Guides
Bookkeeping for a specialty food business: enough to stay in control
Specialty food bookkeeping built for a maker: a chart of accounts by batch and channel, inventory on three clocks, and a thirteen-week cash view of the terms gap.
Desk
Trade Desk
Who does this work, how they charge, and how to tell competence from confidence.
Guides
SQF vs BRC for specialty food manufacturers: which certification do retailers ask for?
SQF vs BRC specialty food certification comes down to which US retailer is asking. Here is how the two GFSI schemes differ on cost, audits and buyer expectations.
Guides
How co-packing in the Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland markets compares for small food makers
A comparison of co-packing in the Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland markets: minimum order quantities, local supply, licensing, freight, and questions to ask.
Guides
Selling packaged foods between the US and Canada
A practical guide to packaged foods sold between the United States and Canada, covering labels, licensing, customs entry, required records and financing.
Guides
Permit and label checks New York buyers run on makers
The permit, food safety and label checks a New York buyer runs on makers of packaged foods before a first order, and which channel asks for which.
Guides
Packaged foods batching: preparing for US retail buyers
Packaged foods batching makers can prepare for US retail buyers with a sell sheet, samples, pricing, order terms and compliance paperwork.
Guides
Quoting a specialty food business job: template and real numbers
Specialty food quote template for a wholesale or private-label buyer, field by field, with the arithmetic behind each line in named variables, not invented prices.
Guides
Texas packaged foods batching: rules and run planning
Packaged foods batching in Texas: how co-packer quotes, hourly kitchens, licensing, inspections and ingredient terms shape a small production run.
Guides
How to score a market for a specialty food business: region, channel, distance
A weighted matrix for scoring a specialty food market: demand fit, channel access, distance cost, terms and state rules to confirm before the first case ships.
Guides
Procedures that keep a specialty food business consistent every day
Specialty food SOP checklist for a production day in six signed blocks, from opening to end of day, with each line naming the record it feeds and who signs.
Guides
Specialty food inventory and where to source it
How much specialty food inventory to hold, and where to source ingredients, packaging and finished goods from suppliers who serve small makers.
Guides
What turns a specialty food sample into a standing reorder?
How to win more specialty food buyers in seven gated steps from target list to reorder, with the pipeline record that shows which step is losing stores.
Guides
How to compare profitable specialty food services
Learn how to compare profitable specialty food services using contribution per hour, buyer-specific deductions, batch costs, and sales and labor records.
Guides
New or used specialty food equipment: what each really costs
New vs used specialty food equipment judged by total cost in named variables, an inspection protocol for used machines, and the cases where new is the cheaper buy.
Guides
Specialty food business plan: food-specific sections
The food-specific sections a specialty food business plan adds to a generic plan: product spec, FSMA and labeling rules, facility, batches, allergen labels, recall procedure and financials.
Guides
Specialty food price list and profit model for 2027
An illustrative 2027 price list by channel, three price architectures compared, and a named-variable profit model you fill with your own batch costs.
Guides
Running a specialty food business on software: tools and metrics
Specialty food software and KPIs as one map: the five records a system must hold, the numbers they produce, three approaches compared, and how to keep them safe.