During the Funding and Founding a Food Business Workshop, we will provide an overview of the considerations you will need to make, the resources you need to know about and the current trends in the food industry. Our speakers work with entrepreneurs like you to smooth the road and minimize the unwanted detours along the way.   You will get a very brief overview of what it takes to start a consumer packaged goods food product business. We will help ready you to jump into the food industry. You will be able to scratch the surface on what to expect when entering the food industry! Topics include:

• Food trends
• Business laws
• Health regulations
• Realistic start up costs

You will also get expert advice from a registered dietitian with experience in food product development and a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of successful business development and consulting.

Sima Gandhi is owner of InnovatorLab.ca, previous manager for entrepreneurship programs at MaRS Discovery District (MaRSDD.com), workshop facilitator at Food Starter Toronto, 2018 EIR for the Toronto Public Library and founder of riince.com.

Kiran Bains, MSc, RD is a registered dietitian and owner of edovivo.com, a food and nutrition marketing agency. She is also co-founder of Food Venture Program, an entrepreneurship incubation business for food and beverage entrepreneurs. She has conducted research through the University of Guelph in behavioral science around food choices and promoting fruit and vegetable consumption to the post-secondary student population in Canada. She is currently a Research Assistant for the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), conducting research on the sustainability of animal protein consumption and the impact of veganism on the environment. Kiran is passionate about integrating environmental sustainability into the core practices of food industry businesses and loves mentoring new food business owners. She is a creative thinker and ultimately enjoys using her passion for food and design to help businesses develop creative branding and marketing.