Fresh Fetch: A Food Incubator Success Story
Guest Blog Written By: Markella Gionet - Owner and Founder of Fresh Fetch
In the Fall of 2018 our business Fresh Fetch had just been born, more conceived in fact but there were so many things to figure out and to better understand about starting a small local business. For me it was my first endeavor as an entrepreneur and an entirely new world to navigate. When we heard about the opportunity to participate in the 12-week long food incubator program offered by Campbell River Economic Development our ears perked up, as we knew it would be an extremely valuable knowledge asset to acquire at the early stage of our start up.
We were unique within the group of participants in that we were the only non-human food producer and we were so pleased that the content delivered throughout the 12 weeks pertained to both human food businesses as well as our dog food business. On the note of content, I must say that it was very well delivered, in that the range of topics relating to starting a business were broad yet each covered in great detail. Early on we learned about talking about our business, which to some may sound like an easy thing to do but in fact it is an art that requires perfection through practice. The art of talking about talking about your business and expressing entirely the greatness of it in a short period of time was an invaluable skill to have learned. It’s called the “elevator pitch” and I can confidently say that I have now mastered this skill and use it on a daily basis!
Sessions ranged from learning about marketing to packaging, pricing to various operational requirements and planning processes. The framework of these sessions definitely gave us the knowledge and confidence to build a successful business from the ground up and having experts share their experiences was invaluable. Throughout the incubator program we were able to connect with industry professionals at various sessions and events and connect with each other to exchange our stories, experiences and ideas.
Fresh Fetch is a local producer of canine whole food supplements and is dedicated to providing optimal nutrition to improve the health and longevity of our canine companions. We have grown significantly in a short period of time and are now selling online, as well as in two pet stores, the Dogwood Pet Mart and all four locations of Woofy’s. Since we launched our business we have been pleased to be part of the Island Good Program as we source our ingredients as local and organic as possible and we take great pride in being a community based local producer of premium quality product from our land and sea. Fresh Fetch is now in the planning stage of adding a second product to our line of canine supplement blends and will be expanding our availability in Island owned and operated pet stores stretching across Vancouver Island.
Our business was born out of the care and compassion given to our own dogs over the many years and the desire to share our knowledge pertaining to canine nutrition through several years of applied research. We live by our motto “more time together”. Fresh Fetch has brought multiple layers of benefits in nutrition all into one for convenient supplemental feeding, giving you more time to spend with your dog and giving your dog more time to spend with you.
Through this journey of discovery and growth we often refer to notes taken during the food incubator sessions and have found great strides from what we learned. We have maintained relationships with the extremely knowledgeable facilitators of the program and received amazing support from Campbell River Economic Development which has made it so much easier for us to navigate through the beginning and continuing stages of building our local business. Looking forward we are excited to continue to collaborate on future initiatives and to contributing to building our local business’s, expanding our networks and nurturing our community through the fantastic various supports that Campbell River Economic Development offers our community.
The Food Incubator program ran in 2019. It was provided to entrepreneurs in the Campbell River area who were looking to start or expand a food related business. The program was facilitated by Spring Activator in conjunction with Economic Development. For more information on other programs such as this visit https://www.techatchery.ca/education