• Who’s Holding You 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…

  • Why Does Every Culture Have a Comfort Food?

    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.…

  • What if Growth Isn’t the 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…

  • The Art of Saying 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…

  • Are You Undervaluing the Power of Your 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…

  • Why Aren’t You Asking For 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…

  • Are You Thinking Like an Entrepreneur or a Technician?

    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…

  • Why Nobody Cares if you Eat 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…

  • Breaking Bread: Why Eating Together Matters

    Nobody really plans to have deep conversations while trying to eat a messy burger. It just happens. One minute, you’re figuring out how to take a bite without wearing it, and the next thing you know, you’re sharing your life story with whoever’s sitting across the table. That’s the magic of eating together. Shared meals…

  • The Myth of ‘Superfoods’

    Are superfoods really that super? Standing in the “health food” aisle of your grocery store, staring at a $15 bag of dried goji berries, it’s hard not to wonder: How did we get here? When did regular food become not good enough? Foods marketed as superfoods have changed consumer buying habits. The superfood craze hit hard…