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Alison Cayne is the Founder and CEO of Haven's Kitchen, a company with a mission to change the way people feel about cooking. Alison has been helping people cook, not just follow recipes, since 2012, when she opened up the Haven's Kitchen Cooking School in New York City. In 2018, Haven's Kitchen launched their first product, a line of fresh, globally-inspired sauces in a pouch. It’s now available online and in over 2000 stores across the US.
Alison is also the author of the Haven's Kitchen Cooking School Cookbook and has contributed to publications such as the New York Post and Forbes. Alison works to support other early-stage food entrepreneurs as an advisor and hosts In the Sauce Podcast, a show about building consumer brands.
Alison Cayne's background before starting Haven's Kitchen
How Alison started a cooking school, why she wrote a cookbook, and how she started producing pouched sauces
Alison talks about finding buyers and what she learned about packaging, working with co-packers, and distributing consumer packaged products
The different flavors for Haven's Kitchen sauces and where to find them online and in retail stores
How Haven's Kitchen and Alison's cooking school were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
Alison's future plans for her brand and how podcasting has positively impacted her business
Steve and Alison talk about unresponsive buyers and changes in consumer purchasing behaviour
Alison's advice to fellow entrepreneurs on building a diverse team
Alison Cayne realized in college that she enjoyed teaching people how to cook meals for themselves and their families. It was her happy place because it involved two things she loves: good food and cooking. It was her haven.
With a desire to bring these two things together, Alison started a cooking school to help people provide better meals to their families. She also started a CPG brand selling sauces packaged in pouches and wrote a cookbook in 2017 to share her delicious recipes.
Alison Cayne, Founder and CEO of Haven's Kitchen, is Steve Cleere's guest in this episode of the NexxtLevel Brands Podcast where she talks about her inspiration to open a cooking school and start a CPG brand. She also shares her journey in finding a co-packer, working with distributors, writing a cookbook, and starting a podcast. Stay tuned.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
Our podcast today is sponsored by Kitchen2Shelf, the educational arm of NexxtLevel Brands. Kitchen-2-Shelf provides online and in-person courses and workshops for CPG entrepreneurs at any stage of growth.
Whether you're an early-stage startup, a local growing business, or if you want to just expand your distribution to a national level, Kitchen-2-Shelf can help you learn what you need to know to grow.
Visit their website to get access to some free tools that can help you understand where your business stands.
Contact them today to find out how they can help you grow your brand and expand your business to reach its full potential.
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