The proper steps to take in order to raise funds for your food business.

Bite Size Talks 2019	

<div>The proper steps to take in order to raise funds for your food business.</div>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

ASI Pacific Union

GW Chew

How To Raise Funds For Your Food Product

I'm going to start out this evening, I guess, almost late afternoon.

We're going to start out with a cool song.

And what I'm going to do, I'm going to do a quick, about 5 minute pitch.

I've had the opportunity in the last year to do a lot of pitch competitions, had a lot of success, and I'm gonna actually pitch my business to you, is that okay?

I'm not asking for any money, but I'm gonna pitch my business to you, and I'm gonna use it as an example of a pitch for business, but we're gonna sing a little song.

It's a song I like to do when I do cooking classes.

It goes like this, it says, ♪ Fruits and grains and vegetables ♪ Nuts and seeds is all I need ♪ It tastes so good ♪ So good to me ♪ Let's not live to eat ♪ But let's eat to live Hey, friends.

And as I always say, going to give you something to chew on.

So anyway, I'm the founder of a company called Something Better Foods, and we actually manufacture plant protein.

Our mission is to democratize the access of healthy foods in minority communities.

I was actually raised a hardcore southern country boy.

I mean, everything from fried chicken to ribs to pork chops to hams.

But this type of lifestyle, eating all this meat, this excessive meat consumption, in my family we had a lot of disease.

A lot of my family members died prematurely.

My dad passed away 3 years ago at 62 years old.

Many of my aunts actually died before the age of 55.

And a lot of it came, again, from that soul food type of lifestyle.

But this lifestyle was detrimental to my family.

Now again, I wasn't raised in the 7th Adventist.

If anybody know anything about in 2001, the vegan products on the market tasted like lab-made pet food.

I mean, the first time I had a frank, I mean, it was like, whoa, what is this?

Now, I love some of the stuff, but I mean, growing up, when you're eating ribs and fried chicken and all that kind of stuff, your first taste on some of the stuff that was back in the day, it wasn't like what I was familiar with.

So personally, I went through an experimentation, literally 15 years of experimentation to understand the secrets of why I love meat so much and to create something better.

And we discovered that eating meat was an experience that involved 3 amazing factors.

And we like to say it was the texture, taste, and appearance.

And so we created something called Better Chew.

We say it's the best tasting plant-based protein solution with the texture and taste that satisfies your body's desire for meat.

And it looks and it feels and it tastes like meat.

Better texture, better taste, better chew.

I said it looks like chicken, it tastes like chicken, but guess what?

It's crispy on the outside and it's white in the middle.

Amazingly, a few years back, 2 years ago, we started a vegan restaurant in Oakland, California.

In this restaurant, we've been had the opportunity to be able to test our delicious Better Chew proteins in a restaurant setting.

And through this time frame, we've gotten literally hundreds of reviews from our customers.

We had a company that came into our restaurant, and they said through whatsoever kind of food wizardry, Chu was able to approximate the soft nubs of fat that you find in a well-marbled, properly grilled, rib-eye steak.

He said it's something that you rarely even find in a real cheese steak.

And so we actually, in our community, we've been able to do a lot of education, community education, health education, and we're seeing some amazing things.

To the point where we got a purchase order, a letter of intent from Whole Foods Market to go on the 43 stores.

Now, what's so amazing is that we got this purchase order about a year ago, a letter of intent.

Now, I don't know if you know what this email is.

This email is the next step after you get the letter of intent from Whole Foods from the distributor, UNFI.

And they gave me the purchase order saying, in 48 hours, we need you to fill out a 21-page document.

And that document is signing up to be able to get your product into these stores.

So here's the email right here ordering 4 SKUs.

So you know what's so powerful for me is that literally 10 years ago I was, I went to Whole Foods, got accepted but I didn't have the capital to do it.

Again in 2014 I got approved again in the Whole Foods but guess what I didn't have the capital to get inside of it.

You know Sebastian, I love Sebastian man.

Sebastian today man, He blessed my soul today.

I Did a sermon on that same story because I was going through the same experience.

I've been I'm like stuck in Elisha I'm stuck in second second Kings That jar of oil when it seems that you got nothing else you can pull out, but 2 days ago, I'm talking about 2010, I'm a young man, 25 years old, I go to Whole Foods, have my products ready to go, I'm excited, but the Lord said, not yet.

2014, I get approved in the Whole Foods again I'm in Arkansas.

I get the email, the order, the actual orders on the screen.

So the challenges will come, but God is able.

Right now, if anybody don't know anything about the food industry, right now that Plant-based proteins, plant-based foods is increasing like never before.

Many of you guys have heard about companies like Impossible Foods.

These companies are raising billions of dollars, millions of dollars, aiming for what you call billion dollar valuations.

You have major food companies investing into, major investors investing into food companies to be able to literally take the place of meat.

They're saying in 2050 that regular animal protein is not gonna be sustainable.

That it's not gonna be enough, the climate, the earth is not gonna be able to maintain this type of animal factory farming.

It's taking too much energy, too much resources from the earth, and we have to change the way that we're growing our food.

And so companies, people like Bill Gates, many major investors are putting millions of dollars into companies right now.

Another company you guys might have heard of was called Gardene.

They just sold to a company called ConAgro.

So you have investors, companies coming into the food space, the plant-based space, the veggie meat space, investing millions of dollars to be able to guess what, 20, 30 years from now, they're trying to make some money.

How To Raise Funds For Your Food Product

Transcript

Description

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Related

Seminar 4

Value Added Products

52m

Plenary

Why is Jesus Always Talking About Plants

1h

To Seek and to Save

28m

Breakout Session A

Structuring Efficient Short-term Overseas Medical Missionary Trips

1h 1m

GoTential

The Tentmakers Tactical Advantage

33m

Offering Our Firstfruits

44m

Gardening for Health

Agriculture, the Gut Brain, Health & Happiness

1h 1m

ECYC 2012: Bible Boot Camp

Being Effective in Evangelism

31m

Plant-based Evangelism

50m

Young Professionals

Starting a Center of Influence

21m

The Heart of God

51m

Community Services

How to Become an Organized Center

50m

Sound Doctrine