The Release of Our Foodservice Tracker Tool for CPG Brands
In this bonus episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with foodservice sales expert Jenna Cameron, founder of Jenna Cameron Consulting, to walk through Startup CPG’s brand new, free Foodservice Tracker and how early-stage brands can use it to build a smart foodservice strategy.
Jenna has spent more than 12 years in foodservice sales, with experience at brands including JUST (formerly Hampton Creek), Alpha Foods, and Wild Earth, and has been consulting full time for about a year. She and Daniel worked together at JUST for about five years, and Jenna helped build the tracker, a first-of-its-kind resource of about 1,500 operators, distributors, and redistributors with contract management, distributor, segment, unit count, and early brand prioritization details, plus LinkedIn profiles for key contacts.
Daniel and Jenna break down what’s inside the tracker, who is and isn’t on the list, and how to choose between back of house and front of house opportunities. They also cover how to pitch foodservice buyers, which trade shows are worth your money, how scrappy tactics like campus ambassadors and station takeovers can unlock your first accounts, and the mistakes that waste time and money in this channel.
Listen in as they discuss:
- What’s inside the free Foodservice Tracker, from distributors and contract managers to early brand prioritization
- Why a tracker alone won’t get you into doors, and why focus matters more than hitting every account
- Why a Dot Foods contact told Daniel the list’s 1,500 entries are “the right 1,500” to start with
- How to decide between back of house and front of house products, and which distributors fit each
- Which job titles to target, and why calling or texting chefs often beats email
- Why a foodservice pitch should be three to five slides, and why cooking alongside the culinary team beats a long deck
- Which trade shows suit early-stage brands, and how a regional distributor win can grow into a national program
- How scrappy tactics work, from asking a friend at a corporate office to enlisting campus vegetarian groups
- Why products must be plug and play, hold up in a high-heat oven, and solve a real operator problem like labor, cost, or prep time
- How to run a college station takeover that reaches 200 to 300 students at almost no cost
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Episode Links:
- Jenna Cameron LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-cameron-a3253732
- Jenna Cameron Consulting Website: jennacameronconsulting.com
- Jenna Cameron Instagram: @the_jenna_cameron
- Contact Jenna directly: jennacameronconsulting@gmail.com
Don’t forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
- Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (40K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Daniel’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danscharff/
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
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