Introducing the New Maker Prep Course
Calling all early-stage food entrepreneurs! Your ideas and passion are key to the specialty food industry’s continued growth, and we want to help you turn your product and your story into a successful business.
Maker Prep is a six-month crash course in doing business in the food industry, culminating in a Class graduation at the 2025 Winter Fancy Food Show. Each participant will, by graduation, have a comprehensive understanding of how to launch, market, and distribute their products.
Together, we shape the future of food.
What’s Included
One-year Tier 1 membership for nonmembers
Badge for the 2025 Winter Fancy Food Show
Slides, recordings, and workbook from the 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show Maker Prep sessions
Course touchpoints:
Knowledge building – access to online educational materials for duration of course
Class discussion – a dedicated closed group chat for brainstorming, questions, and ideas
Personal exploration – strategic prompts to apply concepts to participants’ businesses
Coaching sessions – monthly gatherings to talk with industry experts
The Class of Winter 2025 Is Now Open!
The deadline to enroll is October 1, 2024.
How the Course Works
Class graduation at the 2025 Winter Fancy Food Show
Upon completion of the program, graduates will be celebrated in a ceremony at the 2025 Winter Fancy Food Show, along with a special display opportunity for their products.
Participants qualify for graduation by completing 75% of the Course. Additional perks for graduates will include priority access for SFA’s mentorship program and pitch competitions.
Self-paced online learning through the syllabus
Participants may work at their own pace. SFA will provide class discussion and personal exploration prompts for each topic every two weeks, as well as monthly coaching sessions. The schedule of class discussions, personal explorations, and coaching sessions can be viewed below.
Throughout the Course, participants can connect with one another during and outside of class discussions through the dedicated group chat channel.
Online Course Touchpoints
Knowledge Building via Content in Maker Prep
Participants will access all educational course materials online through the SFA Learning Center. A link to log in and set up an account will be provided, after which participants will have unlimited access to the web-based online learning platform.
Course materials will include text, videos, and graphics to help explain foundational concepts when around developing a successful specialty food business.
Class Discussions via Closed Group Chat
For each Course topic, SFA will provide participants with a prompt to consider and discuss as a group. These discussions will take place in a closed group messaging channel on Slack or a similar platform, where the Class can suggest ideas, ask questions, and get helpful feedback from one another.
Personal Exploration Exercises
Participants will get the chance to apply the ideas, insights, and guidance provided around each Maker Prep topic to their own businesses.
From choosing strategic flavor combinations based on consumer trends to considering emerging e-commerce platforms and all the topics in between, these personal exploration exercises will allow participants to put their ideas on paper, reflect on the knowledge they’ve gained, and pressure-test their assumptions and plans in new ways.
Coaching Sessions with Industry Experts
Each month, a food-industry veteran will join the Maker Prep Course Class for a coaching session via Zoom. These sessions will be loosely focused on the two most-recent Course topics, with many of the speakers who created the educational content serving as coaches.
Participants are welcome to bring up topics from class discussions, seek feedback on their personal explorations work, or ask other questions of industry experts who know what it’s like to start, grow, and expand a food business.
The deadline to enroll is October 1, 2024.
Course Schedule
| June 23 – 25 | Immersive Sessions at the Summer Fancy Food Show |
| July 1 – August 9 | Product Development Food Safety Co-Packing |
| August 12 – 23 | Break / Catch-Up |
| August 26 – September 27 | Branding Funding Your Business Pricing & Trade Spending |
| September 30 – October 11 | Break / Catch-Up |
| October 14 – November 15 | Supply Chain & Logistics Trade Channels E-Commerce |
| November 18 – 29 | Break / Catch-Up |
| December 9 – 13 | Selling |
| December 16 – 27 | Break / Catch-Up |
| December 30 – January 10 | Working with Distributors Marketing |
| January 13 – 17 | Prep for the Winter Fancy Food Show |
| January 19 | Graduation at the Winter Fancy Food Show! |