The Secret Ingredient to Food Biz Success: A Shared Kitchen with a Side of Networking with Djenaba Johnson-Jones
Founder Resource Series
Episode Description:
“I wanted something that I could call my own and not have to answer to anyone. We asked ourselves what we want for our future and we wanted to launch this business.” —Djenaba Johnson-Jones
Shared kitchens are more than just a place to cook - they're hubs of innovation, collaboration, and growth for food entrepreneurs. By tapping into a community of like-minded innovators, food startups can unlock new opportunities, streamline operations, and accelerate their path to success. Beyond the physical space, shared kitchens offer a wealth of resources, education, and networking that can be game-changing for any food business.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones is the founder of Hudson Kitchen, a shared commercial kitchen and storage facility in New Jersey that has supported over 60 food businesses since its inception. With a background in marketing and a passion for empowering entrepreneurs, Djenaba has built a thriving ecosystem that caters to the unique needs of CPG and meal prep companies.
Tune in as Justine sits down with Djenaba to discuss the resources, collaborations, and community that make Hudson Kitchen a hub for food business growth.
Meet Djenaba:
Djenaba Johnson-Jones is the founder of Hudson Kitchen, a shared commercial kitchen and storage facility based in Carney, New Jersey. She started the business in 2016 after being laid off from her corporate job, pivoting from an initial plan to launch a fitness business.
At Hudson Kitchen, Djenaba supports over 60 food businesses, primarily focused on consumer packaged goods and meal prep companies. She has created educational resources like a "10 Steps to Starting a Food Business in New Jersey" guide and a Food Business Boot Camp program to help entrepreneurs launch and grow their food ventures.
In addition to providing physical kitchen space, Djenaba has fostered a collaborative community at Hudson Kitchen, where members share resources and support each other's growth. She also hosts networking events featuring industry experts to connect with her members and provide them with valuable connections and insights.
Connect with NextGen Purpose:
Episode Highlights:
01:54 Sustainable Food Delivery and Packaging
04:01 Founding the Hudson Kitchen
11:12 More Than a Kitchen: Resources and Support Hub
19:48 Expanding Reach: Local to National Support
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Justine Reichman: (00:13):
Hello, folks. So today, we have a second guest
in The Series for Resources. Sotoday, we're gonna have Djenaba,
and she owns Hudson Kitchen. Itis a New Jersey resource for
people building food businesses.So you're going to want to tune
in, and you won't want to missit.
Hey, Djenaba, so excited to haveyou here with our friends that
are tuning in, listening,watching that are part of the
(00:34):
Essential Ingredients Community.I'm so excited for them to hear
from you today. Because, well,let's give them some insight to
who you are. You are a Founderthat started something called
Hudson Kitchen, which is forFounders. So Djenaba, would you
please give our guests littleinsights?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (00:50):
Thank you so much for having me. I
truly appreciate it. As Justinementioned, I'm Djenaba. I'm
actually Djenaba Johnson-Jones.I'm the Founder of Hudson
Kitchen. We are a sharedcommercial kitchen and storage
facility based in Kearny, NewJersey, right outside of
Manhattan, about five miles. Istarted this business by
accident. It's become like areal labor of love. I really
(01:13):
enjoy working with a bunch ofentrepreneurs. We actually rent
our space out to about 20 foodbusinesses right now, and over
60 since we opened the kitchenfive years ago.
Justine Reichman: (01:23):
Wow, congratulations. That's amazing.
And is there any niche for thesebusinesses specifically? Is it
just across the board, you couldbe any kind of food company? Or
do you focus on supporting acertain kind?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (01:36):
We focus on CPG food businesses, so
Consumer Packaged Good, food andbeverage. But we also have in
our kitchen some meal prepcompanies that ship nationwide,
so kind of all packaged to thesame thing, and then a couple of
food trucks as well.
Justine Reichman: (01:51):
Wow, that's super fun. So anything we've
ever heard of out here inCalifornia?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (01:55):
It depends on who you are. So we
have a company that some of yourlisteners may have heard of. It
is for postpartum moms, and soit's called CHEO, and it is a
meal prep company. They ship outtwice a week from our facility
all the way across the country.
Justine Reichman: (02:10):
Awesome. That's great. I just got some,
they were prepared foods butfrom a company in New York
called Thistle. You know whothat is, right? So they were
great. We thought they werereally, really good. They're
plant forward. They do someother proteins, meat or fish
proteins. I'm always a littlebit skeptical, not about the
(02:31):
food, but about the view I haveon the food that's prepped that
comes in all the plastic.Because if I buy the things
individually, I don't haveplastic, I don't have all that
other stuff that goes along withit, but I am from New York City.
