Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Brandon Markiw, founder, and CEO of Groundswell Food Group, located in Edmonton, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Groundswell Food Group was founded in 2016 and is a maker and marketer of meat and plant-based sausage and jerky products under several of its own brands, RR Meat Co, Pânsâwân, and Mitsoh, to name a few. We also offer boutique contract manufacturing services to small and medium-sized companies. Our products are sold throughout North America in retail, food service, direct to consumer, and convenience store channels.

Tell us about yourself

At a young age, I discovered passions for business, products, brands, food, and manufacturing, and Groundswell is at the intersection of these passions. I lay awake (many) nights and jump out of bed (most) mornings, driven to build high-impact food brands and products with functional, better-for-you, culturally relevant foundations. Supporting other founders/companies on their journey as a mentor, partner, investor, friend and/or contract manufacturer is also highly energizing and fulfilling.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I'm going to cheat and have two.

  1. Seeing team members grow and thrive.
  2. Launching a new project and seeing your product in the world.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

As a startup, everything starts from scratch. I mean everything. Over the past four years, we have grown from 1 to 34 people on staff and had to build each system and process for production, food safety, procurement, sales, and HR. While we'd love to have specialists running individual departments within the business, this is reserved for the over-funded or mature companies. Roll up your sleeves.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Build a team of talented, can-do generalists for the lean, scrappy startup. More often than you'd think, the leader needs to sweep the floors and take out the trash (literally).
  2. Be prepared to learn hard lessons, sometimes costly. Be patient, learn and do your best not to do it again.
  3. Build your community (not just customers, but industry folks as well). Try to find solid templates for building systems and processes, don't be afraid to reach out to people inside and outside your network for support.
  4. Be adequately funded! Mike Fata and Greg Fleishman have put together an awesome toolbox for startup founders with manuals and templates for almost everything you'll need to get going in Food/Bev/CPG. Check it out here https://www.fatafleishman.org/resources

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Would love to connect with you. Hit me up on LinkedIn!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.groundswell-fg.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-markiw-071b0946/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.