Thinking about starting a new business in the food industry? The recipe for long-term success boils down to starting with the right ingredients:

INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS AS A FOOD ENTREPRENEUR

• Vision
• Mission
• Values

DIRECTIONS: Begins with clearly articulated vision for all stakeholders; Apply customer insights to create mission; integrate company culture. Add goals and measurement. Serves: Any entrepreneur well.

Vision
In the food business, the exceptions are usually based on products that are in high demand—ones that consumers will do or pay anything to get—or those that are associated with, and introduced by, marketers with deep pockets. Even then, if the product does not meet a specific consumer need at the right quality and right price, it will be short-lived.

We can no longer simply afford to think up a new food product, prepare it, and try to market it.

How does all this connect to the food entrepreneur? How does the entrepreneur, wearing all the hats at once, maintain focus? The answer is vision. Simply put, your vision is what and where you envision yourself being (as food entrepreneur, professional, spouse, parent, neighbor, citizen, etc.) in about five to ten years. It is your dream. As a food entrepreneur, your vision should be a positive and inspiring statement of where your business will be at that time. A clearly articulated vision will help you and all your stakeholders (anyone with an interest in your venture) keep on track. Important elements of your organizational vision might include reputation, products to offer, values, types of customer, working environment, manner in which your people would work together, and how you and you team would handle both good and bad times.

You will want to share your dream with, and solicit input from, these stakeholders to develop the strongest possible vision. Revisit your vision from time to time. See how it can be constantly refined. Your vision will help you determine if the task or activity you are doing now is adding value to getting from where you are to where you envision yourself being in five or ten years.

What you are doing, or about to do, in food marketing is part of a system. This system consists of inputs, actions, and outputs. If you can develop the right supplier partnering (inputs), understand variation in your process (actions), and be able to set measurable quality standards (outputs), you have a substantially greater chance of delighting your customer.

In fact, food marketing, and the business supporting it, cannot continue in the same vein as it has in the past. The food industry is notoriously product driven. We are being snookered out of profit generating opportunities because we lack vision—a vision based on perceived customer quality standards. Make the bold move. Cut the waste. Set aside a half hour or more each week to think about your vision. See if the path you have selected is headed in the desired direction.

Example:
“[In the year 20xx], our company is internationally recognized as the premier supplier of [your food products]. We regularly exceed customer expectations by providing innovative and valuable [your food products].”

Mission
Once you have articulated and shared your vision with everyone in your firm, you will need to figure out what you are going to do to realize it. The result is called your mission.

The first and last rule is to know your customer. This presumes that you have people who want to buy and consume your food. It also presumes that you know something about your customer’s needs. This information is then compared with your “bag of tricks”—your distinctive creative and production capabilities—which you utilize to formulate a response to the perceived customer needs. This process can be accomplished by brainstorming ideas.

Example:
“Our company produces the best [your food products], which offer outstanding value and result in regular and repeat sales. We do this in a working environment that is customer oriented and in which our employees are fully involved team members. We make decisions based on facts. We continually plan, track, and measure performance. Our mission success is every employee’s business. Management relies on team members—who know the work better than anyone else—to tell management how to help do the job better. We strive to produce the right product, the first time and every time, at a price both we and our customer can afford.”

Values
Before taking a trip with a group of like-minded people, you have to ask yourselves: “Why do we want to go on the journey? What is our common purpose?” It is important that fellow travelers focus on “Why this particular caravan? Why as a fledgling food entrepreneur?”

This set of values and beliefs helps you decide how comfortable you will be on your journey with others.

This set of behaviors forms the culture of the team. This culture helps you establish your expectations for yourself and others. This way, you know how to work and play effectively together.

Key Results Areas
Ask the following questions: “What do we need to give constant care and attention to throughout our journey? In which areas do we need to achieve results to optimize our resources and be most effective? How will we measure ourselves in each of these areas?” By addressing these “key results areas,” you establish your own goals and measurement system to ensure you get where you want to go in the manner you want to get there.

You can now envision the whole picture of your journey, with whom you are traveling, what to expect of each other, and why you have chosen to travel together. This strategic framework is what you will communicate to others if asked why you have chosen to travel in this caravan. Think of the strategic framework as a road map for a journey that you want to take.

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About the Author
Stephen F. Hall is author: “Sell Your Specialty Food” (Kaplan, NY. 5th Edition of “From Kitchen to Market”). Visit www.specialtyfoodresource.com to learn more, participate in related discussions and subscribe to a free monthly Food Entrepreneur eZine.