Partner Event: How to Start a Food Business: A General Overview

Delivered by Eric Wood, the City of Toronto’s Food & Beverage Sector Development Officer, this webinar will show you the practical steps to take to develop your food business in Toronto. You will learn about evaluating your food business idea; finding a market and opportunities for your food products and/or services; planning, funding, and branding your food business effectively and why that matters; understanding pricing and how channels of distribution can have a serious impact; finding commercial kitchens in Toronto; and what you should do and know before you launch your small business. By the end of this presentation, you will be prepared with the knowledge and resources to start your own food business.

What you will learn:

• Where do I find customers for my food business?

• What’s a SWOT analysis? Why do I need to do that?

• Where can I get funding for my food business?

• Where can I find a commercial kitchen in Toronto?

• Where do I find equipment and ingredients to run my food business?

• How do I find someone to package and label my food correctly?

• What licensing and regulatory requirements apply to food businesses?

• Why does my logo matter?

• Why do I need insurance to run a food business?

• How do I make sure I’m setting my price high enough to make money and still be competitive?

• What’s a food incubator? Why might that help my food business?

Speaker Bio:

Eric Wood is a versatile leader and innovator with a passion for driving growth and fostering connections across industries. With over 25 years of experience spanning food, tech, and business development, Eric has worn many hats—from chef and executive to community builder and strategist. His career showcases a unique blend of creativity, strategic planning, and a deep commitment to empowering others. Eric’s journey began in the kitchen, training as a chef and managing top-tier restaurant brands, including Walt Disney World and Oliver & Bonacini. Over the years, he’s opened eight restaurants from scratch and led transformative projects like developing social enterprises to support marginalized communities.

In addition to his culinary achievements, Eric’s expertise extends to scaling businesses, as evidenced by his role at Staffy, where he orchestrated a 15x growth and spearheaded a healthcare pivot during the pandemic. As part of Arlene Dickinson’s Venturepark, he played a key role in expanding the incubator to a national level, supporting consumer packaged goods (CPG) businesses across Canada. When Eric isn’t leading growth strategies or championing the food and beverage sector for the City of Toronto, he’s sharing his knowledge as a TEDx speaker or cooking up something creative. Whether managing an $80 billion food system or connecting people to big ideas, Eric’s work reflects his belief in the power of food, community, and innovation to shape the world.