You’ve got a big idea. A sauce, a snack, a ready meal, a condiment range, maybe a brand you can already see in supermarkets.
So you do the logical thing:
You get a logo. You build a website. You order 200 labels and start hand-filling jars in your kitchen.
It feels like momentum. It looks like progress.
But here’s the truth: most food brands don’t fail because the product’s bad — they fail because they were built backwards.
Why Most Founders Start Wrong
Everyone loves the creative bit.
Brand names, mockups, flavour testing, cool packaging…
But the part that actually makes a food brand work? That’s the unsexy stuff.
Here’s what no one tells you:
Making a tasty product is the easy bit
Scaling it? Safe production? Costing it to make money? That’s where most fall apart.
Retail is not your saviour
“Get into Whole Foods” sounds good until you realise they want credit terms, full traceability, guaranteed stock — and razor-thin margins.
Branding is only powerful if you’ve got the backbone
A beautiful label on a poorly costed, inconsistent product is lipstick on a pig.
Compliance matters more than creativity
You need HACCP, ingredient traceability, allergen control, shelf-life testing — all before you can legally sell.
Real-World Pitfall: The Pickle Brand That Didn’t Pick Up
A founder came to me excited — killer brand name, beautiful jars, great press.
But they were:
-
Bottling at home with no HACCP plan
-
Selling online without accurate allergen labelling
-
Losing money on every jar (thanks to hand-labelled bespoke packaging)
-
Pitching to retailers with no production partner
The brand looked amazing — but had no bones.
We stripped it down, rebuilt the supply chain, created a margin-positive version of the product, and linked them to the right co-packer.
Now they’re profitable, safe, and ready to scale.
What You Actually Need to Launch a Food Brand
Let’s be blunt. You need more than a good recipe. You need:
-
A scalable product (not just one you can make at home)
-
A clear cost and pricing strategy (including packaging, delivery, storage)
-
Compliance and food safety knowledge
-
A story people care about — and a product that delivers on it
-
Production, fulfilment, and growth strategy
-
Margin. Margin. Margin.
What Founders Get Wrong — and How to Get It Right
| DON’T | DO |
|---|---|
| Launch with labels you can’t afford at scale | Choose packaging you can scale from day one |
| Copy what you see on shelves | Build for your market, not your fantasy |
| Obsess over design, ignore systems | Build ops first, then dress it up |
| Assume “everyone” is your audience | Define who you’re for and why it matters |
Final Word
Launching a food brand is hard.
It’s messy. It’s technical. It’s full of jargon, cost spreadsheets, weird legal bits, and setbacks.
But it’s also exciting as hell — if you build it properly.
Don’t skip the real stuff in favour of looking good early.
Do it in the right order. With the right help. With brutal honesty and real-world experience.
Ready to Build Properly?
If you’ve got a food idea but don’t know where to start — or you’ve started and feel lost — that’s what I’m here for.
