Food Licensing 101

OVERVIEW

With so many food businesses popping up in the Chippewa Valley, you may be wondering, “How could I do that?”

Join us as the Small Business Development Center guides a panel discussion with the Eau Claire City-County Health Department, and Pablo Group with the most common questions they get about starting a food business.

IN DEPTH DESCRIPTION

Starting a business can seem scary if you don’t have a good support system behind you. Starting a food business and learning to navigate rules, regulations, and certifications can be especially confusing. We want to have an open conversation to simplify things so you can get your business up and running.

Learn some tips and tricks to “start small” in the food space from a panel of local food business operators. We will discuss general startup questions relating to certifications, health regulations, and business resources. Also, up for discussion: commercial kitchens, buildouts, packaging, wholesale selling, and more.

Whether you just have an idea or are already in operation, this panel discussion will clear up some of the more regulatory parts of food businesses so you can focus on what you do best- creating delicious food!

THE LOGISTICS

Wednesday, November 17, 2021 | 6 p.m.

This 60-minute panel discussion will be led by the Small Business Development Center with an opportunity for up to 30 minutes of audience Q&A. A tour of Forage's commercial kitchen and event space will follow the panel.

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

• Startup Basics: Starting small, certifications, regulations, resources     
  • Are Food Trucks a good option?

   

• Food Prep: Commercial kitchens, kitchen buildouts
• Food Delivery/Packaging: Regulations, wholesale, packaging

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Startup restaurant/food businesses
• Entrepreneurs with an idea for a food business
• Anyone looking to gain knowledge in food business regulations

ABOUT OUR PANEL

Harlie Juedes (moderator) is the Assistant Director of the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at UW-Eau Claire. She has ten years of experience helping Chippewa Valley small businesses start, grow, and thrive through marketing and business development assistance. Juedes joined the SBDC in 2020 and consults with clients on business startup and purchases, business expansion, and marketing strategy. Juedes holds a BBA in Marketing Analytics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and is currently working towards her MBA through the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Elaine Campbell is the Office Manager of Water Street Deli & Grocery, LLC. The Water Street Deli, LLC began as a restaurant in 2009 in the town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Soon our products became well-loved local favorites, and in 2017 we decided to close our doors and focus on the production of our most popular items- pita chips and hummus for wholesale. The small restaurant kitchen could only handle so much production and that is when it was decided to do an entire business expansion and build a semi automated hummus and pita chip factory using the same ingredients and recipes our customers have always loved. As of March 2021, we began operating out of our new location and expanding our reach all throughout Wisconsin and now reaching into other states in hopes to one day go national.

This event is a part of Startup Chippewa Valley presented by Royal Credit Union