Expert session: How to manage your finances

Running an F&B business means more than making a great product; it means knowing your numbers. In this hands-on session, Enver and Antonie break down the financial fundamentals every founder needs to build a profitable business.

The experts
For this session we welcome Enver and Antonie from Changemakers, a firm that helps impact-driven organisations grow and thrive through financial management, strategic business development, and coaching.

Enver Loke: Founder Changemakers and co-founder Chocolatemakers, a Dutch bean-to-bar chocolate producer. Building the company from scratch, he knows firsthand what it takes to make a food business financially sustainable; from calculating the true cost of a product to finding margins that actually work.

Antonie Louter: CFO at Changemakers, Antonie is the numbers man. He helps impact-driven organisations get their financial house in order. He has worked hands-on with F&B brands including community members LÄCKER and Kari’s Crackers.

About the session
We start with the basics: what does it actually cost to make your product? From packaging and ingredients to equipment, staff, and cleaning. We’ll walk through how to calculate your true cost price, the difference between direct and indirect costs, and how to determine the gross margin you need to survive and grow.

Antonie and Enver will work through the real financial challenges of two community members; a startup and a scale-up. It’s about figuring out what you need to make money, not what the competition’s margins look like.

The session closes with time to apply the framework to your own situation.

Who is this for?
F&B founders at any stage; whether you’re just starting out or already scaling. This session is for you if you recognise any of these situations:
– You’re just starting out and need to figure out how to price your products.
– Your costs have turned out to be much higher than expected.
– A retailer or distributor wants to come on board but asks for volumes or discounts that put pressure on your margins.
– You’re growing fast, but earning less. Revenue is going up, but profit stays behind or disappears altogether.

The agenda
9:30 – 10:00    Walk-in 
10:00 – 13:00  Expert session: How to manage your finances
13:00 – 13:45   Networking lunch 

Registration for this event ends on June 9. You can submit your questions/topics of interest upfront when signing up. We’re looking forward to an interesting session! 

If you’re unable to attend, please let us know at least 12 hours in advance.