Not KetchupA Tasty Startup Story

Once upon a time...

...there was a girl who wrote a food blog.

She loved making stuff in jars.

And then...cherry overload

The light bulb moment

“I’m so sick of jam. I wonder… can you make ketchup out of cherries?”

The obvious question...

Why is it called NOT Ketchup?

A tasty product is just the beginning.

➔ What are the rules?➔ How much will people pay for it?➔ How much will it cost me to make it?➔ How will I get it into stores?

➔ How will I convince people to try something new?

The rules

First rule of selling food: Don’t kill anyone.

This is Barry, my food scientist.

My startup to-do list (sort of in order)1. Research competition2. Finalize recipe3. Make a business plan4. Hire food scientist to develop manufacturer’s formula5. Find a co-packer (contract manufacturer)6. Source ingredients7. Choose a brand name8. Develop a logo9. Register an international trademark

10. Design labels11. Find a printer12. Build a website13. Test, test, test until perfect14. Tell all your friends15. Line up publicity….and this is all before you have the very first bottle!

Finally, time for production

And then the real work started.

Creating recipes - that’s work, too.

I got a few very lucky breaks.

And those have led to...

But still...lots of challenges ahead

➔ MONEY➔ More publicity➔ Conquering people’s fear of the unknown➔ MONEY➔ MONEY

➔ MONEY

Let’s do some mathShelf price: $8Retail margin: 40% of shelf priceDistributor margin: 25% of wholesale priceBroker’s fee: 5% of wholesale priceAnd then there are other costs, like overhead, breakage, shipping, marketing, promotions…

(It’s really hard to make money in the food business.)

So what have I learned?

➔ We find energy for projects we love.➔ Don’t listen to Negative Nellies. If you have a

vision, stick with it.➔ But DO listen to people with experience.➔ Don’t be afraid to fail.➔ Ask for help - you’ll get it.

My friends and family are behind me!

Where to find Not Ketchup onlineWebsite: http://www.notketchup.comFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/notketchupTwitter: http://twitter.com/notketchupInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/notketchupPinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/notketchupsauce/Google+: https://plus.google.com/+NotketchupCA

#notketchup #dipdifferently #awesomesauce

QUESTIONS?

I’m all ears.