Food Entrepreneur - May 12, 2020 - 9

WE CREATE AND
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BIENA SNACKS

closest supporters, including leveraging
membership in any organizations that
provide free and fast services," Mr. Kafarakis said.
He also recommended brands
maintain contact and support for key
retail customers as they require assistance
stocking shelves or fulfilling home delivery programs.
"Most important, put your business into a pause mode if you can't keep
up with demand or can't keep supply
promises or services," he said." It's best
to be as transparent as you can be so that
you come out of this with a high degree of
credibility and integrity."
An untold number of startups and
small businesses may not survive the
crisis. Three Twins Ice Cream, Petaluma, Calif., an organic ice cream brand,
announced in mid-April it was ceasing
operations following a series of financial hurdles punctuated by the global
pandemic.
"We were always working toward
a scale where we could have sustained
profitability, but in more recent years we
saw the business contract and margins get
squeezed further," Neal Gottlieb, founder
and CEO, wrote in a social media post.

'We wanted to make
sure our content we
were putting out
was in tune with the
environment.'
- Poorvi Patodia,
Biena Snacks
"The result was that the business had been
unsustainable, and a capital infusion was
necessary, but proved to be impossible.

Any chances of a last-minute solution
were erased by the pandemic. As a result,
we have no choice but to shut down the
business. It is possible that somebody
will revive the brand in the future, but
unknown how likely that may be."
The indomitable, intrepid spirit of entrepreneurs is being tested by an unseen
force. Adapt or pause? Survive or thrive?
"I've always operated under the
simple question of 'where are we?'" said
Forager Project's Mr. Williamson. "And really that's a daily, weekly, quarterly, yearly,
longer-term question you need to be able
to answer accurately before you embark
on anything. And today, I don't think it's
possible to answer that question with a
great deal of confidence.
"Where are we?"
During a prolonged period of disruption and uncertainty, Forager Project is
accelerating research and development,
building a pipeline of products with no
clear view of when and how to launch
them, Mr. Williamson said.
"I've got a long product development
list underway, and our R&D team is fully
functioning and we're going at it," he said.
"Lots going on. It's just that I don't know
when it's going to come to market." ▪

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May 12, 2020

Food Business News

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Food Entrepreneur - May 12, 2020

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