Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

The program

Getting Your Recipe to Market gives you the skills to:

• Understand industry essentials, and avoid common mistakes. Our program is designed to teach you the ins and outs of the food industry and help you avoid costly mistakes. Food industry experts will teach you how to produce, promote, and sell your product. Learn about product development, food science, packaging, distribution, and more.
• Connect with and gather insight from local food professionals. In each class, you’ll meet experts working in the food industry such as grocery buyers, co-packers, food scientists, packaging experts, regulators, and more. You’ll also have your product reviewed by New Seasons Market buyers.
• Prepare for the commercial market. We’ll cover core marketing principles for promoting a consumer food product, giving your product the best chance to succeed. Learn how to calculate costs of goods sold (COGS), conduct break-even analysis, and other financial keys to creating a profitable product.
• Get one-on-one help building your food product business. We’re here for you as you launch your product and continue to grow your business after the program. Your advisor will work with you to develop an action plan and provide guidance in making key business decisions.

Each week we’ll bring in subject-matter experts to teach on important areas. Each session is 3 hours long.

Subjects include:

• marketing
• product costing and pricing
• food science & safety
• licensing & regulations
• producing in a commercial kitchen or with a co-packer
• brand development
• label compliance
• selling to grocery buyers
• selling in farmer’s markets
• alternative sales channels
• distribution
• food business law
• and more!

Getting Your Recipe to Market is more than just a class. It includes:

• A 30-minute meeting with New Seasons Market buyers to pitch your brand and present your product(s). You will receive valuable feedback and the opportunity to have your products placed into the New Seasons stores.
• Reserved space and participation in the Time to Market Trade Show to showcase your product to potential investors, buyers and to the public.
• One-on-one business advising.
• Complimentary access to Business Design Series, SBDC’s business planning course.
• Supportive learning through your cohort/peers.
• Access to business advisors with a wide range of backgrounds and expertise.

Getting Your Recipe to Market is good fit for you, if:

• You have a complete and consistent recipe.
• You have no retail sales.
• You have time to dedicate to class, advising, and the work.
• You want to make your food business idea a reality.

The investment

• Time: Getting Your Recipe to Market is a 12-week course that includes 36 hours of classroom education. Every session is 3 hours, during which you will participate in the New Seasons evaluation and the Time to Market Tradeshow.
• Financial: Tuition for Getting Your Recipe to Market is $1,995.
• The return:
  • The knowledge and confidence you need to launch your food product business.
  • Opportunities to make your product known, including:
    • New Season’s Market product evaluation
    • A reserved table at the Time to Market Tradeshow
  • Resources for ongoing learning and growth, including:
    • Lifelong business advising
    • Access to future Getting Your Recipe to Market classes

The instructors

• Jill Beaman, Getting Your Recipe to Market program facilitator
  • Worked at FIC as a research assistant helping start-up food businesses and researching food distribution
  • Experience in the wine industry and teaching agriculture and business
  • BS & MS Degrees in Ag Business from Cal Poly, SLO
• Betsy Walton, Advisor
  • Founder/Owner of Our Favorite Foods LLC, DBA Duker’s Dills
  • Successfully launched a line of pickles at both retail and wholesale
  • 2008 Alumni of GYRM
  • Master Food Preserver – Oregon State Extension
• Hannah Kullberg, advisor
  • Co-founded the Better Bean Company. Over 9 years, the team took the product from farmer’s market to national distribution with an exit to Hain Celestial
  • Certified Holistic Health Coach
  • Studied food systems and worked on the organic farm at Vassar College

Classes include presentations from local food business experts including:

• Food Innovation Center
• Oregon Department of Agriculture
• Local commercial kitchens
• Local co-packing manufacturers
• Food brand developers
• Food safety experts
• Local retail buyers
• Distributors
• Business lawyer
• Farmer’s market manager
• Alumni entrepreneurs

Note: the schedule of the program and instructors may change based on instructor availability.

What our clients say

“The education that I received in the GYRM class was eye-opening and invaluable. It gave me the information that I needed to start this business off on the right foot, as well as connecting me to resources and contacts that set the path toward profitability.” Marilyn Roseburrough, Kember’s Gluten Free

“That class was exactly what I needed when I was starting out. I had no idea that I’d have to learn things like how to convert a recipe to a scalable formula, or how to find contract manufacturers and distributors. In a few short months, I have been exposed to everything I needed to know to get started with my food business. Getting Your Recipe to Market and ongoing business advising have been critical pillars in the creation of my business. Without it, I most likely wouldn’t be in business. I probably wouldn’t have even known where to start.” Josh Fegles, Jude’s Foods

“In the end, the program really paid for itself because it saved us money in mistakes that we would’ve made.” Junea Rocha, Brazi Bites

How do I register for Getting Your Recipe to Market?

You will receive instructions to register after your guided interview.

Do you work with marijuana-related food products?

At this time, we can not work with businesses that are incorporating marijuana into their food product due to federal restrictions.

Does Getting Your Recipe to Market also work for animal-related food products?

Getting Your Recipe to Market is for products that are for human consumption only.

Are there any requirements for the program?

There are three requirements: you have a completed recipe, you have not had retail sales, and you have a guided interview before enrolling in the program. Contact the SBDC at sbdc@pcc.edu for more information about this program.

Any more questions?

Contact the SBDC at sbdc@pcc.edu or 971-722-5080.