I grew up learning how to getdelivery from the age I could
dial. That's a hard habit tobreak. As that song says, it's a
(02:53):
hard habit to break. But as ourvalues change, we learn more
about the impact it's having. Iwas just having this
conversation conversation withsomebody else, think about all
the people, the single moms, orthe elderly people, or the
people that have arthritis andcan't cook. Should they suffer
because of that? No, they shouldbe able to eat healthy foods.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (03:15):
Absolutely. Many of our brands actually have
recyclable, biodegradablepackaging products, so it works
out really well.
Justine Reichman: (03:23):
That's amazing.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (03:24):
I didn't want to mention too, we have a
company called Yay's Snacks.They are a Cambodian beef crisp
launched by three founders. It'scompletely delicious. They make
it right out of our facility,and they ship also nationwide.
Have done really well on TikTokshops. I was like, it was just
grown by leaps and bounds inthat area. Super, super fun.
Justine Reichman: (03:45):
We'd have to try that. Since I took us out a
little bit of a detour talkingabout those foods while they're
part of what you do, this isreally meant for as a resource
for our listeners, our viewersand people building better for
you food businesses, or justbuilding food businesses, right?
(04:05):
Specifically, as it relates toCPG, because you're a resource.
So what inspired you as afounder to build something for a
founder?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (04:14):
So I was laid off from my job back in
October 2014, and decided that Iwouldn't go back to work, that I
would launch a business, and itwas supposed to be a fitness
business. So imagine a conciergeservice. You're a busy
executive, and you want to workout, but you don't know what to
do so we help you find theclasses, or send you a personal
(04:36):
trainer to your home, that typeof thing. And as I was preparing
for that, a friend of mine say,so what will we eat? And I was
like, oh, I can solve thatproblem. So I found a chef, and
we started to create recipes.And in order to launch this meal
prep company, and as I was doingall this research on how to
start a food business, Irealized that there was such a
huge need, A, for educationabout how to get started. And B,
(04:58):
for just space in general. SoI'm in the area where I am. At
the time, I'm in New Jersey,there were only 6 24 hour
commercial kitchen facilities.Most people were going to
churches or restaurants afterhours to make their food in
order to sell to the public. Sothat's kind of how this got
started. And along the way, Ijust abandoned my own food
(05:19):
business dreams and went all inon Hudson Kitchen and helping
others.
Justine Reichman: (05:23):
Wow. So that's exciting. What a big
leap. But obviously, what Ithink is so empowering regarding
what you said is that you hadone plan. But as an entrepreneur
and looking at a business, youknew when there was something
else that you needed to focuson, and make that pivot or shift
accordingly. And I know that canbe a struggle for so many
(05:45):
because they have this focuswhere they're like, I'm doing
this and have blinders on sothey don't see other
opportunities. So I think that'samazing that you were able to go
from one thing and then say, youknow what? This is what we need.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (06:00):
Thank you. I have to be honest, it was
the first time in my life I'veever just gone with the flow. I
started researching one businessidea and ended up at another.
And actually, I realized that Iwas having so much fun figuring
out how I can work withentrepreneurs, and just went
that way the first time in mylife. I am very much like, as
you mentioned, by the book. I'mlike, I'm going to do this
(06:21):
thing. Here's the plan, andhere's what's going on. And I
had to abandon that, so Itotally get it.
Justine Reichman: (06:26):
Yeah. And I think it's important for our
listeners and our viewers tohear that as entrepreneurs,
that's part of the process.You're doing it right if you are
listening to that and adjustingit accordingly, right?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (06:39):
Yes, for sure.
