Creators of Food Networks - Innodelice Ecosystem
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Andrea Montreuil, founder, and CEO of Innodelice Ecosystem Inc., located in Montreal, QC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Innodelice is the first global food business ecosystem dedicated to the frozen dessert industry. We are based on the conviction that, over and above competition, it is collaboration that will unlock new growth opportunities.
Our mission is to connect with frozen dessert brands, manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and importers from around the world and help them find and connect to the right solution to help them grow in their respective markets.
Our partners come to us to find:
- Innovative, ready-to-go products
- Additional manufacturing capacity
- Value-added suppliers
- New customers
- And much more
Our role is to accelerate growth in less time, with less risk and less cost for all the partners involved.
Tell us about yourself
I worked most of my career in strategic sourcing. Every time we worked with suppliers in a collaborative way, not only with them but by connecting them to each other, the results were outstanding. When I moved from sourcing to sales, it only confirmed my belief: much more could be achieved if we worked collaboratively, not only with the customer but between suppliers.
My dream was to elevate collaboration to a macro level. As my last years in the corporate world were in the ice cream industry, I decided to apply this vision of collaboration to this specific industry. Its fast-paced, innovative nature proved to be the perfect landscape to foster our ecosystem approach.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Since its debut in 2019, Innodelice now has more than 75 partners located in 20 countries, spread over four continents. We have received more than 150 briefs (business requests). We have contributed to the development of numerous product launches and business relationships.
More importantly, we have created a network filled with like-minded business professionals that share our belief that we can do more by respectfully leveraging each other's competitive advantage.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing in being a business owner is probably the constant need to balance all aspects of the business, not to mention your personal life. Between short-and, long-term, bottom- and top-line, stabilizing and growing, there are lots to cover!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Find the problem in the market that needs to be solved and in which you TRULY believe in.
- Build your services and communication around that core belief. Make sure that your actions are always aligned with this core belief to protect your credibility. Credibility is an invaluable currency in business.
- Remember that it's about one step at a time. It's not a race; it's a journey. Just keep putting one fee in front of the other.
- Oh.. and be smart about how you build your tools. I see lots of entrepreneurs going too fast or being too intuitive and needing to recreate the same things all the time. Take a little more time to create smart, easy tools/templates. You will go much faster and further.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
It's not easy, and it does require lots of work, but it's far from impossible, and it's so fulfilling. Go for it!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.innodelice.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-montreuil-3488b37/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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