Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford

Send us a textYou're on shelf. Now what?In this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, I chat with Sonia Martinez, a retail expert from AUR Foodworks who works with both retailers and brands to improve in-store ranging, product positioning, and merchandising.Sonia is clear: retailers provide real estate, they won't do the selling for you. And if your product isn't moving, you're at risk of getting delisted.Grab your pen and paper and take notes. If you're driving for velocity, tune in to hear:🛒 The one thing brands in Whole Foods did every week for six months that kept them on shelf📸 What to photograph in-store that reveals exactly where your opportunity is🤝 The partnership tool that makes retailers less risk-averse about keeping your product🍯 When to propose "off-location" displays (and what that actually means)📦 Why repositioning your product in a different category could save it from delisting🚫 The biggest mistake founders make once they're on shelfSonia shares what separates brands who stay on shelf from those who get delisted and why every stockist should be treated like an active campaign, not a done deal.This is the eighth and final episode of Season 15 - Marketing Season. If your product isn't moving the way you hoped, this conversation gives you the playbook to turn it around.Season 15 is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Festival, a year's worth of sales and promotion opportunities under one roof. Sonia will be there on the Buyer Tasting Panel and delivering workshops for start-ups and scaling brands. Say hi to her!LINKS & RESOURCES:Sonia’s LinkedIn Your Free Pitch PlanBecome A Foodpreneurs Festival InsiderChelsea Ford Co. websiteSeason 15 Season 15, out now, is 'Marketing Season' and is being presented by Foodpreneurs Festival. The highly anticipated 2026 BiteBack Awards & Foodpreneurs Festival are both must-attend events dedicated to bringing consumer packaged goods food, drink (alc and non-alc), pet and supplements brand owners, buyers, media, industry specialists and distributors together under one roof. You can't miss these events. Here’s why: Thousands of stockists looking for new products for their shelves. A chance to pitch for funding + mentorship to scale your brand. Workshops tailored to where you’re at - whether you’re just starting or scaling big (THIS IS NEW!) A NEW Marketing Clinic for hands-on brand strategy - you'll leave with five key messages ready to use. Opportunities to get recognised and get your brand in front of industry experts, media, buyers, distributors and fellow brand owners. If you’re an Industry Specialist, tap into a highly engaged, niche audience. And much, much more. The full program drops early 2026. For now, block out May 21-22 and click this link to see how you can be part of it.

Send us a textYour product is great. People love it. But you're still struggling to sell it.Sound familiar?In episode 148 of the Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I chat with Jayne Gallagher, CEO and co-founder of Honey & Fox, a marketing consultancy that helps good food brands turn provenance into sales.Jayne and her business partner Helen work specifically with food and drink businesses to cut through the marketing overwhelm and create systems that actually drive revenue - without needing a four-year marketing degree to do it.Tune in to hear Jayne share her provenance-powered marketing system: 📖 The five elements that create compelling brand stories🤝 Why over 60% of consumers don't trust what they see, hear, or read🦀 A case study about a Queensland crab fishing business that saved tens of thousands in packaging costs by getting their brand strategy right before pressing go🎯 Why most food brands start in the wrong place with social media💰 How to set a realistic marketing budget✅ The three things every buyer wantsJayne breaks down why marketing isn't just social media, why proof is now one of your most precious commodities, and how to avoid the overwhelm of 50-100 conflicting pieces of marketing advice by following a simple system designed specifically for food and drink.This episode is part of Season 15 - marketing season and is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Festival - a year's worth of sales and promotion opportunities under one roof.  Honey & Fox will be hosting a 'Brand Story Studio' at the Festival in May, 2026.LINKS & RESOURCES:Honey & Fox websiteProvenance Powered MarketingFood Marketing AcademyFraser Isle Spanner [email protected]@honeyandfox.com.au'Brand Story Studio' at Foodpreneurs FestivalEdelman Trust BarometerYour Free Pitch PlanBecome A Foodpreneurs Festival InsiderChelsea FoSeason 15 Season 15, out now, is 'Marketing Season' and is being presented by Foodpreneurs Festival. The highly anticipated 2026 BiteBack Awards & Foodpreneurs Festival are both must-attend events dedicated to bringing consumer packaged goods food, drink (alc and non-alc), pet and supplements brand owners, buyers, media, industry specialists and distributors together under one roof. You can't miss these events. Here’s why: Thousands of stockists looking for new products for their shelves. A chance to pitch for funding + mentorship to scale your brand. Workshops tailored to where you’re at - whether you’re just starting or scaling big (THIS IS NEW!) A NEW Marketing Clinic for hands-on brand strategy - you'll leave with five key messages ready to use. Opportunities to get recognised and get your brand in front of industry experts, media, buyers, distributors and fellow brand owners. If you’re an Industry Specialist, tap into a highly engaged, niche audience. And much, much more. The full program drops early 2026. For now, block out May 21-22 and click this link to see how you can be part of it.