Justine Reichman: (06:40):
So as you open this up, I'm sure as part
of your research, you're tryingto figure out, okay, what do
these people need? What'smissing? Where's the void? And
what kind of support do theyneed? So can you walk us through
that, and what inspired yourdecision behind that? What was
the big need that you foundaside from the lack of kitchens,
but in terms of the wholeresource?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (07:01):
I'll give you a little bit of
Justine Reichman: (07:02):
It was probably expensive too, right?
background on how I got to thispoint. So in my corporate
career, I worked in a marketingdepartment, and we had a
research team, and I learned howto create these research
studies. So when I was wantingto launch this business, I
created a research study, workedwith some local bloggers, sent
it out to food businesses andgot some feedback. So it was
(07:25):
like a 17 question survey. Did alittle incentive where we gave a
$50 Amex gift card and got abunch of responses. So that kind
of helped inform what we weredoing. In addition to that, one
things I mentioned to you is Irealized that enough education,
resources and information werereally important for these
When you're thinking about whatyou're going to do and how
entrepreneurs, and so welaunched a series of networking
(07:48):
events. So it was the firstthing we did. And the first one,
I was so nervous. It was March2016, we happened to have a 80
degree day. I was wearingsandals, it was fantastic. But
on that day, we had this eventwhere we had 75 people show up,
15 food vendors sampling theirfood in a panel discussion. And
I was like, there's actually aneed for what we're doing, what
(08:11):
we're trying to do, so I usethose networking events to kind
you're going to do it, and thatis your most expensive ticket.
of mold what we were going tobuild as I was looking for real
estate, because that was thething that took the longest.
(08:31):
You got to figure out how that'sgoing to happen.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (08:33):
Absolutely. And it took four years to find a
location. A bunch of trial anderror, a bunch of putting in
contracts that were eventuallynot signed by the owner of the
building. Craziness happened.And finally, a friend of mine
was like, you really should justfind a warehouse to rent and
build out the space that youactually want. And so we did
(08:56):
that. So we took an empty boxes,8,000 square feet, and converted
it into a commercial kitchen,putting in everything from back,
to the hood, to the walk ins. Atrue co-working space. I was
able to get an SBA loan to helpto fund that, along with my
severance package that got frommy job. We put all that in. My
(09:19):
husband and I have a little skinin the game. And yeah, we were
able to build out this facility.It's crazy. My first
construction project happened tojust be really large, and I'm so
glad that we did it that way.It's great.
Justine Reichman: (09:30):
That's amazing. That's freaking a leap
of faith. And being your owninvestors, many people say that
you should never invest your ownmoney. You've heard that, right?
So what made you decide to gothe route of taking an SBA loan
and putting your own money inversus trying to get
institutional or Angel funds.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (09:52):
I wanted something that I could call my
own and not really have toanswer to anyone. Obviously, we
answer to the bank to make surethat we know we're making the
payments on time. But other thanthat, we were just able to do
what we needed to do to have thebusiness and grow the business.
But also, we were at this YOLOpoint. I got laid off from my
job. My husband was in theprocess of getting laid off from
(10:13):
his job. Yet, he actually foundout a year in advance that it
was going to happen. So we werejust like, hey, we're at this
point in our lives. We havethese kids. What's going to
happen? What do we want to dowith it? What do we want for our
future? And we're like, we wantto launch this business, and
this is what we want to do.
Justine Reichman: (10:30):
So you guys are partners?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (10:32):
Actually, it's my business. But he's a
silent partner, I would say. Butyeah, he definitely has been
extremely helpful to this day,throughout the whole process of
everything.
Justine Reichman: (10:44):
Wow, that is amazing. I can relate, right?
And I think so many people canrelate that they wanted to be
their own business, buteverybody's got a different
vision. There's some people thatare like, I want to raise money,
and I want to have an exit.They've got a plan, and I think
that's everybody's gonna have adifferent plan for themselves.
There's no wrong or right. It'swhat's wrong or right for you.
So I really applaud yourdecision to keep it home, invest
(11:08):
your own money, go that route,and be able to build out. So
now, tell me a little bit moreabout these resources that are
available in Hudson Kitchen forthese founders of CPG companies.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (11:19):
One of the first things that I did
before even the kitchen openedwas I created this PDF. This was
like 10 steps to starting a foodbusiness in New Jersey. And I
think that's been a wealth ofinformation just for someone
that's just starting out, andneeded to find out this
information. It's free on ourwebsite to download. It has been
for us the gift that keeps ongiving. Because when someone
(11:39):
Googles how did I start a foodbusiness in New Jersey, that
thing comes up. Thing comes upand drives people to our
website. So it's been reallygreat. In addition to that, I
created what I call The fFoodBusiness Boot Camp. So it is a
day long course where we teachsomeone how to create a launch
plan for their food business.And so we've been giving the
course since 2017, and it'sreally great. The other thing
(12:00):
that we do, and we do network. Imentioned networking events, and
we started doing them again. Weactually just had one on Tuesday
where we brought in a buyer fromWhole Foods, a packaging expert
and a retail expert, and came inand gave 10 of our member
businesses feedback. And theygot to pitch their products. So
those are the types of thingsthat are really exciting.
