WHO WE ARE
WHO WE ARE
The Food Coloring association was established to support and Black and Latino owners in the restaurant industry who are grossly underserved and underrepresented.
Founded by Von Harden, a veteran entrepreneur in the tourism industry, Food Coloring offers resources and opportunities for the growth and development of established restaurants and start-ups. As the founder and director of an established travel industry association, which boasts 1600 community members worldwide and an annual conference that hosts over 400 attendees, Von is leveraging his association management experience to unite minority owned restaurants and grow Food Coloring’s membership.
WHY WE STARTEDAs a tour operator for 20 years, Von has negotiated group bookings and events with restaurants throughout the world. Always seeking an opportunity to support local minority-owned restaurants, he often experienced the need for resources and support these businesses faced. While the food experiences where often far superior to those of larger chains, operational and management processes would often impact hinder guests’ overall experiences. In addition, there was typically a struggle to identify these minority owned restaurants, as their marketing budgets were often limited. After speaking with owners, It was clear that these businesses needed assistance, not negative reviews, and Food Coloring was born.
WHO WE SERVE
We serve many individuals and businesses in the food industry, but our primary members are classified :
- Restaurateurs - Owners of independent or franchised restaurants or food-serving establishments. These are brick-and mortar locations where food is served on the premises, which includes traditional restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries, frozen yogurt shops, and more.
- Food Truckers - Owners/Operators of food trucks that prepare, serve, and/or sell food.
- Chefs - A trained professional cook and tradesman who is certified and/or degreed.
- Producers - Farmers, growers, and manufactures of food and food products.
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON FOR OWNERS
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON FOR OWNERS
- 100% free membership until our value is proven to be beneficial
- Certification for Standards/ accountability for members
- Advocacy with local, regional and national governments
- Mentoring for new owners and perspective restaurants
- Access to training and professional development
- Annual Conference (focused on professional development)
- Legal assistance and resources
- Member-only online community forum
- Mobile App, that members can white label and offer their customers
- Group buying power, negotiated group rates
- Access to a vetted list of preferred suppliers/ vendor
- Searchable member directory/locator (marketed to the public)
