On October 2nd, 2024, Konsultori proudly partnered with the POPCHOP Festival in Vienna, offering exclusive one-on-one Office Hours to help innovative food startups navigate their growth journeys. Petra Wolkenstein, scaling expert and CEO of Konsultori, provided personalized sessions with selected entrepreneurs, providing them with strategic insights and tailored advice to accelerate their scaling efforts. During these one-on-one consultations, each startup founder had the opportunity to dive deep into their scaling journey and jointly elaborate on the next steps in a scaling implementation plan.
Understanding the Challenges of Scaling a Food Startup
Food startups need to master 12 scaling dimensions to be ready for scaling. From Product-Market Fit to strategy operationalization, processes, operations, people, sales automation, and much more. For food founders, the first step in preparing for scaling is to understand their current status of scaling readiness. They need to find out in which areas they need to improve and in which other areas they are already scaling-ready. For this purpose, we have developed the Scaling Readiness Check. Every food startup participated in the Konsultori Scaling Readiness Check and received instant feedback on their status. When sitting down together, we had the chance to use the results as a comprehensive starting point for understanding where their businesses stand in the growth process. Petra Wolkenstein reviewed and discussed these results in depth, helping entrepreneurs identify their strengths and areas for development.
Each session addressed the specific scaling challenges and opportunities unique to each startup. Whether it was market expansion, operational efficiency, or securing investment, these conversations offered actionable insights tailored to each entrepreneur’s situation.
Key Insights from POCHOP Festival: Scaling Readiness for Food Startups
While most Food startups have excellent products with good market feedback and increasing sales, none have started measuring their product market fit. One of the first recommendations was discussing the right metric to use and how to implement it.
Many of their business processes are still founder-led and neither documented, streamlined nor evaluated for their automation potential. This is mainly the case for sales and customer service processes which go hand in hand with a missing go-to-market approach and lead generation journey.
The third main insight was about a clear long-term growth strategy with an aligned funding path. There was a lot of discussion about how to develop this area.
Creating a Roadmap for Scaling a Food Startup
Not all scaling dimensions can be addressed at once which is why we have jointly mapped out implementation plans for all missing scaling elements. and the prioritization of building blocks. We agreed on the responsibilities for all items and the overall timeline.
The Future of Scaling Food Startups with Konsultori
Our collaboration with the POPCHOP Festival is rooted in a shared vision: empowering food entrepreneurs to drive innovation and sustainability in the food sector. The festival created a vibrant space for founders, industry leaders and visionaries to connect, exchange ideas, and shape the future of food together.
Are the scaling challenges of food startups different to startups from other industries and, if so, how do they differ? While we see a higher share of food startups working in food production & processing, we believe, in general, that the 12 dimensions of scaling readiness are equally relevant to startups across industries, with minor variations in individual elements. But food startups, in particular, face intense and justified scrutiny over their health and sustainability impact and their respective credentials due to the intersecting nature of the food industry. Not only is the food industry highly responsive to changing consumer preferences and plays a vital role in human and planetary health, it also has enormous potential for employment, innovation and entrepreneurial creativity.
To the entrepreneurs who participated in our Office Hours, thank you for analysing your company’s status and discussing your next steps. We’re excited to see how you implement them and continue to grow your companies. To all attendees of the POPCHOP Festival, we hope you enjoyed the festival’s exciting programs and opportunities. Let’s keep the momentum going!