The Epicenter
Food Business Consulting EpiCenter
Where Food and Beverage Businesses Come Together To Create Flavor For The World
The Food Business Consulting EpiCenter provides the ideal launchpad for local, regional and national food and beverage businesses to bring their ideas to life. Including all of the fundamental aspects of speed, innovation, and efficiency: concepting, research, development, manufacturing, sourcing, and commercialization. Food Business Consulting builds up the CPG food and beverage industry with product innovation, manufacturing insights, and go-to-market strategies.
The EpiCenter has state-of-the-art research and development labs, a sensory testing room, and top-notch baking, blending, and cooking equipment. We have brought together the best of the best to grow the industry and provide a connection of capabilities and education for culinary innovation and business development.
“The EpiCenter allows us to scale our goal of sharing our expertise as food scientists and manufacturers, together with our commercialization proficiency, to help food and beverage business bring their products to retail shelves. We are excited to share our broad knowledge in food and beverage, strong industry connections, and sourcing expertise with this new EpiCenter Culinary Campus capability and community.” Steffen Weck, President of Food Business Consulting.
Capabilities - What We Can Do For You
PRODUCT IDEATION & CONCEPTING Food science & Culinary creativity determines opportunities and possibilities.
PRODUCT FORMULATION & DEVELOPMENT Start to finish, product brief, supplier relationship, SOPs, and formulation progress to the final product.
MARKET RESEARCH, INSIGHTS & STRATEGY Guide and define direction based on market insights strategic direction, and business goals.
REGULATORY & COMPLIANCE Effectively navigate the various compliance regulations for cannabis and hemp safety.
BRAND DEVELOPMENT & PACKAGING DESIGN Collaborating to build a communications strategy and marketing tactics with a proven roadmap.
CO-MANUFACTURING & SOURCING Full-scale production process, SOPs, quality control, logistics, and sourcing expertise.
COMMERCIALIZATION Pipeline management expertise and planning for scale-up and support of exponential growth.
Partnerships
Food Business Consulting has collaborated with strategic partners that bring expertise, proficiency, and innovation to the food and beverage industry. As part of The EpiCenter, they contribute exponential talent to bring the best food and beverage products to life
The Kitchen Network Park Hill Culinary Campus
The partnership between Food Business Consulting and The Kitchen Network allows us the ability to service a variety of food and beverage entrepreneurs and CPG's from the ideation phase to commercialization
The Kitchen Network Park Hill Culinary Campus provides the ideal launchpad for local food entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life. We currently incubate approximately 100+ specialty food businesses annually. We are truly defined by our name as a network of support and resources that can open up your business to new opportunities. There is a network of mentors, partners and food entrepreneurs. The facility totals 43,481 square feet of a commercial kitchen, labs, and restaurant space, it is a place where cultural expression, education, innovation, and the entrepreneurial spirit bring the community together.
We Are Your Support System
- Guide you through the process of obtaining licensing with the City of Denver.
- Commercial grade equipment enables growth while reducing costs.
- Connections to a network of business experts to boost your company’s sales.
Fuchs
The partnership between Food Business Consulting and Fuchs allows us to develop foods which have amazing flavor profiles using the finest seasonings
Fuchs North America has a 75-year legacy as a leading provider of premium custom seasoning blends. In a competitive food market, food companies need to offer something unique, and going to market quickly and reliably is important. Our innovative seasoning solutions offer quick response times, deep expertise, and customer-centric processed for the perfect blend that delivers winning taste solutions
- Custom Seasonings & Flavor Solutions: match a particular flavor profile or develop something totally new and different, the Fuchs team of R&D experts will custom design the perfect seasoning.
- Spices and other ingredients: a wide range of herbs and spices, capsicums, mustard, dehydrated vegetables, and other ingredients.
- Organic: state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Hampstead, Maryland is certified for processing organic ingredients.
Gold Coast Ingredients
The Food Business Consulting partnership with Gold Coast Ingredients allows us to bring amazing flavors, ingredients, and colors to your food and beverage products
Gold Coast is a wholesale flavor and color manufacturer serving all types of industries from food, beverages, cannabis, animal treats, and oral care. With us you will find Organic, Natural, Non-GMO, Allergen-Free, and other flavors available as liquids, powders, powder encapsulations, emulsions, and advanced extractions to be compatible with any product requirements. GCI also supplies custom, QAI Certified Organic, ISA Certified Halal, OU Certified, and KOF-K Certified Kosher flavors upon request.
In addition, Gold Coast provides custom Masking Agents and Sweetness Enhancers for various applications. GCI Masking Agents help reduce unwanted tastes and bitterness of natural ingredients such as stevia, vegetable protein, amino acids, and fish oil.
