Basic Training for Food Entrepreneurs Online Course Overview

Your friends tell you your salsa is the best they ever tasted. Your grandmother’s bread is the hit of every social gathering. You think about selling your food product, but you do not know where to begin. The fact is perfecting a product is only one step in starting a food business. Production, marketing and regulatory requirements can seem overwhelming to the entrepreneur. While there is not a specific food business-starting formula, there are some common topics every potential food processor should consider. The Basic Training for Food Entrepreneurs online course will help participants address issues through business planning assistance, market identification, strategies and an explanation of food processing regulations.

Both novice and experienced food entrepreneurs are welcome to enroll.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Identify various regulations within the food industry.
• Describe the basic steps of food processing and the purpose of using a co-packer.
• Identify the steps required to register a trademark.
• Identify and describe the basic components required on a food label and the differences between brands, logos and labels.
• Describe the benefits of the Made in Oklahoma program and how to apply for the program.
• Describe the key details of selling a product to the grocery store and foodservice industry, and calculate costs to determine the final price of a product.
• Determine what makes an activity a hobby or a business.
• Describe the components and characteristics of a business plan.
• Identify the next steps for your business.

Course Outline

You can work on this course any time, 24/7 for up to 90 days. You will engage in learning activities and take quizzes. The course is divided into eleven modules, which can be completed at your own pace. Each module should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

To complete the course, you must access all pages and earn at least 80% on all assessments. A certificate will be available to download after the course is completed.

Total Time Estimate:    6 hours

Topic Overview

• Health Regulations and Good Manufacturing Practices
• Processing and Co-Packing
• Patents and Trademarks
• Labeling Requirements
• The "Made in Oklahoma" Program
• Branding, Logos and Labels
• Foodservice Marketing
• Business Structure, What Best Fits You?
• Next Steps: Where to go from Here

Quick Tips 

• For the best viewing experience, use the Google Chrome browser.
• First-time users will need to respond to a confirmation email from Canvas Catalog.
  • If you miss the email, resetting your password will also work.
• When logging in, use the Public Login option (unless you have OKey credentials.)
• Contact the OSU IT Helpdesk if you need assistance.

Refund Policy

Oklahoma State University Extension reserves the right to modify online courses when necessary.  If for any reason, a course or enrollment experience does not meet your expectations, please contact extension.help@okstate.edu.

To request a refund, please email karenl.smith@okstate.edu.  Refund decisions are subject to approval by the appropriate FAPC Workshop Program Leader.  Because the university is on a monetary fiscal year beginning 1 July, refund requests after 15 June cannot be considered. Please allow 5 business days for a decision to be made and appropriate action to be taken.

Refunds will be subject to an administrative fee of $25.

Courses that reflect course participation or completion are non-refundable.