Justine Reichman: (12:19):
Yeah. Well, that's amazing. What a great
opportunity for those folks.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (12:24):
A lot of fun as well. It was really good.
Justine Reichman: (12:27):
That's amazing. So through that, the
network of being part of that,I'm sure that that also provides
a lot of resource to yourmembers. So how many members do
you have?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (12:39):
It varies from time to time, but
we're probably about 26 membersthis year. It's interesting.
Obviously, I'm sure you've heardof other commercial kitchens
throughout the country, but wekind of focus on, we have a
smaller number of members, butthey're a little bit larger
companies. So with us, we don'ttypically have the person that's
just starting out. They're about18 months into business when
(13:00):
they come to us and have sometraction in the business, and
are looking to grow. And most ofour businesses are shipping out
regionally and nationally, sothey're really looking for that
growth, and we're a part oftheir journey.
Justine Reichman: (13:13):
Wow, amazing. So are there any stories you can
share from your members aboutthe impact they've had from
being part of Hudson Kitchen,whether it's collaboration,
whether it's a jumping offpoint, whether it's change their
access to the available in WholeFoods or Wegmans?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (13:36):
Because we're a shared facility, and I
should have mentioned that weare a really shared facility in
that. People are workingtogether in the kitchen, so
there's a lot of opportunity formembers and their employees to
talk to each other. So what Imentioned to you before, we have
student package goods and mealprep. So actually, this happens
on occasion is one time we had afalafel maker, and they sold
(13:58):
their product to one of our mealprep company. They could do a
vegan meal. So those types ofthings happen quite a bit. Or
someone's including, again, likea CPG product into a meal prep
package that goes out for theweek. So a lot of collaboration
there. Or sometimes, it's justthe sharing of resources.
Someone might know aboutpackaging, or about someone that
(14:19):
can create their label, ordesign their logo, and so
they're giving those resourcesto each other. So that's pretty
exciting.
Justine Reichman: (14:26):
It's like a village.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (14:28):
Totally a village. We interview people
that want to come and bemembers. We have them interview
with current members just tomake sure that it's kind of the
right place for everyone.Because it really is. I kind of
use this word loosely, but afamily. We really care about
what's going on there at thefacility, and they care about
the other members that arethere. So it's great.
Justine Reichman: (14:48):
When you're interviewing potential members,
what differentiates you fromothers from their perspective?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (14:57):
So a couple of things. As I mentioned
to you, the business that cometo us have some traction in the
business. And so because we area shared facility, but we also
do not rent by the hour so ourmembers pay a flat monthly fee
so they can come and go as theyplease. So they're really able
to make a home for theirbusiness. We also offer 6 and 12
(15:18):
month contracts with us so itallows you to be with us, allows
you to grow your business. Wealso offer a co working space,
so you can go in and work onyour computer and get on the Wi
Fi. People can accept deliveriesthere. So all times of the day
or night, any of the fooddistributors come, FedEx, UPS,
we know them all by name. Havecell phone numbers for all of
(15:40):
our delivery people, a really afull service space. And then
there's plenty of parking so noone has to be concerned about,
especially being in thenortheast as you might may
recall, there's a lot of streetparking, right? So we actually
have a parking lot. So there'sall those different types of
things. I think it's just reallythe fact that we consider
ourselves to be full service,and we're offering all the
(16:01):
resources, like I mentioned thenetworking event.
Justine Reichman: (16:02):
I've seen a variety of co working
facilities, and then I've seen avariety of facilities where you
have a shared kitchen, but it'snew to hear all of them in one
fell swoop, in one home, which Ithink is really quite robust and
nice, and it allows you to eventake somebody on a walk around
(16:23):
the kitchen to show it to them,but then go have a meeting.
Awesome. So you don't actuallyhave to leave so often, and I
think that's really nice. Sowhen people are looking for co
working spaces, and I know youmentioned that you like to
speak, interview them, and havethem interview your community so
that it's the right fit foreveryone. What would you
(16:44):
recommend to those peoplelooking to get a shared kitchen?
