Summit empowers Kansas food entrepreneurs' business growth

LAWRENCE — Sandy Wedel's business idea was, at first, a modest one.

Just over a year ago, she set out to open a small kitchen on her Minneapolis-based farm for her and her husband to prepare and sell bison products.

"Then, we thought more about it," Wedel said. "We asked, 'Why have a licensed commercial kitchen for two people to use, when you could move into town and benefit a whole community of food entrepreneurs and farmers who want and need that kind of space?'"

That idea led her to be one of 13 Kansas entrepreneurs to sign up for the recent Kansas Food Business Startup Summit in Lawrence. Hosted by Kansas State University's community food systems team, the two-day summit focused on strengthening food and farm businesses by offering support for those working to start, grow or scale a product-based venture.

 

By the time she showed up for the two-day summit, Wedel's shared-kitchen idea had grown into a plan to renovate a historic downtown building in Minneapolis into an incubator kitchen — eventually supporting other entrepreneurs' dreams of supplying local food products to residents.

"In our 2,000-person community, we identified 10 to 15 cottage bakers interested in using the space, and have three anchor businesses committed," Wedel said. "We also identified farmers in our area looking to scale up their beef, pork and poultry meat sales by providing customers a drop-off or retail space. We hope to fill other slots with county entrepreneurs looking to move out of their home kitchens."

On the surface, the idea seemed straightforward. But, as Wedel and others like her quickly learned, there are many hidden challenges that come with owning and operating a food business — including financial, regulatory, marketing, legal, technological and distribution considerations.

That's where the Kansas Food Business Startup Summit comes in.

Moving forward, together

"Working with more than 300 small Kansas food businesses, our team has heard time and again that owners and operators find themselves putting out inevitable daily 'fires'," said Quinlan Carttar, a K-State Extension local food systems specialist and member of the university's community food systems team. "The summit is a place where entrepreneurs can step away from day-to-day operations, roll up their sleeves and get some work done on actually moving their business forward."

Built on that premise, the summit provides a variety of support- and collaboration-centered programming, including 'speed-consultation' sessions. By pairing attendees with subject-matter experts who share their experiences, attendees receive advice tailored to the specific challenges their businesses face.

For Carttar, the consultations are the most dynamic part of the summit.

"We foster a mindset of collaboration versus one of competition between our attending businesses," Carttar said. “It's our goal as extension professionals to act as the convener of Kansas food businesses. We want them to learn from and build camaraderie with one another; we also want to serve as the connectors between these entrepreneurs and the experts who can provide them with the right resources at the right time."

Karen Bottary owns and operates BPM Farms in Leavenworth, where she grows specialty culinary herbs such as basil, rosemary, sage, thyme and mint. She attended the summit to learn more about scaling her business and expanding its impact.

"When we harvest today, we're on the store shelves tomorrow. We wanted to learn more about how to drive the company into being more than just a local entity but a regional presence," Bottary said. "But it's not just about getting to the next level; it's also about getting better at the things we are already doing. As a business, that mentality is what makes us stronger."

Building economic prosperity

Kelli Hansen, a grassroots strategy developer with the Kansas Department of Commerce's Office of Rural Prosperity, attended the summit to help business owners learn about available state support.

"Local food access is essential to any community; it's especially important in rural communities, where there are limited resources available," Hansen said. "One of our roles is making sure that food businesses feel valued and understand that we're all here to help. We know it's hard work, so we try to help them understand the importance and emphasis on the impact that they have in their community."

Wedel, who received a Revive and Thrive grant from the Office of Rural Prosperity to advance her project, is especially keen on community economic development.

"Another reason for developing our downtown property is to create more foot traffic and vitality in downtown and be a hub where we can bring the farm community in," she said. "Doing so expands on relationships between the non-farm and farming communities with hopes that some of the products that the farmers are producing can be utilized by the food entrepreneurs."

Eric Beachy, who purchased Helmuth Country Bakery in Hutchinson in 2024, said he sees that same community-minded approach among food entrepreneurs.

"Caring for the local consumer is a worthwhile goal," he said. "Doing so is a bit of a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats mentality in that producing and selling local food benefits the producer, but it also benefits the consumer."

That shared sense of purpose is central to what the summit is designed to build, Carttar said.

"Our state has an incredible network of resources for food entrepreneurs; the challenge is that businesses don't always know where to find them," Carttar said. "We hope to empower entrepreneurs to see what's possible — for their businesses and for their communities — and give them the connections, resources and confidence to act on it."

"These entrepreneurs already have the vision. Our role is to help them turn that vision into action, and to know that they don't have to do it alone."

More information about support for food businesses is available from local extension offices in Kansas and the Office of Rural Prosperity.