How to (Not) Grow Your Food Business

Do you have a family recipe that friends say you should bottle and sell? Simon Jack looks at how you can grow a food business from scratch, how to choose an investor wisely, and how to ready your kitchen-cooked product to sell to the masses. Is growth in the food business simple economics - supply and demand - or is it something more intangible? We ask if a food business can stay small and still survive. As a company begins to supply more food to a wider market, how can you keep their commitment to quality, without having to sacrifice quantity. Plus, we look at how micro-brews are a microcosm of buying and selling on the bigger market.

(Photo: Conveyor belt of bottled beer. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)