We’re thrilled to welcome 15 food businesses into the 2025 FFI Fellows Program as of January 2025!
This program provides free training and consulting to 45 food-focused entrepreneurs each year to help them succeed. Fellows get the expertise and support they need to grow and scale, with an investible business model and financing strategy unique to their business.
The first cohort of 2025 includes these 15 food and beverage businesses, 10 from Wisconsin and 5 from across the nation:
- Creative Crusts – Chilton, WI. A healthier pizza, better for everyone!
- Fresh Fizz Sodas – Island Park, NY. Great beverages differentiated by wholesomeness and integrity.
- Hilltop Pickling Co. LLC – Strum, WI. A new twist on old fashioned pickle recipes – a healthy alternative to consumers.
- Kamsler Family Foods – Hartland, WI. Canned, dilled, & fermented vegetables, savoring life’s moments together with friends and family.
- Mama Row’s Caramel – Seattle, WA. Creating joy through caramel desserts while inspiring communities to turn pain into purpose.
- Myco & Meli – Kiel, WI. Mushroom honey bringing together a community of people who care about health, nature, and friendship.
- Olano’s Empanadas LLC – Kenosha, WI. Specializing in baked empanadas since 2013 – food truck, catering, pop-ups, farmer’s markets and business consultation.
- Ooby’s LLC – Palmyra, WI. First and only cake mix that kids love and parents can feel good about.
- Ready To Roll – Milwaukee, WI. Frozen fusion egg rolls – improving access to healthier meals and empowering communities through job creation and sustainability.
- RecPak – Los Angeles, CA. Trusted lightweight nutrition solution for outdoor adventurers and professionals, driving positive social and environmental impact.
- Sliced Pizza co. – Scandinavia, WI. Fresh made-from-scratch pizza with ingredients sourced from local farmer’s markets.
- Springroll House Deli – Seattle, WA. Providing everyone a taste of traditional Chinese-Vietnamese Eggroll.
- Tots on the Street – St. Francis, WI. Gourmet tots stuffed by hand, packed with flavor, and loaded with love from our family to yours.
- Tropink – Lake Oswego, OR. Premium, innovative, delicious non-alcoholic beverages with functional ingredients that inspire balance, elation, and connection.
- Waterford Bee Company – Burlington, WI. Bringing healthy natural products to customers and educating people about honey bees, pollinators and the environment.
The program kicks off this month with a food business finance course and culminates in six months with an investor pitch. Entrepreneurs participate in regular virtual meetings with their cohort and in 1-on-1 sessions with their FFI coach. Training and consulting covers all areas of food business, including marketing and branding, sales, operations, accounting, finance, and food safety. This program is FREE and open to any food-focused entrepreneur in the United States.
This national program serves food, beverage, technology, value-added agriculture, and processing businesses. There are three cohorts each year, starting in January, April, and July. The application is on-line here and takes about 30 minutes to complete. Applications are accepted year-round, with review periods in December, March, and May.
The Fellows Program is funded by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and supported by FFI industry experts including Eurofins (Food Safety), Ogden, Glazer, + Schaefer (Law), Catapult Commercialization Services, Summit Credit Union, Farm Credit, Tribe 9 Foods, Compeer Financial, Real Food Brands, and Quigistics.
FFI’s Fellows Accelerator program has worked with over 120 companies since 2015. As of 2023, our past Accelerator companies have attracted $2.3 million in grant funding, $15 million in debt funding and $17 million in equity funding. In addition, they have generated over $117 million in business/sales.
Read more about the Fellows program here.
About the Food Finance Institute
The Food Finance Institute (FFI) leverages and supports a collaborative network of professionals focused on building and funding profitable businesses in the food, beverage and value-added agriculture sector. Through training, coaching, resources, tools and mentorship, FFI fulfills its mission of making sophisticated financial technical assistance available to growing enterprises. FFI is part of the Universities of Wisconsin Office of Business & Entrepreneurship. www.foodfinanceinstitute.org