What would you say to look for?What kinds of questions would
you ask them to set forth inthose conversations, not
necessarily to you, but toanyone. When they're looking to
join a shared kitchen, what arethe things they should be
Yeah. Can you share maybe some fun
looking for?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (16:59):
So some of the things they should be
thinking about is how often theyplan to use the kitchen. And
also what type of product thatthey make. So for example, a
person called me yesterday andthey they make spices. I said to
them, we're not the right placefor you. Because she was like, I
just need a kitchen one day aweek. And I'm like, you should
go to an hourly kitchen. We talkabout what type of product that
(17:20):
they have? How often they thinkthey're going to use the
facility? And what is their planfor growth. And those are things
that they should be thinkingabout as they're moving into a
shared kitchen. Sometimes, as Imentioned, we might send someone
to an hourly facility, and thenthey'll come back to us as the
business has grown. And sothat's kind of we want to make
sure that not only are membersin the right place. That people
(17:41):
are in the right place ingeneral. So I spend a lot of
time on the phone just talkingto folks, and making sure that
they have all the informationthat they need to make a good
decision about a shared kitchen.
collaborations that have comeout? I know you shared the
falafel thing, but has anybodycreated a new brand or created a
fun collaboration out of themembership?
(18:05):
One of the fun collaborations was I
mentioned the beef, theCambodian beef jerky, or beef
Chris company. I didn't realizethis until we had a company that
is an Indonesian company, thatthey actually prepared all their
food in our facility, and thenthey worked out of a food Hall
in New York City. They werebuying the Cambodian beef to put
onto their product as a kind ofa finisher, which I thought was
(18:27):
really interesting. It wasreally good. That was something
that was a lot of fun.
Justine Reichman: (18:31):
I really want to try this Cambodian product.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (18:33):
Definitely have some. We will make sure
that you get some to you. It isfantastic.
Justine Reichman: (18:39):
It sound fantastic. My cousin is from
Cambodia. My cousin's from DC.But when he had a baby, they
were in Cambodia, and she's fromCambodia. I'm always interested
in trying new things, becausethere's a connection there. It's
not just that. It's interesting,and I love interesting things,
but I feel like there's aconnection.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (18:57):
Absolutely. Well, make sure you get some.
Justine Reichman: (19:00):
I appreciate that. I appreciate that. It
would be interesting as anotherresource, right? As you build
out these resources to actuallygive them a platform like these
podcasts that you're on here, isthat something you do with your
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (19:15):
I have a podcast called The Food Means
podcast?
Business Podcast, and we've beenaround for a couple of years. We
actually do from time to timefeature our members on the
podcast. I think it's a lot offun to be able to talk to them
outside of the kitchen, theshared kitchen, and really get
to know them, and introduce themto our broader audience. So it's
(19:36):
a lot of fun.
Justine Reichman: (19:36):
I would imagine, it seemed like the
perfect fit, right? Because itgives them a platform also to
expand their voice, and here youare talking about your Hudson
Kitchen and everything thatyou're doing, and all these the
resources that you're makingavailable to them. And I think
that's just another one to addto the list.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (19:56):
You're absolutely correct, yeah.
Justine Reichman: (19:59):
So what would it be for Hudson Kitchen in the
next three to five years?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (20:02):
Wow, that's something I have been
thinking about a lot. I don'tknow if I can answer three to
five years, but I will tell youwithin the next year. So we will
be increasing the amount ofevents that we do. It was
something that we did, obviouslybefore, as we were building the
business and opening thefacility, and then kind of the
pandemic happened and got in theway of that. And so now we're
back, getting back to our roots,and really bring people into our
(20:23):
facility. I consider myself tobe like a super connector. I
want to be able to connect thatbusiness, whether they're a
member or not, with someresource that they possibly
need. So events, events, eventsis what's going to be happening
in the next year.
Justine Reichman: (20:36):
Sounds like it's all about events.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (20:37):
All about events. Super excited.
Justine Reichman: (20:39):
All about events. And do you see any
expansion possibilities for youdown the road? You've cornered
the market in northern NewJersey now, right? But there's a
lot of markets around you, and alot of room for expansion.
Because I see what you've builtis more like a food club, for
lack of a better word. I wasthinking social club, but it's
(21:00):
not a social club. It allowspeople to cook, to connect, to
network and access events. Andto me, when I think of a social
club, well, minus the working,that's what they're doing,
right? So I think you've builtout something that's a little
bit that's unique, and I couldsee it expanding. I don't know
if you've got plans for that todifferent cities.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (21:23):
No, not just that. Honestly, I feel like
we are a local business, and wewill be here. There may be some
expansion in New Jersey, butalways to be a New Jersey based
business, and be able to supportour businesses as they are
expanding themselves nationwide.
