Forging Foodie Connections
at Kitchen Table Projects’ Speed Mentoring event, held at M&S HQ in
A
spiring food and drink start-ups enjoyed an evening of networking with food industry experts
London on Thursday 24th March. In a similar format to speed dating,
each food and drink start-up had a three-minute slot to ask their burning questions. These were directed at a series of carefully selected experts, as well as several representatives from M&S. Subjects ranged from queries on branding, top tips for marketing and PR to raising finance, promoting business through social media and pitching to retailers. Speaking at the event, Kitchen Table Projects’ founder Tara Mei
said: “There is such a wonderful buzz in the air. Good things happen when interesting people and exciting food businesses come together and tonight, we’ve seen this in action!”
Head of Deli Products at M&S, Kirsty Grieve, was particularly impressed by
the calibre of businesses in attendance: “What a diverse range of food start-ups and I’m surprised at just how many of them are already at a well-developed stage. The speed mentoring has been a great opportunity to see behind the product and some business owners have really shone for me.”
WHAT THE START-UPS HAD TO SAY...
Commenting on her experience of the Speed Mentoring evening, Rachel Wisson founder of coconut milk-based drinks company, Halo Coco (www.
halococo.com), said: “The evening provided me with the opportunity to
KITCHEN TABLE PROJECTS CELEBRATES SPEED MENTORING SUCCESS.
up meetings, had five follow up phone calls and around 20 LinkedIn connections and Twitter followers. So, not only was this great fun, it was great for business too.”
FOOD BUSINESS BOOTCAMP l Kitchen Table Projects is gearing
talk to 30 industry professionals whom I may have never had the chance to meet or even thought about meeting. The three-minute intense mentoring ensured essential questions were asked and answered. Ideas were buzzing and the atmosphere was electric. What a great way to get your name out there and meet like-minded professionals.”
Similarly, Lucy Mackenzie,
founder of Lucy’s Dressings (www.
lucysdressings.co.uk) found the evening to be a useful tool in the next
steps of growing her business: “It’s been extremely beneficial both from a networking perspective but also in terms of the very sound and focused feedback I’ve had from the experts. It’s been a fantastic event and I would recommend it to anyone starting a food
business,” she said. Rupert Parsons, founder of
Womersley Fruit and Herb Vinegars
(
www.womersleyfoods.com) added: “In the few days following the event, I managed to arrange four follow
KITCHEN TABLE PROJECTS AND M&S START-UP EVENTS
ARTISAN AFTER HOURS - JUNE 23RD 6PM-9.30PM l An informal networking event for food producers, consultants,
media, retailers and distributors. The theme will be ‘Getting on and off the shelf’ and will include a presentation from M&S about how they work with small, independent brands. Producers will be invited to take along their products for sampling - and receive feedback from their peers and industry experts.
36 The Delicatessen Magazine
FOOD BUSINESS BOOTCAMP - MAY 5TH 9AM-6PM l This event is aimed at food start-ups who want to grow
their business. It will give them ideas on improving their business and progress them towards being retail ready. Five start-ups will also be selected to pitch their products to M&S - Dragons Den-style - for business and product feedback.
up for its next event which is a day- long Food Business Bootcamp on May 5th, to be hosted once again at M&S HQ in London. Attendees will be able to pin down the business areas that they need to focus on and really cement their ideas - and formulate the next steps in bringing their food and drink products to a
wider market. “The Food Business Bootcamp will bring in even more new foodie businesses to benefit from the wealth of knowledge our experts
can share with them” added Tara. “So many start-ups with real potential can crumble in the early stages, so that’s where Kitchen Table Projects can help. It’s exciting to see how these businesses will flourish over the next few months after taking the advice on board. So watch this space!” l
Tickets for the Food Business Bootcamp cost £125 (early bird price £110) and Artisan Afterhours costs £30 (early bird price £25). For more information about Kitchen Table Projects’ partnership with M&S - and how to become involved, visit
www.kitchentableprojects.com
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