It's tough out there for food start-ups trying to make it.
But there's a growing support ecosystem in Dayton of food entrepreneurs leaning on each other.
The latest example is a food summit — which founders hope to make an annual event — where professionals came together at the Dayton Arcade. WYSO was there for this event to hear from entrepreneurs in their own words about their businesses and what it takes to succeed.
'They need support, they need awareness'
The 6888 Kitchen Incubator, based at the Dayton Arcade, organized the "From Scratch Food Summit."
The incubator was founded in 2020 in an effort to break barriers and create opportunities for under-resourced food entrepreneurs. This includes professional commercial kitchen access, business training, mentorship, and community connections.
Tiffany Feidler, 6888 Kitchen board member, said these factors are part of what inspired launch of the summit.
"A lot of it came from our members who need help, they need support, they need awareness," she said.
More than 30 local vendors and multiple panelists attended the fest on Sept. 1 to learn and teach about entrepreneurship, networking and sharing their unique goods.
"We've invited investors, retailers, other food founders who are more established that could possibly mentor these people, and then of course just general public who can raise awareness for your brand," Feidler said.
The Arcade’s rotunda was lined with those local vendor booths which were handing out free samples of coffee, tea and snacks to more than 200 registered summit attendees.
“It's so hard to get into retail shelves and so if you do attend a convention and exhibit, they charge you thousands of dollars to have a booth," Feidler said. "We're doing it for free, thanks to our sponsors.”
A total of 15 sponsors signed up to help put on the event such as KeyBank, the City of Dayton, State Farm, Henny Penny, Gordon Food Service.
In addition to mentorship and resource connections, the festival offered separate panels that covered topics such as early-stage advice, retail and wholesale strategies.
Local success stories were also shared by Killer Brownie and Dot's Market to inspire newer food founders as they start on their small business journey.
“They're here to share their stories, be a bit of a mentor and kind of give advice and their stories of how they got started and especially coming from Dayton," Feidler said.
Building connections and businesses
The married duo Taharah and Myles Harbison have owned and operated a vegan alkaline business called Taharah’s Cafe for two years now.
Harbison said sharing her unique and healthy cuisine at events like the From Scratch Food Summit allows her and her husband to boost their online business and learn from other entrepreneurs.
“I do catering, I do food, meal preps and things like that. I do events like this," she said. "We're still building, we're still growing. So we're growing as we go.”
The Harbisons started their day connecting with other vendors and multiple visitors including Camille Hall who serves as a program manager for the Economic Community Development Institute based in Columbus.
Hall said as a small business owner herself, she was excited to attend the first summit in Dayton and connect other businesses to local resources.
“There are so many resources for you to take advantage of and we genuinely want to see you win and succeed," she said. "So it really feels like you're just friends and you just hanging out with your family.”
For two other entrepreneurs, this event was a family affair.
Modjeska Chavez started her online-business CommuniTEA Love with her mom Amy Chavez three years ago, operating on a collaborative wholesale model.
"We have an online retail shop that serves people nationwide," she said. "We work out of different spaces, restaurants, cafes, practitioner offices in the greater Dayton area, Columbus and Cincinnati."
Chavez said she heard about the summit through the Miami Valley Small Business Development Center.
“It was highly recommended by our coach, Lisa, who wanted to help us connect with other wholesale accounts in the area,” she said.
First of many fests
Feidler said they hope to offer this summit every year. This will build on other support for local food entrepreneurs. The Ohio Taste Foundation, which operates the 6888 Kitchen, is currently expanding its footprint in the Arcade.
“A lot of people are still learning about the 6888 Kitchen and that we have this infrastructure here," Feidler said. "You can be a member, you can be in a licensed commercial kitchen and do your business in an official capacity and be able to get started right away.”
Hall said she is excited for this new opportunity.
“You would really just have to be here and immerse yourself in the ecosystem to understand how unique this is," she said. "You just don't find services, community, entrepreneurs supporting one another in an ecosystem like you do right here in Dayton, Ohio.”
