George Hajjar

The SFA’s Maker Prep webinar series is designed to educate new startups, providing them with the building blocks and knowledge base needed to do business in the specialty food industry. The topics in this series vary, covering every aspect of the industry. Here is a sampling of information shared at some recent webinars. You can click through to find the full recordings, which are free to SFA members. “Certifications open up your marketplace in many ways…and tell your consumer and your buyer why your specialty food may be even more special."—Kantha Shelke, Understanding Regulations, Certifications and Licenses "No one wants to spend a lot of energy and take a lot of risk setting up a new product and have it fail."—Scott Zoeller, Selling to Supermarkets "It’s important to evaluate how you look at various aspects of the food chain to get a maximum competitive advantage. Because at the end of it all it’s actually the advantage that sets you apart from your competitors."—Kantha Shelke, New Product Development: Optimizing the Food Value Chain to Maximize Your Competitive Edge "80% of consumers purchased something after having seen it recommended by an influencer. That is a huge number, and a reason why influencer marketing should be a part of your toolbox."—Rachel Kay, Igniting an Integrated Paid and Earned Online Media Program to Support Your E-Commerce Business "[Working with a co-packer] is truly a marriage between two companies. I think that’s an accurate description of how you can approach a partnership with co-packing: you’re not tied to it for life necessarily, but this is something that if you are going to approach it, it needs to be a strong relationship."—Ashley Sutterfield, Understand your Production Options and Choose your Path Maker Prep webinars can be viewed live or recordings can be downloaded any time. Here is the webinar schedule for the month. And to ask questions or continue the conversation, you can go to this forum.

Consultant Lin Jiang’s grueling work schedule left her longing for the taste and sustenance of the traditional Chinese dessert that her mother made for her at breakfast time as a young girl in China. In this episode of SFA's Spill & Dish, Julie Gallagher, SFA’s director of content, talks with Jiang about how her take on her mother’s black sesame porridge grew from a worktime snack to a convenient specialty that will soon be available in every Whole Foods Market in the nation.

Have you tasted the most buzzworthy pasta in history? In this special episode of SFA’s Spill & Dish Podcast, recorded live at the Summer Fancy Food Show 2022, you’ll hear the story behind the squiggle with Dan Pashman, the creator and host of The Sporkful podcast and the inventor of cascatelli, plus the wizards who used their noodles to make it, Scott Ketchum and Steve Gonzalez of Sfoglini. Gretchen VanEsselstyn, SFA’s education director, extrudes the fascinating process behind this blockbuster success.