Justine Reichman: (21:38):
That's super nice. I think that that's
amazing. It's always great tostay local too.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (21:43):
Yeah. One of the things I will say
that we do is, I mentioned ourfood business boot camp program,
we do license that program toother kitchens in the country.
So we currently have a licensegoing with the kitchen in South
Portland, and customize thatjust for them in their market.
So there is that nationalexpansion for us from an
education perspective, but thekitchen will be the kitchen.
Justine Reichman: (22:04):
So maybe we'll see you in a southern
Jersey. Somewhere in CentralJersey. Awesome. Djenaba, thank
you so much for joining ustoday. I just want to make sure
that our listeners and ourviewers, if they want to know
(22:26):
more, want to tap into some ofthose classes that they have
access to it. So can you let meknow what's the best way for
them to connect with you tolearn more?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (22:34):
Sure. So our website is
thehudsonkitchen.com. They canalso follow us on Instagram,
@thehudsonkitchen, and then weare Hudson Kitchen on LinkedIn
as well.
Justine Reichman: (22:44):
Awesome. Thanks so much for joining me
today, and I look forward tocontinuing these conversations.
I want to thank everyone fortuning in today, whether you
watch the video or tuned in viathe podcast. I just want to make
sure that everyone's got all ourchannels so that if you have
been listening to the podcast,but do you want to go to
YouTube, you know that ourNextGen Purpose channel holds
(23:06):
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into our channel on Instagram atessential.ingredients. Look
forward to seeing you here everyweek, Tuesday, for a new episode
(23:27):
with me and this series focusingon our resources.
Hello, folks. So today, we have a second guest
in The Series for Resources. Sotoday, we're gonna have Djenaba,
and she owns Hudson Kitchen. Itis a New Jersey resource for
people building food businesses.So you're going to want to tune
in, and you won't want to missit.
Hey, Djenaba, so excited to haveyou here with our friends that
are tuning in, listening,watching that are part of the
(00:34):
Essential Ingredients Community.I'm so excited for them to hear
from you today. Because, well,let's give them some insight to
who you are. You are a Founderthat started something called
Hudson Kitchen, which is forFounders. So Djenaba, would you
please give our guests littleinsights?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (00:50):
Thank you so much for having me. I
truly appreciate it. As Justinementioned, I'm Djenaba. I'm
actually Djenaba Johnson-Jones.I'm the Founder of Hudson
Kitchen. We are a sharedcommercial kitchen and storage
facility based in Kearny, NewJersey, right outside of
Manhattan, about five miles. Istarted this business by
accident. It's become like areal labor of love. I really
(01:13):
enjoy working with a bunch ofentrepreneurs. We actually rent
our space out to about 20 foodbusinesses right now, and over
60 since we opened the kitchenfive years ago.
Justine Reichman: (01:23):
Wow, congratulations. That's amazing.
And is there any niche for thesebusinesses specifically? Is it
just across the board, you couldbe any kind of food company? Or
do you focus on supporting acertain kind?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (01:36):
We focus on CPG food businesses, so
Consumer Packaged Good, food andbeverage. But we also have in
our kitchen some meal prepcompanies that ship nationwide,
so kind of all packaged to thesame thing, and then a couple of
food trucks as well.
Justine Reichman: (01:51):
Wow, that's super fun. So anything we've
ever heard of out here inCalifornia?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (01:55):
It depends on who you are. So we
have a company that some of yourlisteners may have heard of. It
is for postpartum moms, and soit's called CHEO, and it is a
meal prep company. They ship outtwice a week from our facility
all the way across the country.
Justine Reichman: (02:10):
Awesome. That's great. I just got some,
they were prepared foods butfrom a company in New York
called Thistle. You know whothat is, right? So they were
great. We thought they werereally, really good. They're
plant forward. They do someother proteins, meat or fish
proteins. I'm always a littlebit skeptical, not about the
(02:31):
food, but about the view I haveon the food that's prepped that
comes in all the plastic.Because if I buy the things
individually, I don't haveplastic, I don't have all that
other stuff that goes along withit, but I am from New York City.
