From Kitchen to Grocery Shelves
September 11, 2025 - Jazmin Bolan-Wiliamson
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EmailThis resource is an on-demand, self-guided learning opportunity for food producers considering taking their packaged food ideas from the initial kitchen stage to being prepared to be on grocery retail shelves. In this two-part video series, Jazmin Bolan-Wiliamson, Food and Farm Business Coordinator of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems and Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center, shares the Key Steps to move through the process From Kitchen to Grocery Shelves.
Module 1: Steps 1-4
- Step 1: Back to Basics – What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur
- Step 2: Food Safety & Licenses
- Step 3: Business Model, Financial Management, & Team
- Step 4: Production Space + Preparing to Scale
Module 2: Steps 5-7
- Step 5: Nutrition Labeling, Shelf Life, & Packaging
- Step 6: Marketing, Sales Channels, and Meeting Buyers
- Step 7: Capital Needs & Financing
For further information:
For more information, reach out to Jazmin Bolan-Williamson at bolanwil@msu.edu.
About the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center
The Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center offered assistance to support food and farm business owners across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin through September 15, 2025.
As one of twelve Regional Food Business Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in July 2023, the Michigan State University (MSU) Center for Regional Food Systems coordinated the Great Lakes Midwest Regional Food Business Center with a set of partners that served as network coordinators for their respective places in the region:
- Illinois: Chicago Food Policy Action Council
- Indiana: Northwest Indiana Food Council
- Michigan: MSU Center for Regional Food Systems
- Wisconsin: Food Finance Institute at the University of Wisconsin System
- Regional tribal coordination: Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Food Systems
