meet the team

Your Partner For Innovation

Our goal is to help you be successful in the food industry space. Food Business Consulting is a unique multi-disciplinary company offering both technical and business development services. This distinctive combination enables us to successfully meet the needs of our clients in a wide range of industries including: manufacturers, food services providers, retailers, entrepreneurs, distributors and suppliers.

Our team brings over three decades of CPG food industry experience to the table. We are food scientists with the education, expertise and global connections to help you overcome any challenge.

World-Class Expertise In,
Food, Beverage, Health And Wellness

Steffen Weck

President at Food Business Consulting, LLC and Chief Operating Officer of The Vivid Team

Steffen brings a collection of experience from the CPG food and beverage industry (Einstein Bros., Sara Lee, etc.) as well as years of real world knowledge to Food Business Consulting. As the President of FBC, his level of skills and management capabilities are an amazing combination which will ultimately help take your product to the next level. Steffen is a master of imagination and process ideation from concept through commercialization. Steffen has led the development of numerous successful retail, foodservice, branded and private label product introductions for many of the top 50 food manufacturers in the US and internationally.

Jessica Cristadoro

Chief Operating Officer for FBC and CEO of The Vivid Team

Jessica is an experienced business executive and food scientist with a long history working in the food and beverage industries (Dawn Food Products, Tyson Foods). Jessica is well versed in intellectual property development and review, research and product development, food science, regulatory compliance, labeling and due diligence. She graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Business management which allows her amazing creativity and scientific thought process to flourish in the food and beverage category. Jessica’s primary goal is to bring together the right experts to meet the business needs of her clients and their consumers.

Emani James

Food Scientist and Product Manager

Emani moved to Colorado from Las Vegas NV in the Fall of 2013, to attend college at Johnson and Wales University. She graduated from Johnson and Wales University with a degree in Baking and pastry, building experience in Culinary, and Culinary Nutrition and Food Science. She is a triple threat with experience with Culinary & Baking, Food Nutrition, and Food Science. She has experience with working in both the bakery and kitchen at a ski resort and working as a private chef with a family with dietary needs. Also she produced and revamped numorius products for Legendary Baking a confectionery manufacturing company. That landed her products in club stores, retail, fast food restaurants, and casual dining restaurants. She then decided to leave the corporate world to work with Steffen Weck and Jessica Cristadoro to use all of her unique experience and knowledge to round out the team and bring a fresh set of eyes to the development process.She is able to use her experience to critically think about product development in a way that allows her to see a project with the eyes of a chef, a nutritionist, and a food scientist. Her ability as a teacher, leader, and overall ability to manage a team, has led her to becoming the Project manager of FBC. Her goal is to not only continue to produce popular mainstream products, but also to help smaller businesses to get started and to break through the hard part of product development and see their products become reality.

Chris Blackwood

Operations and Compliance Manager, PCQI

Chris Blackwood is a native Texan and proud graduate of Texas A&M University. Chris graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Construction Science and has spent the last few years working as a Superintendent for one of the largest general contractors in Texas. In July of 2020, Chris made the decision to leave the general contracting world behind and become the Operations Manager for Food Business Consulting in Denver, Colorado. With multiple commercial construction projects under his belt, Chris has acquired a plethora of skills in team building, project management, equipment safety, contracts, compliance, and construction operations. Bringing these skills to the table, along with extensive knowledge of commercial building methods, Chris aims to help the Food industry take the next step in facility construction and management. Chris will help guide the Food industry by implementing more consistent and efficient inventory management systems, submittals, compliance, equipment, layout design, security, construction, and workflow. When he is away from the office, and does not have a hammer or drill in his hand, Chris enjoys spending time pioneering the Rocky Mountains with his snowboard, fishing pole, and hiking boots.

Daniel J. Shippley III (D.J.)