I grew up learning how to getdelivery from the age I could
dial. That's a hard habit tobreak. As that song says, it's a
(02:53):
hard habit to break. But as ourvalues change, we learn more
about the impact it's having. Iwas just having this
conversation conversation withsomebody else, think about all
the people, the single moms, orthe elderly people, or the
people that have arthritis andcan't cook. Should they suffer
because of that? No, they shouldbe able to eat healthy foods.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (03:15):
Absolutely. Many of our brands actually have
recyclable, biodegradablepackaging products, so it works
out really well.
Justine Reichman: (03:23):
That's amazing.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (03:24):
I didn't want to mention too, we have a
company called Yay's Snacks.They are a Cambodian beef crisp
launched by three founders. It'scompletely delicious. They make
it right out of our facility,and they ship also nationwide.
Have done really well on TikTokshops. I was like, it was just
grown by leaps and bounds inthat area. Super, super fun.
Justine Reichman: (03:45):
We'd have to try that. Since I took us out a
little bit of a detour talkingabout those foods while they're
part of what you do, this isreally meant for as a resource
for our listeners, our viewersand people building better for
you food businesses, or justbuilding food businesses, right?
(04:05):
Specifically, as it relates toCPG, because you're a resource.
So what inspired you as afounder to build something for a
founder?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (04:14):
So I was laid off from my job back in
October 2014, and decided that Iwouldn't go back to work, that I
would launch a business, and itwas supposed to be a fitness
business. So imagine a conciergeservice. You're a busy
executive, and you want to workout, but you don't know what to
do so we help you find theclasses, or send you a personal
(04:36):
trainer to your home, that typeof thing. And as I was preparing
for that, a friend of mine say,so what will we eat? And I was
like, oh, I can solve thatproblem. So I found a chef, and
we started to create recipes.And in order to launch this meal
prep company, and as I was doingall this research on how to
start a food business, Irealized that there was such a
huge need, A, for educationabout how to get started. And B,
(04:58):
for just space in general. SoI'm in the area where I am. At
the time, I'm in New Jersey,there were only 6 24 hour
commercial kitchen facilities.Most people were going to
churches or restaurants afterhours to make their food in
order to sell to the public. Sothat's kind of how this got
started. And along the way, Ijust abandoned my own food
(05:19):
business dreams and went all inon Hudson Kitchen and helping
others.
Justine Reichman: (05:23):
Wow. So that's exciting. What a big
leap. But obviously, what Ithink is so empowering regarding
what you said is that you hadone plan. But as an entrepreneur
and looking at a business, youknew when there was something
else that you needed to focuson, and make that pivot or shift
accordingly. And I know that canbe a struggle for so many
(05:45):
because they have this focuswhere they're like, I'm doing
this and have blinders on sothey don't see other
opportunities. So I think that'samazing that you were able to go
from one thing and then say, youknow what? This is what we need.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (06:00):
Thank you. I have to be honest, it was
the first time in my life I'veever just gone with the flow. I
started researching one businessidea and ended up at another.
And actually, I realized that Iwas having so much fun figuring
out how I can work withentrepreneurs, and just went
that way the first time in mylife. I am very much like, as
you mentioned, by the book. I'mlike, I'm going to do this
(06:21):
thing. Here's the plan, andhere's what's going on. And I
had to abandon that, so Itotally get it.
Justine Reichman: (06:26):
Yeah. And I think it's important for our
listeners and our viewers tohear that as entrepreneurs,
that's part of the process.You're doing it right if you are
listening to that and adjustingit accordingly, right?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (06:39):
Yes, for sure.
Justine Reichman: (06:40):
So as you open this up, I'm sure as part
of your research, you're tryingto figure out, okay, what do
these people need? What'smissing? Where's the void? And
what kind of support do theyneed? So can you walk us through
that, and what inspired yourdecision behind that? What was
the big need that you foundaside from the lack of kitchens,
but in terms of the wholeresource?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (07:01):
I'll give you a little bit of
Justine Reichman: (07:02):
It was probably expensive too, right?
background on how I got to thispoint. So in my corporate
career, I worked in a marketingdepartment, and we had a
research team, and I learned howto create these research
studies. So when I was wantingto launch this business, I
created a research study, workedwith some local bloggers, sent
it out to food businesses andgot some feedback. So it was
(07:25):
like a 17 question survey. Did alittle incentive where we gave a
$50 Amex gift card and got abunch of responses. So that kind
of helped inform what we weredoing. In addition to that, one
things I mentioned to you is Irealized that enough education,
resources and information werereally important for these
When you're thinking about whatyou're going to do and how
entrepreneurs, and so welaunched a series of networking
(07:48):
events. So it was the firstthing we did. And the first one,
I was so nervous. It was March2016, we happened to have a 80
degree day. I was wearingsandals, it was fantastic. But
on that day, we had this eventwhere we had 75 people show up,
15 food vendors sampling theirfood in a panel discussion. And
I was like, there's actually aneed for what we're doing, what
(08:11):
we're trying to do, so I usethose networking events to kind
you're going to do it, and thatis your most expensive ticket.
of mold what we were going tobuild as I was looking for real
estate, because that was thething that took the longest.