Send us a textHow do you build a beverage brand when the margins are slim and you have no outside funding and growth depends on you?You make sales your North Star. Every single day.In this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, I chat with Ollie Puddick, founder of Innerbloom, a functional beverage brand that's gone from farmers' markets to over 300 retail doors across Australia and New Zealand in just a few years.Ollie quit his job as a professional firefighter at the end of last year to go all-in on Innerbloom. No safety net. No investors. Just relentless focus on the one thing that keeps the lights on: sales.And he's brutally honest about the mistakes he made along the way.You'll hear:💰 The one word Ollie writes at the top of his weekly plan every Monday (and why it changes everything)📈 Why Ollie believes he can hit $1 million in online revenue in 12 months - and how online sales solved a cashflow crisis that retail created🍫 The difficult decision he's making about SKUs right now (hint: less is more)🏪 How Ollie lost retail stockists without even knowing it - and what he learned about chasing doors vs. servicing accounts🛒 The meeting filter that keeps him focused on what actually drives sales📦 How he's built a team without hiring full-time staff (and why this works for a lean beverage business)🎯 What a $10K trip taught him about being laser-focused on the right goalsOllie is proof that you don't need a big team, outside funding, or perfect timing to build a successful food or beverage brand. If you're bootstrapping, wearing all the hats, and trying to figure out where to focus your limited time and money - this conversation will give you clarity.Season 15 is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Festival - a year's worth of sales and promotion opportunities under one roof.LINKS & RESOURCES:Inner Bloom CoffeeInner Bloom Coffee on InstagramYour Free Pitch PlanBecome A Foodpreneurs Festival InsiderChelsea Ford Co. websiteSeason 15 Season 15, out now, is 'Marketing Season' and is being presented by Foodpreneurs Festival. The highly anticipated 2026 BiteBack Awards & Foodpreneurs Festival are both must-attend events dedicated to bringing consumer packaged goods food, drink (alc and non-alc), pet and supplements brand owners, buyers, media, industry specialists and distributors together under one roof. You can't miss these events. Here’s why: Thousands of stockists looking for new products for their shelves. A chance to pitch for funding + mentorship to scale your brand. Workshops tailored to where you’re at - whether you’re just starting or scaling big (THIS IS NEW!) A NEW Marketing Clinic for hands-on brand strategy - you'll leave with five key messages ready to use. Opportunities to get recognised and get your brand in front of industry experts, media, buyers, distributors and fellow brand owners. If you’re an Industry Specialist, tap into a highly engaged, niche audience. And much, much more. The full program drops early 2026. For now, block out May 21-22 and click this link to see how you can be part of it.

