Creating with SystemsMontana Value-Added Food Business Actor Map
The purpose of this map is not to provide an exhaustive directory, or "how to", but to provide the raw material with which to understand and analyze the actors involved in starting and running a value-added food business in Montana.
The map clusters the actors into a few main concerns of a value-added food business, based loosely on what an operator would need: production, inputs, regulators, compliance, channels, consumers, support, and capital.
Every node is a statewide category or organization, drawn from public documents, with its sources attached. This is a "living" map, actively being improved, updated, and used for studies. Please help me track down missing nodes, inaccuracies, or out-of-date sources.
Production
Where the product gets made, and the business at the center of the map: your home kitchen at the start, shared-use kitchens and food enterprise centers, co-packers, state-inspected meat plants, cold storage, and eventually a licensed facility of your own.
- Your Value-Added Food Business
- Shared-Use Kitchens & Food Enterprise Centers
- Co-Packers
- State-Inspected Meat Processors
- Home Kitchens
- Cold & Frozen Storage
- Your Own Licensed Facility
Inputs
Where the raw product, the ingredients and the packaging come from: growers and ranchers, food hubs and cooperatives, Montana's ingredient processors, packaging suppliers, the restaurant-supply distributors, the directory that connects them, and the people you hire.
- Abundant Montana
- Growers & Ranchers
- Montana Ingredient Processors
- Packaging & Label Suppliers
- Broadline Food Distributors
- Food Hubs & Producer Cooperatives
- Hiring & Labor
Regulators
The agencies that regulate: the county sanitarians and the state health department that license most food, the Department of Livestock for meat and dairy, the FDA behind them, and the state offices every business registers with.
- Montana Dept. of Agriculture
- USDA
- Montana Dept. of Commerce
- County & Local Health Departments
- DPHHS Food & Consumer Safety
- Montana Dept. of Livestock
- FDA
- Montana Secretary of State
- Dept. of Labor & Industry
- MDA Organic Certification Program
- Tribal Nations & Food Sovereignty Programs
- Montana DEQ
Compliance Services
The tests, letters and certificates a license or a buyer will ask for: process authorities, testing laboratories, product development, and the liability insurance most markets and stores require before they carry you.
- MSU Food Product Development Lab
- Process Authorities
- Testing Laboratories
- Product Liability Insurance
Market Channels
Every way a product reaches a buyer: direct and online sales, farmers markets, food hubs, independent grocers and chains, specialty distributors, restaurants and caterers, schools and institutions, tourism retail, and the freight that moves it.
- Farmers Markets
- Direct & Online Sales
- Independent Grocers & Natural Food Co-ops
- Regional & National Grocery Chains
- Specialty & Natural Food Distributors
- Restaurants, Caterers & Food Service
- Schools & Institutional Buyers
- Tourism & Gift Retail
- Freight & Own-Vehicle Delivery
- Food Banks (Montana Food Bank Network)
Consumers
Who eats it, by where they are: year-round residents, the visitors who pass through each summer, and people out of state who order online or carry a product home. Three markets with different rules and different prices.
- Year-Round Residents
- Visitors
- Out-of-State & Online Buyers
Support
The organizations that exist to help a food business start and grow: the state's Food and Ag Development Centers, the SBDC network, extension, manufacturing assistance, cooperative development, the Made in Montana program, and the associations and nonprofits that run the networks.
- Food & Ag Development Center Network
- MSU Extension
- Montana SBDC Network
- Montana Cooperative Development Center
- Montana Manufacturing Extension Center
- Made in Montana Program
- Farm & Food Trade Associations
- NCAT (National Center for Appropriate Technology)
Capital
Where the money comes from, in the order it usually arrives: your own savings and family, community lenders and credit unions, the state's grant programs, federal grants and guarantees, and the SBA behind the banks.
- U.S. Small Business Administration
- Credit Unions & Community Banks
- CDFIs & Revolving Loan Funds
- State Grant Programs (MDA)
- USDA Rural Development & FSA Programs
- Own Savings, Friends & Family
Please reach out with any feedback or corrections at august@holotekt.com. Thanks for exploring!