Union Kitchen Announces New Program: CPG 101: Start Your Food Business

Union Kitchen, a food business Accelerator located in Washington, D.C., announced the launch of a new online program, CPG 101: Start Your Food Business. CPG 101 is designed for entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of building their food business and are seeking guidance on next steps. This program educates entrepreneurs about the fundamentals of essential food business topics, including company formation, food business licensing, and manufacturing. CPG 101 explores the benefits of making a packaged product and equips entrepreneurs with the tools and knowledge to create a successful packaged good business.

“Founders have a lot to manage. Business is hard and constantly evolving. We wanted to take the many lessons we’ve learned from working with hundreds of food businesses over the past eight years and deliver the first steps in an easily digestible and self-paced format,” shared Elena Rosenblum, the Senior Director at Union Kitchen.

CPG 101 teaches best practices for budgeting, funding startup businesses, and building business credit. This program also includes the basics of marketing to help food entrepreneurs build a successful brand, including setting up a website and social media. 

CPG 101 is the latest in a series of offerings from Union Kitchen designed to build successful CPG food companies. Union Kitchen’s flagship Accelerator program includes many of DC’s favorite food brands such as Compass Coffee, Snacklins, Eat Pizza, Origin Caribe, and Mas Panadas. The Accelerator coaches entrepreneurs through the four phases of building a successful food business: Launch, Product Market Fit, Growth, and Scale.

“We’re thrilled to launch this new program to connect with people who have an entrepreneurial mindset but might not know what steps to take to prepare to launch a food business.” Cullen Gilchrist, Union Kitchen CEO and Founder said. “CPG 101 teaches entrepreneurs about the importance of making things people want and how to connect to your core consumer.”

Union Kitchen is a Food Business Accelerator founded in 2012 by Cullen Gilchrist to help entrepreneurs build successful food businesses. Since then, Union Kitchen has worked with over 650 food businesses, including over 100 Accelerator brands. Union Kitchen builds successful food businesses by bringing together their Accelerator with access to their commercial Kitchen, Distribution, and Stores.