing, licensing, scalability, payment processing, and the strong illicit market. Industry challenges in cultivation and distribution, retail, and growth potential in cannabis products round out the discussion. Learn More: Specialty Food ManufacturingHistory of the Global Food IndustryHow has the Pandemic affected the Food and Beverage Industry? Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue.A Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Cannabis Drinks – The Latest Craze in an Evolving MarketCannabis M&ATips for CPG Brands Looking for the Right Co-Packer

Bringing a niche food product to the marketplace presents unique challenges. Aaron Gailmor goes behind the scenes to talk about making products from sacha inchi seeds that don’t trigger allergies in people allergic to nuts. He discusses the differences between seeds and nuts, how this impacts allergen issues, consumer education, marketing strategies of a niche food product, distribution avenues for niche retail locations, scaling the business, and the challenges and most important lessons he has learned. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: Advice on Selling Your Fruit and Vegetable Preserving BusinessM&A Advisors to Specialty Food Manufacturers Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: Small Business Spotlight – A Food Trader’s StoryDistribution Channels and Challenges for Craft BeerHeirloom Farms – Vibrant Produce with Less Waste

Cale Rice returns to F&B Talk and gives a lender’s perspective on financing challenges in the food and agribusiness industry. He discusses the impacts of weather on the supply chain and the prices of sugar and other commodities, the volatility of the marketplace, hedging strategies to cope with market volatility, the impact on pricing in a truly global marketplace, calculating working capital, and the most common financing problems for manufacturers and processors in middle-market agribusiness companies. Learn More: Morgan & Westfield – Food and BeverageMorgan & Westfield – Food Industry Statistics and M&ANet Working Capital (NWC) for M&A – A Complete Guide Additional Resources: Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue.A Beginner’s Guide to Business ValuationThe Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes: An Introduction to Financial Due Diligence for SellersDistribution Channels and Challenges for Craft BeerFarm to Fork – A Discussion of the Agricultural Supply Chain

Beer is one of the oldest food products in the world. Lawyer and craft brewer Kevin McGee of Anderson Valley Brewing Company explores the excitement of the craft beer industry and gives a brief history from Prohibition to today. He discusses the definition and concept of craft beer, what draws consumers to craft beer, the influence of private equity investments and how this changed the industry, pricing pressures, the evolution of distribution channels, and the future of this rapidly evolving industry. Learn More M&A Advisors to the Food and Beverage IndustryMorgan & Westfield – Food & Beverage Overview Additional Resources Schedule a free consultation todayThe Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your BusinessAcquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue.A Beginner’s Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy HandbookClosing the DealContactMorgan & WestfieldFood and Beverage M&A: An Insider’s Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business.Morgan & Westfield Listen to Other Episodes The Future of Food & Beverage DistributionAn Inside Look at What a Middle-Market F&B Buyer Looks ForTop Criteria a Corporate Acquirer Looks for in an F&B Company