E.A. Bonelli
The Food Business Consulting partnership with E.A. Bonelli allows us to bring hygienic design experience to the cannabis space with full-service facility engineering capabilities focused on designing an efficient and sanitary space that safeguards your process
E.A. Bonelli is an industry-leading A/E firm that provides planning, design, and engineering services to the food, beverage, and cannabis sectors. EAB brings over six decades of hygienic design experience to the cannabis space with full-service facility engineering capabilities focused on designing an efficient and sanitary space that safeguards your process.
For over six decades, E.A. Bonelli has been consistently at the forefront of industrial architecture and engineering. We combine a client-oriented approach with a wealth of experience to find proven solutions regarding space planning, food safety requirements, and architectural and engineering design. This experience is reflected in our informed approach to issues identified by current FDA, USDA, PMO, SQF, and BRC food safety requirements, as well as an understanding of the latest ISO standards for cleanroom air cycling and sanitation.Our expertise in sanitary design, coupled with a thorough knowledge of food industry regulations and audits, has given us the opportunity to provide services for the burgeoning cannabis and AgTech sectors.
Brand Guide
The Food Business Consulting partnership with Brand Guide allows us to have strong consumer packaged goods branding expertise available to help you launch your products at retail
Branding and Marketing Communication Planning and Execution. Driving thought leadership and co-creating extraordinary initiatives for fan engagement and brand awareness.
Brand Guide works with food and beverage companies in the start-up and growth stage to develop authentic and consistent brand messaging. Brand Guide can help companies find a clear path to spark a change in their communication strategy. We work collaboratively with your team to brainstorm and execute ideas that will generate awareness and alignment with your target market, through brand strategy, marketing activations, and engaging storytelling.
C Dev Web Design
The Food Business Consulting partnership with C Dev Website Design allows us development and creative services for launching your website and creating digital awareness for your business
The focus at C Dev Web Design anything web-related including website creation and maintenance, digital ad creation, providing social media management, blog writing, brochure creation and SEO. C Dev Web Design, is a client-focused business model that balances client expectations with the realities of web design and development. C Dev Web Design works with a variety of web platforms from Shopify to WordPress and creates tailored designed websites that are mobile-ready and SEO-friendly.
Strategic Growth Partners
The Food Business Consulting partnership with Jerry Smiley of Strategic Growth Partners is a connection to smart strategies to help your business profitably grow through planning, research, and wise decisions
Strategic Growth Partners, Inc., is a management consulting firm dedicated to the food industry. We provide strategic guidance to manufacturers within all channels of food distribution. We help clients to identify, quantify, evaluate, prioritize and implement strategies that profitably grow their businesses. These activities include strategic planning, business development, category assessments, customer profiling & targeting, competitive analyses, and acquisition analyses.
Since 2000, Jerry Smiley founder of Strategic Growth Partners has assisted numerous clients in their efforts to profitably grow their business. Before forming this consulting practice, Jerry spent more than two years as Senior Associate at Technomic, Inc., a preeminent consulting and market research firm.
The Good Lab
The Food Business Consulting partnership with Good Lab provides analytical data for your food and beverage formulas. We have a high value of importance for knowing the quality and efficacy of your food and beverage products
The Good Lab is a high-quality, high-touch private consulting analytical laboratory.
Work Options for Women
The Food Business Consulting partnership with Jerry Smiley of Strategic Growth Partners is a connection to smart strategies to help your business profitably grow through planning, research, and wise decisions
Work Options for Women helps people overcome barriers to sustainable employment by building confidence while providing resources and culinary job training.
Since 1997, we have helped to train and employ over 3,000 individuals in the Denver metro area. Not only do we prepare people to obtain entry-level employment in the foodservice industry, but we also work to ensure that our graduates have the culinary skills, job-readiness skills, and ongoing support they need to retain employment and pursue a sustainable career in foodservice.
Dirt Coffee
The Food Business Consulting partnership with Jerry Smiley of Strategic Growth Partners is a connection to smart strategies to help your business profitably grow through planning, research, and wise decisions
Dirt is on a mission to bring you quality crafted coffee, food & drink while employing & empowering neurodivergent individuals.
Did you know that 90% of individuals with autism are either unemployed or underemployed? Founded with the idea that people with differences deserve better, Dirt’s mobile coffee truck hit the ground in 2013 on a mission to change minds and change lives one cup at a time. Since its inception, Dirt has trained and employed over 100 individuals with neuro-diversities while providing over $50,000 in scholarships to families in need and their caregivers.