Sales and Marketing Manager for Food Business Consulting

D.J. is a motivated entrepreneur from Denver Colorado, who obtained a double major from Colorado Mesa University with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Bachelors in Entrepreneurship. Ever since graduating CMU in 2018 D.J. has spent several years homing in on his entrepreneurial skills helping two different brands launch into the marketplace. He has also had the privilege to learn some valuable sales skills along the way helping to sell several different health products and services. Having the opportunity to work with two small startup companies, D.J. was able to learn from observation and experience what it takes to start a company from scratch. With a concentration in business management and entrepreneurship D.J. is excited to work with Food Business Consulting having the opportunity to work on different companies’ projects, offering his knowledge and time to whoever may need it. Working with such a talented team D.J, hopes he can contribute as much as possible, helping our customers define their proper target market and the most beneficial way to reach them. Being born and raised in the colorful Colorado Rockies D.J. enjoys spending time with his dog Maya in the great outdoors.

Noah Huffer

Regulatory Specialist and Private Consultant

Noah Huffer is a Colorado Native with a passion for nutrition and wellness. He has an undergraduate degree from Johnson and Wales University in Culinary Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics and is in the process of obtaining his graduate degree in Nutrition and Human Performance from Logan University. Noah has previously worked for the University of Colorado Hospital as a Dietetic Technician, Registered. During his years in the clinical setting, he was a member of a multidisciplinary medical team tasked with providing nutrition education and counseling to patients. His passion for research and development has brought him to Food Business Consulting, LLC where he is able to integrate his nutritional knowledge with product development to better meet clients’ evolving needs. In his free time, Noah enjoys spending time in the Rocky Mountains and hiking Colorado’s 14ers.

Zoyanna Dawkins

Product Developer

Zoyanna Dawkins was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. In August 2017 Zoyanna moved all the way to Denver, Colorado to attend Johnson & Wales University. She is currently a research and product development intern for Food Business Consulting and will acquire her Bachelor of Science degree in Culinary Science in December 2020. Zoyannna has had a great deal of culinary experience from working in 4-star hotels in Jamaica, to cooking for thousands at Walt Disney World, not to mention cooking for students and chefs at school. It is clear to see Zoyanna has had amazing experience but her true passion comes from product development and culinary science which keep her motivated and driven. Having a love for travel and trying different cultures cuisines Zoyanna started creating and testing new recipes at a very young age. She would make her new recipes for her friends and family to taste and critique, unknowingly taking her first steps to her culinary and R&D adventure. Years later and Zoyanna is still eager to create new recipes and products to show to her friends and family. As part of Food Business Consulting Zoyanna is excited to gain more knowledge and experience while creating new innovative products.

Kristine Carey

Marketing Director & Owner of Brand Guide

Kristine Carey is the marketing director for Food Business Consulting and the founder of Brand Guide, advising companies on marketing communication strategy, tactics, and brand development. Kristine has executively led marketing communications programs in the natural products category with such brands as Wedderspoon Organic, Healthy Skoop, and MyChelle Dermaceuticals. She is also the creator and advisor of Brandamentals Academy™ an eLearning workshop for startup and emerging brands with a focus on positioning brands for success with consistent and authentic messaging. She is a mission-driven strategist with an entrepreneurial spirit working with small startups and mid-sized brands.

Brent Carey

Web Development & Owner of C Dev Web Design

Brent is the web designer for Food Business Consulting. His focus is anything web-related including website creation and maintenance, digital ad creation, maintaining FBC’s social media presence, blog writing, brochure creation and SEO. In addition Brent is also the owner of C Dev Web Design, a client-focused business model that balances client expectations with the realities of web design and development. He works with a variety of web platforms from Shopify to WordPress and creates tailored designed websites that are mobile-ready and SEO-friendly. Brent has the proven ability to design projects from concept to final delivery, ensuring that all work is prepared and delivered within budget and time frame. Enabling clients to achieve their business and website goals through forward-thinking design and strategy.

We help companies formulate, develop, commercialize and market food industry proudcts

Batters: Cakes/Muffins
Breads: Sandwich/Artisan
Brines, Marinades, Sauces
CBD-Infused Products
Cheesecakes
Clean(er) Label Updates
Condiments
Confectionary Coatings

Danish
Dessert Gels & Puddings
Dry Mixes: Savory & Sweet
Enrobed/Co-Extrudes Products
Frozen/Canned Dough
Frozen Desserts
Fruit Preps & Fillings
Gluten-Free Products

Icings/RTU
Nutrition Bars
Pancakes/Waffles
Pies: Value & Premium
Reduced-Sodium Reformulation
Salad Dressings/Emulsions
Trans-Fat-Free Products
Upscale Desserts