“Food startups aren’t a super-sexy, quick-turn, high-velocity investment,” says Austin Green, co-founder of Hatch Kitchen, a commissary-style kitchen and food and beverage small-business incubator. “This stuff can take years, and we’d really love to see that improve in Richmond as we recognize there are a lot of people doing creative things, and an audience that wants to buy these products.”
Green and Brad Cummings opened Hatch Kitchen in Manchester in January 2018. Green learned about the unexpected hurdles startups face when he and business partner Greg White launched Texas Beach Bloody Mary Mix in 2015. Cummings, a successful entrepreneur and co-founder of the nonprofit Startup Virginia, shared his vision of bringing together like-minded food entrepreneurs to share ideas, network and learn — something Cummings refers to as “positive collision.”
Currently home to a 9,000-square-foot kitchen and a corral where area food trucks can park, Hatch plans to add an on-site health inspector, a cafe and event space, a certified food bottling line and packaging operation, and a USDA meat inspection area — a one-stop food-startup paradise.
“I think that we may have kind of underestimated how long it takes for a food business to get everything they need to be up and running,” Green says, noting that one of the biggest hurdles startups face is raising capital.
Open 24 hours, Hatch’s main kitchen features stainless work tables, industrial mixers and other large-scale kitchen equipment. At any time of day, members bustle around — one visit found a Gaucho food truck employee making arepas while across the room, high-end lollipops from A Secret Forest were being painted like works of art.
According to Elaine Lidholm of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), an average of 120 food businesses seek product approval each month. For a product to go from concept to container, business owners must submit an application outlining production steps, intended consumers and a list of ingredients. The product must also have appropriate labeling and packaging. Once it is approved and deemed safe, the kitchen where it is produced is inspected.
“It’s a lot more complicated than most people realize,” says Pam Miles, food safety program supervisor for VDACS.
Campfire & Co. helps startups develop their brands. (Photo by Alexis Courtney courtesy Campfire & Co.)
That’s why Hatch offers business classes taught by Startup Virginia and The Apple Cart. Barb Upchurch and Stephanie Ganz (a Richmond magazine contributor) founded The Apple Cart in 2014 to help small food businesses. Now the sole owner, Upchurch’s consulting firm offers services from branding to website development to locating brick-and-mortar space.
“Nobody enters into the food industry because they think it would be fun,” Upchurch says. “They are passionate about what they are making; there’s a reason behind that particular product.”
Helping a product’s story come to life is essential. That’s where people like Christie Thompson, lead strategist at Campfire & Co., come into play. Thompson takes her clients through “brand therapy” sessions, where they work to discover the identity of their product and create a cohesive concept. “Our role early on is to help them organize these ideas and create something with longevity,” she says.
Every two years, VDACS hosts the Virginia Food & Beverage Expo, connecting purveyors with buyers, grocers, restaurants and media. Last year, a record 180 exhibitors participated, and the next expo in March 2020 is expected to top that total.
Many of the products at the expo are part of the 30-year-old VDACS Virginia’s Finest program.
“That [Virginia’s Finest] label is a genuine seal of approval,” Lidholm says. “Agriculture is the largest private industry in Virginia, and many people realize that buying Virginia products keeps food dollars in the local economy.”
In recent years, local products such as Reginald’s Homemade Peanut Butter and KimKim Korean Hot Sauce have received national attention and widespread distribution. In our companion stories to this article, follow the journey of two Richmond-based companies, UnMoo and Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches, from startup to shelf, as they work toward their dreams of national success.
Product Pioneers
Grab-worthy local goods
- Gourmet Hemp Foods: This budding company, led in the kitchen by Chef Tye Hall of T&R Catering, offers hemp-based pasta and various condiments. Are you a hot-sauce head? The hemp “Hottie” sauce made with local peppers is a must.
- Salsas Don Sebastian: Founder America Deloach started this company as a small-batch salsa purveyor using family recipes. Since then, she’s added chimichurri and an addictive jalapeño dip to the mix.
- Belle Isle Moonshine: Founded in 2013 by brothers-in-law Vince Riggi and Brian Marks, Belle Isle has poured a lineup of six spirits into the market along with its latest offering: crisp, quaffable canned cocktails.
