For those of us that find the prospect of filling out the one-line profile description on Instagram intimidating, the idea of building a cohesive #personalbrand is about as appealing as diving face first into this slush pile. Distilling personhood or a small business into a clear and consistent message can feel reductive and insincere, but no one swipes right on the Tindr profile that claims a personality “too complex for 500 characters.”
In the uber competitive food startup world, branding is as important (and sometimes more so) than the product itself, and some of us require a little extra push to bring our letterpressed sans serif logos into the mainstream. Enter Food+Tech Connect: the innovation platform that nourishes good food startups. They’re hosting a “Food Startup Branding Bootcamp” from 10:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m. on May 16 at Grind Broadway, and they’re offering Edible readers get a 25% discount with the code “Edible.” Register by Saturday for the early bird rate and you’ll pay $187 for the $399 daylong intensive.
The bootcamp, taught by expert brand strategists Julia Wu and Marni Kleinfeld-Hayes, will start from square one to help you develop your startup’s “About Us” copy and implement some basic brand guidelines. “Branding can make or break a company,” Food + Tech Editorial and creative director Nina Meijers says. “It’s the special sauce that helps a company stand out, as well as gain and keep customers.”
Can’t make it on the 16? They also offer the class online, although the main benefit of the in-person class is that you can interact with the instructors and students in real time. Meijers says sometimes up to half of their students travel from other states and countries for the intensive course to connect with peers. And if you’re curious about the rise of food tech, check out our profile on founder Danielle Gould in our most recent issue.
