The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center is bringing food experts to Southwest Georgia for an Oct. 21-22 workshop that helps food entrepreneurs bring their products to market.

Participants will learn key steps in commercializing food items, such as determining a target marketing, developing processes for scaling up recipes, learning key packaging and labeling standards, understanding the role of co-packers and identifying key regulations and food safety requirements for packaged foods. 

Professional and home-based cooks, as well as food entrepreneurs who have considered packaging and selling a popular food item would benefit from this training, said Rob Martin, area director of the Albany office of the UGA SBDC.

“We have so many talented food entrepreneurs in Southwest Georgia, and we would love to support them in taking their products to the next level. This class offers the business foundations and connections these entrepreneurs need to have a successful start,” said Mr. Martin, who will lead a session at the workshop, alongside speakers from the UGA’s College of Food Science, Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Grown Program.

This is the 8th time the SBDC has partnered with UGA’s Food Science program to put on this course, which is normally held in Athens.  A past graduate of the program is David Goodson of Leesburg-based Goodson Pecans that sells pecans and pecan-based products to wholesale and retail consumers through its online and brick-and-mortar stores.  Goodson Pecans has received both the overall winner in the Flavor of Georgia Contest and more recently a 2021 Good Food Award – a nationally competitive recognition- for its Creamy Pecan Butter with Honey.  Mr. Goodson will be a featured speaker at the October workshop.

The two-day training will be held in the Albany office of the SBDC, which is located at 2419 Westgate Drive.  Cost to attend is $125 and includes lunch on both days.  Participants are encouraged to sign up online at: https://ugasbdc.training/alb/0218-001