Send us a textYour product is great but is your packaging selling it when you're not there? Packaging is your silent salesperson so you need to make it work.In this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, I chat with Gwen Blake, founding director of Boxer & Co, a packaging design agency specialising in fast moving consumer goods.Here's the reality: we make 95% of our decisions by instinct. Colour, shape, and typography trigger autopilot purchases - green signals healthy and handwritten fonts signal crafted and your packaging has three seconds to trigger the right instinct - or your product stays on the shelf.In this episode, you'll hear:📦 Why packaging is a decision-making tool, not just pretty pictures🧠 The biggest myth founders hold onto (it has to do with the front of your pack)🌿 If you’re a health brand, what you must ditch to get cut-through with consumers✅ What to include in your brief to designers (and what restrictions kill creativity)Gwen breaks down how to make packaging work within retail realities.This episode is for brand owners who struggle to translate product quality into packaging that drives sales.Season 15 is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Festival - a year's worth of sales and promotion opportunities under one roof.LINKS & RESOURCES:Boxer & CoGwen Blake on LinkedInBoxer & Co on InstagramNimbusDilectioCoco and LucasGrove JuiceYour Free Pitch PlanBecome A Foodpreneurs Festival InsiderChelsea Ford Co. websiteSeason 15 Season 15, out now, is 'Marketing Season' and is being presented by Foodpreneurs Festival. The highly anticipated 2026 BiteBack Awards & Foodpreneurs Festival are both must-attend events dedicated to bringing consumer packaged goods food, drink (alc and non-alc), pet and supplements brand owners, buyers, media, industry specialists and distributors together under one roof. You can't miss these events. Here’s why: Thousands of stockists looking for new products for their shelves. A chance to pitch for funding + mentorship to scale your brand. Workshops tailored to where you’re at - whether you’re just starting or scaling big (THIS IS NEW!) A NEW Marketing Clinic for hands-on brand strategy - you'll leave with five key messages ready to use. Opportunities to get recognised and get your brand in front of industry experts, media, buyers, distributors and fellow brand owners. If you’re an Industry Specialist, tap into a highly engaged, niche audience. And much, much more. The full program drops early 2026. For now, block out May 21-22 and click this link to see how you can be part of it.

Send us a textYou've got a great product. You're posting on social media. But are you actually building a community - or just racking up likes?In this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford, I chat with Sandra and Jordana from Six-Eyed Scorpion, the award-winning crispy chili oil brand that's absolutely nailing brand building in a crowded condiment category.Sandra is a chef by trade and founder. Jordana is the head of marketing and brand (and a graphic designer). Together, they've built a premium brand that stands out in a sea of red, bold competitors by going blue, sophisticated, and unapologetically fun.You'll hear:🌶️ How they used a competitive matrix to find the gap in a saturated chili oil market - and why they chose blue branding in a category dominated by red🤝 What community actually means beyond the buzzword (hint: it's not just posting "thank you" on Instagram)🎨 Their approach to brand collaborations - from pitching Baker Blue to landing Broadsheet coverage📧 Why people actually reply to their email campaigns and Instagram comments (and what happens when brands just "like" comments instead)🏆 How having awards, like a BiteBack Award, makes such a differenceSandra and Jordana break down their philosophy: it's a crime to be boring. They show up at events face-to-face, they share behind-the-scenes content people actually want to watch, and they approach collaborations with ideas (not just asks).This episode is for brand owners who know their product is good but struggle to build the kind of community and brand affinity that drives repeat purchases and word-of-mouth referrals.Season 15 is brought to you by Foodpreneurs Festival - a year's worth of sales and promotion opportunities under one roof.LINKS & RESOURCES:Six Eyed Scorpion WebsiteSix Eyed Scorpion on InstagramHill MartinDelbociaBaker BleuSandra Seah on LinkedIn#131 From Kitchen to Retail: How Six-Eyed Scorpion Crispy Chilli Oil is Winning Shelf Space Foodpreneurs Festival Biteback AwardsSeason 15 Season 15, out now, is 'Marketing Season' and is being presented by Foodpreneurs Festival. The highly anticipated 2026 BiteBack Awards & Foodpreneurs Festival are both must-attend events dedicated to bringing consumer packaged goods food, drink (alc and non-alc), pet and supplements brand owners, buyers, media, industry specialists and distributors together under one roof. You can't miss these events. Here’s why: Thousands of stockists looking for new products for their shelves. A chance to pitch for funding + mentorship to scale your brand. Workshops tailored to where you’re at - whether you’re just starting or scaling big (THIS IS NEW!) A NEW Marketing Clinic for hands-on brand strategy - you'll leave with five key messages ready to use. Opportunities to get recognised and get your brand in front of industry experts, media, buyers, distributors and fellow brand owners. If you’re an Industry Specialist, tap into a highly engaged, niche audience. And much, much more. The full program drops early 2026. For now, block out May 21-22 and click this link to see how you can be part of it.