What is Crowdfunding?
There are several ways to raise capital for your food startup like angel investors, venture capital, family and friends, and lending. Crowdfunding is an alternative way, raising smaller amounts of money from a larger amount of people to help fund your startup.
Here is a picture of me in front of celebrity Shark Tank investors on the ABC hit TV show. There is a background story to this and how we got here, which I will breakdown on how crowdfunding is a great way to start your business.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to fund your startup through crowdfunding. You’ll learn all the best practices to reach your fundraising goals so you can launch your product and build your business.
Are you a Company?
Looking For a Crowdfunding Marketing Agency for your project? That’s what we do here at Crowdcreate. We’ve rated the #1 Top Crowdfunding Marketing Agency and have helped with some of the most successful companies in the world. Book a call with our team to learn more.
Why is Crowdfunding a Good idea?
My startup, Nui (Formerly Keto Kookie) raised $80K and spent over a month ahead of the launch to prep and begin marketing. We created a landing page for visitors to sign up to our email list. Here’s a link to our campaign.
What are the different crowdfunding platforms?
Then there are equity crowdfunding platforms like Republic, WeFunder, Dealmaker, and Wax Invest where investors can contribute to your company in exchange for debt, equity, or safe securities. These securities must follow SEC laws and regulations. Learn more about the Top Food & Beverage Startup Investors.
On some of these equity crowdfunding platforms, you can have a Reg A, where non-accredited investors can invest in your company. Here amateur investors have an opportunity to invest early.
How to Raise Capital with Equity Crowdfunding
How to Create a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
What Crowdfunding Campaigns made the most money?
What Food Crowdfunding Campaigns Made the Most Money
Here are some of the most successful Kickstarters for food startups and beverage products:
- Carnivore Snax – raised $130,000 from 1,173 backers on Kickstarter. They launched an airy and crunchy meat chip made for carnivores. They were promoted by various keto and carnivore diet influencers.
- Sosu Sauces – raised $104,146 from 2,165 backers on Kickstarter. They created a bourbon barrel-aged sriracha sauce. Much of their buzz came from media like Vice.com, Chow.com, and San Francisco Magazine.
- Grassfed Coffee – raised $86,035 from 1,116 backers on Kickstarter. They created the first ready-to-drink butter coffee during the height of the butter coffee craze and right at the beginning of the rise of the keto diet.
Ways to Promote your Crowdfunding Campaign
1. There are several things you can do to promote your crowdfunding campaign. One thing to consider is the time and energy that is required for any of these.
2. Evaluate your strengths, whether it be relationships, writing, outreach, or speaking, and gauge where you’ll be able to have the most impact. Once you find something that works, double down on it.
3. Leverage influencers. Pre-2018, you used to be able to send food products out to influencers and if they loved it, they’d promote those for free. With the rise of the creator economy and gig culture, it’s becoming more and more difficult to request a free post. If you are unsure on how to connect with influencers, you can leverage the networks of agencies like Crowdcreate and get a free consultation.
4. That said, influencers are still a great way to get your product out there. You don’t need to get a big influencer contract. The best influencers are the ones who authentically love your product and company and who have a highly engaged community that is relevant to your product.
5. Send samples to news writers and share your story. Writers are always looking for a good story. You can hire a PR agency who have existing relationships and resources or you can do the outreach yourself. If you do it yourself, you can write a PR article and post it on prnewswire.com.
6. You can find relevant articles for your brand and audience and reach out to the writer. The key to this is timing. You want enough time to allow your writer to schedule writing their content, and not so much time that they lose interest in your project.
If you have a food startup or beverage product, here are some industry news websites where you can share your launch with:
- Foodnavigator-USA.com: Covers food startups and beverages trends, regulation, labeling, and innovation
- Bevnet.com: Includes beverage industry news, reviews, jobs, and events/conferences
- Nosh.com: Reports on the natural, organic, sustainable, and healthy food industry
- Foodbusinessnews.net – covers food startups and beverage news, trends, ingredients technologies, and commodity markets analysis
Launch paid Facebook (and Instagram) ads to targeted audiences to acquire their emails. With the Apple IOS update and the rising cost of Facebook ads, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get a decent return on your investment. Facebook ads make sense if:
- You have great images, videos, user-generated content, and great copywriting.
- You have a higher ticket item and great gross margins to cover to make the cost of the acquisition worth it.
- Or you have a subscription or have a high lifetime value where you can make your profit on the backend.
7. Partner with Facebook group owners for promotions and giveaways. Find a relevant Facebook group
8. Send samples out to influencers and writers letting them know that they are launching their product on Kickstarter. By promoting ahead of time, they were able to fully fund their projects within 24 hours.
9. Go on podcasts. If you have a pretty cool product and story, reach out to podcasters who are constantly looking for guests who fit their audience.
10. Share on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a great place for people to hear your story and learn about your new product on Kickstarter. Share the behind-the-scenes content. Professionals want to follow a good business story.
Give your future customers a place to land and subscribe.
Whether your audience opts for email or SMS list, the main goal is to capture their information, some of the basic features that your landing page should include are:
- Visuals: The users must understand your product as soon as they scan your landing page.
- Header: A compelling case for your business. Your brand’s mission or motto. Learn how Crowdcreate helps creators find and tell their story.
- Value Proposition: The promise to the customer. Why should we pick your business?
- Incentive: Why should they give you their information anyways? What they may receive in return for their time?
- Call-to-Action: Again, emphasize your request for their contact information.
Looking for a Equity Crowdfunding Marketing Agency for your Project?
Create pre-launch emails and SMS messages and create incentives for backing your project early.
Keep Communicating and Doing Outreach
A Long-Term Outlook to Kickstart
