Selection of various cheeses on display at a cheese shop with labels indicating types and ages.

Foodpreneur Advantage

Training for food sector businesses through two distinct programs. The programming guides you through the process of getting your food products to market while meeting compliance regulations.

Program Overview

Foodpreneur Advantage is a collaboration of several Ontario Small Business Advisory Centres and is delivered by the London Small Business Enterprise Centre with the support of Grey County.

Foodpreneur Advantage has two offerings:

Scale-Up Program

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Free online training sessions

Start-Up Seminars

Six months of training and mentorship

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Start-Up Seminars

This is a free six-part online seminar series that runs four times a year.

Topics include:

  • Starting a Food Business & Regulatory Compliance

  • How to Sell Your Food Product

  • Costing & Pricing to Make Profits

  • Marketing & Branding Your Food

  • Food Safety Fundamentals

  • Packaging & Labelling Your Food

Registration is required.

Register
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Scale-Up Program

This six-month program is delivered online and in-person in London, Ontario. It is specifically designed for food and beverage manufacturers, producers, and distributors that demonstrate high growth potential. The program covers:

  • Commercialization and product-market fit

  • Sales velocity and retail performance

  • Unit economics and planning for profitability

  • Packaging, food safety, and Canadian food labelling

  • Selling to retailers and navigating distribution

  • Operational and production readiness

  • Brand positioning and growth

  • Leadership evolution – from Founder to CEO

  • Sustainable growth and scale

Multiple small serving dishes filled with cheese, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, slices of meat, crackers, and garnished with herbs, arranged in rows on a black surface.

This is a competitive program where participants are selected based on the quality of their application. If selected, a program fee of $1,500 applies. The fee may be covered by the Starter Company Plus grant or other funding, if you qualify.

Applications are open every August.

Learn More & Apply