Food Business Boost
Food Business Boost is a small food business incubator program which aims to engage women from migrant and refugee backgrounds experiencing disadvantages and challenges in accessing mainstream employment and small business development opportunities tailored to the food industry.
Mickey's Ruby Chocolate
The program provides workshops and mentoring specific to starting food businesses with the objectives of:
- Creating new employment opportunities for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds living in social housing (both directly and indirectly engaged in the program),
- Providing support for these women to empower themselves and become role models for their communities through business,
- Teaching participants how to start and register a business according to legislative requirements,
- Teaching participants how to plan, manage, assess and respond to risk according to their business models,
- Teaching participants how to market and sell their products to a broader audience, Creating opportunities for cross-cultural exchanges with customers through food products.
Specifically, the program walks the participants step-by-step through the process of starting a business from product development, through registration, testing and labelling so that upon completion they are able to begin trading confidently.
In 2020, we worked with Moonee Valley City Council to train a cohort of 13 women across four businesses and we look forward to another round in 2021. We will also launch a wholesale service to help graduates work with retailers.
You can find some of the graduates selling their incredible products on the Melbourne Food Hub shop.
Yoko's Organic Garlic Miso
Food Business Boost Graduates