Food Finance Institute

The memories will live on! Check out our post-event wrap-up of the 2024 Food Finance Forum, Expo, and Food Tours! #2024FoodFinanceForum

Celebrating the success of this food business rock star! We're thrilled to hear that Dtocs LLC has been chosen as?1 of 100 Top American Small Businesses by the US Chamber of Commerce!?Founder Pallavi Pande has been an inspiration as a food business owner taking part in our Fellows program, and we couldn't be more excited about her company's success. Check out Dtocs's compostable, sturdy, microwave-safe dinnerware: https://www.dtocs.com. (We were proud to serve our guests with it at our 2024 Food Finance Forum and Expo in September!) See Dtocs along with the entire list of 100 small business honorees here: https://lnkd.in/e6RBuCQp. #foodfinancefellows #uschamber #growwithco #thrivewithco #uschamberawards #CO100

Our director, Sarah Larson, is representing FFI at this exciting gathering of partners creating resilient, reliable, equitable food systems! So proud to be a partner and state lead for the Great Lakes Midwest region and looking forward to all the insights and learnings that come from getting so many experts in one place!

More media coverage of food businesses in Wisconsin telling their stories of growth, challenge, and success! Thank you, Natalie Yahr of The Capital Times for covering our Food Finance Forum and Expo and shedding light on our FFI Fellows Panel: How We Built and Executed Plans Worthy of Investment. Read her story here and learn more. Nubian Simmons, thank you for sharing the story of The Pink Bakery, Inc to inspire and educate others! #2024FoodFinanceForum

Panelists and attendees alike shared deep insights on the importance of keeping consumers safe and food businesses profitable in the age of e-commerce in our final panel of the day! Moderator: Brad Rostowfske – FFI Fellows Program Manager, Steve Mehmert – T4 Solutions, Adam Waldvogl – Dairyland Ginseng, Trever Knoflick – P2R Group, and Michael Semmann – Wisconsin Grocers Association. #2024FoodFinanceForum

What’s in the horizon? Our Trends and Innovations panelists talk about upcycling, drought resistance, gen Z consumers, clear package messaging, giving your customer something to believe in, intentionality in packaging, innovative ingredient and process pairings, resilient sourcing, and … plant-based hard boiled eggs! Moderator Sarah Larson, FFI Director, interviews Tera Johnson – FFI Innovative Finance Expert, Corinne Shindelar – All Natural Strategies & Naturally Minnesota, Angela Bozo – INFRA, and Jamie Valenti-Jordan – FFI Food Brand Program Manager & Catapult Commercialization Services. #2024FoodFinanceForum

Food business owners on our FFI fellows panel tell their stories of how they built and executed plans worthy of investment! Brad Rostowfske, FFI Fellows Program Manager, interviews David Payne – Potters Crackers, Nubian Simmons – The Pink Bakery, Danielle Goss – KUL MOCKS, and Henry Aschauer – Forage Kombucha. #2024FoodFinanceForum

Keynote speaker Corinne Shindelar drives home the importance of natural, organic, and sustainable products to today’s consumers … and helps kick off a “soft launch” of Naturally Wisconsin, our new chapter of the Naturally Network! #2024FoodFinanceForum

Sam Rikkers of Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation connects the growing economic power of Wisconsin’s food and farm businesses with our state’s history. First guest speaker at our Food Finance Forum! #2024FoodFinanceForum

FFI Director Sarah Larson and Fellows Program Manager Brad Rostowfske gave interviews with Brooklyn Andres of WMTV 15 News this morning, live from Garver Feed Mill for the kickoff of our 2024 Food Finance Forum and Expo! Great opportunity to promote our Happy Hour 4-6 pm. Join us! #2024FoodFinanceForum