Author: Cindi Thompson

  • accountable

    it’s hard to hold yourself accountable when you’re going it alone Running a food business can feel lonely. When you’re making granola, bottling hot sauce, or packaging meal kits yourself, there’s no one there to tell you if your ideas make sense. Independence is great – it’s probably why you started your business. But being…

  • Comfort food cherry pie

    Ever notice how every culture has that one comfort food that makes people feel better? Americans have mac and cheese, Japanese have ramen, and Indians have khichdi. These aren’t fancy meals—they’re the simple foods we eat when we need a mood boost. But why do these foods make us feel good? Science has some answers.…

  • growth goal

    The Pressure to Expand Everyone will tell you that your food business needs to get bigger. They’ll say you should sell in more stores, make more products, and hire more people. If there’s no growth, people might think you’re doing something wrong. The Hidden Cost of Rapid Growth But here’s the truth: staying small can…

  • What would it take to fire yourself

    Think back to why you started your food business. Remember those early days filled with pure creation, testing recipes, and dreaming big? Yet today, you’re buried in operations, and as a result, that creative spark is suffocating under endless tasks that anyone could do – if only you’d let them. The Hard Truth Let’s face…

  • business

    Is It Time? You’ve been juggling your food business with everything else—work, life, sleep (when you can). It’s exciting, but it’s exhausting. Maybe the orders are piling up, or you’re daydreaming about what your business could become if you had more time. But is now the right moment to go full-time? Follow the Numbers This…

  • yes no

    The Art of Saying No

    I remember when I first started building Crafted Kitchen. Like every entrepreneur out there, my inbox was bursting with these “amazing opportunities” that would supposedly put us on the map. Vendor fairs came knocking, wanting big booth fees. Marketing partners pushed for huge investments. Service platforms tried grabbing massive commissions. Ring a bell? Trust me…

  • origin story

    After being laid off from my job in financial services, I seriously considered starting a food business. Although I had several products I wanted to make and sell, my research around LA led to a sobering realization: I was going to fail. Not because my ideas weren’t good enough, but because I couldn’t find a…

  • Woman in need of help

    The Real Price of Figuring Everything Out on Your Own The 2 am club. When business keeps you awake Late at night somewhere, it’s 2 AM, and a food business owner is staring at a spreadsheet, trying to make sense of numbers that won’t add up. Meanwhile, another is scrolling through pages of regulations, desperately…

  • food business owner

    food business owner, entrepreneur or technician. Are you Stuck in the Kitchen? Let’s get real – your killer recipe launched your food business. Whether you craft artisan jam, smoke premium jerky, or blend gourmet granola, that talent got you started. But now you chain yourself to the kitchen day after day, cranking out product after…

  • Dining alone

    Ten years ago, eating alone in public felt like wearing a sign that said, “I have no friends.” People would either hide behind a book or desperately scroll through their phones to look busy. Now? People post videos of their solo meals on TikTok. It’s the new flex. This shift isn’t just about restaurants. More…