PieShell: A food-centric crowdfunding platform
I’m always looking for new tastes, trends and innovations in the culinary world, and I’d like to tell you about an innovative new company that has filled a niche there. Despite the intense and growing demand for authentic and local food, a large gap in financing for small-scale food startups has persisted… until now. PieShell is a crowdfunding platform built by food entrepreneurs, for food entrepreneurs.
If you’re a food enthusiast, this means you now have the power to influence the food scene around you. If you’re a food entrepreneur, it means you have a tool to access the capital you need to take your business to the next level, using the community you’ve worked so hard to build.
There’s something special about sharing a meal. It’s how we celebrate, commemorate, reconnect, explore, mourn, heal, and care for one another. Simply put, food has a way of bringing people together and making us closer. That’s what I love about PieShell. Food is so much more than sustenance: it’s a way to build community.
PieShell set out to make a platform that empowers people to succeed in the food industry on their own terms, whether that means starting a food truck, self-publishing a cookbook, or building an app.
PieShell is a tech solution for people who are ready to crowdfund in the food and beverage space. In an effort to extend their mission beyond their platform, PieShell donates to a non-profit that shares their passion for creating a vibrant, inclusive community through food.
Founder Cheryl Clements started PieShell knowing she wanted to incorporate giving into the business. “I know that I have been incredibly lucky in my life, and I know that not everyone has been so lucky. PieShell is really about giving people chances.”
PieShell is more than a tech solution. It’s a community powered by people who are passionate about food with a story, and have a desire to help others.
I’m proud to be an advisor to Pieshell and in discussions with Cheryl Clements. She shared that one of the comments she heard over and over again was that people wanted a platform that set them up for success. So they have built business and marketing best practices into the platform, making it easy for project founders to master the fundamentals of successful crowdfunding.
PieShell projects are funded through a series of goals called “stepping-stones.” These stepping-stones break down the project into concrete sub-goals to help the audience understand exactly what their money is going toward, and to help founders be realistic about the scope of the project. They also screen projects ahead of time to make sure they’re ready to launch.
They understand the need for a food-centric audience, and they’re building that too! Through online community-building and industry connections, they are giving each project a captive audience that really gets it.
Food projects tend to be lost in the shuffle on larger crowdfunding sites. PieShell intentionally grows a community that is just as excited about new food ventures as the project founders are.
You may be an entrepreneur with a food and beverage idea, you may be at a turning point in your business, or perhaps you have a food and beverage idea that you’re dying to test out. Get in touch with PieShell to see if crowdfunding is the right option for you.
Christine Couvelier is a Global Culinary Trendologist, Executive Chef and Culinary Executive. Christine is the past Executive Chef of President’s Choice, the Director of Culinary & Beverage/Executive Chef at Cara Operations, and the Chair of The Chef School of George Brown College. She worked on global innovation for Unilever and was the first Director of Culinary Strategy at Maple Leaf Foods. Currently Christine continues to educate, teach, and inspire her customers through her consulting company Culinary Concierge, where she provides culinary solutions to assist clients in launching on-trend, on-time, great-tasting food products and menu items. For more information, contact Christine by email at taste@culinaryconcierge.ca or visit www.culinaryconcierge.ca.