(08:31):
You got to figure out how that'sgoing to happen.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (08:33):
Absolutely. And it took four years to find a
location. A bunch of trial anderror, a bunch of putting in
contracts that were eventuallynot signed by the owner of the
building. Craziness happened.And finally, a friend of mine
was like, you really should justfind a warehouse to rent and
build out the space that youactually want. And so we did
(08:56):
that. So we took an empty boxes,8,000 square feet, and converted
it into a commercial kitchen,putting in everything from back,
to the hood, to the walk ins. Atrue co-working space. I was
able to get an SBA loan to helpto fund that, along with my
severance package that got frommy job. We put all that in. My
(09:19):
husband and I have a little skinin the game. And yeah, we were
able to build out this facility.It's crazy. My first
construction project happened tojust be really large, and I'm so
glad that we did it that way.It's great.
Justine Reichman: (09:30):
That's amazing. That's freaking a leap
of faith. And being your owninvestors, many people say that
you should never invest your ownmoney. You've heard that, right?
So what made you decide to gothe route of taking an SBA loan
and putting your own money inversus trying to get
institutional or Angel funds.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (09:52):
I wanted something that I could call my
own and not really have toanswer to anyone. Obviously, we
answer to the bank to make surethat we know we're making the
payments on time. But other thanthat, we were just able to do
what we needed to do to have thebusiness and grow the business.
But also, we were at this YOLOpoint. I got laid off from my
job. My husband was in theprocess of getting laid off from
(10:13):
his job. Yet, he actually foundout a year in advance that it
was going to happen. So we werejust like, hey, we're at this
point in our lives. We havethese kids. What's going to
happen? What do we want to dowith it? What do we want for our
future? And we're like, we wantto launch this business, and
this is what we want to do.
Justine Reichman: (10:30):
So you guys are partners?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (10:32):
Actually, it's my business. But he's a
silent partner, I would say. Butyeah, he definitely has been
extremely helpful to this day,throughout the whole process of
everything.
Justine Reichman: (10:44):
Wow, that is amazing. I can relate, right?
And I think so many people canrelate that they wanted to be
their own business, buteverybody's got a different
vision. There's some people thatare like, I want to raise money,
and I want to have an exit.They've got a plan, and I think
that's everybody's gonna have adifferent plan for themselves.
There's no wrong or right. It'swhat's wrong or right for you.
So I really applaud yourdecision to keep it home, invest
(11:08):
your own money, go that route,and be able to build out. So
now, tell me a little bit moreabout these resources that are
available in Hudson Kitchen forthese founders of CPG companies.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (11:19):
One of the first things that I did
before even the kitchen openedwas I created this PDF. This was
like 10 steps to starting a foodbusiness in New Jersey. And I
think that's been a wealth ofinformation just for someone
that's just starting out, andneeded to find out this
information. It's free on ourwebsite to download. It has been
for us the gift that keeps ongiving. Because when someone
(11:39):
Googles how did I start a foodbusiness in New Jersey, that
thing comes up. Thing comes upand drives people to our
website. So it's been reallygreat. In addition to that, I
created what I call The fFoodBusiness Boot Camp. So it is a
day long course where we teachsomeone how to create a launch
plan for their food business.And so we've been giving the
course since 2017, and it'sreally great. The other thing
(12:00):
that we do, and we do network. Imentioned networking events, and
we started doing them again. Weactually just had one on Tuesday
where we brought in a buyer fromWhole Foods, a packaging expert
and a retail expert, and came inand gave 10 of our member
businesses feedback. And theygot to pitch their products. So
those are the types of thingsthat are really exciting.
Justine Reichman: (12:19):
Yeah. Well, that's amazing. What a great
opportunity for those folks.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (12:24):
A lot of fun as well. It was really good.
Justine Reichman: (12:27):
That's amazing. So through that, the
network of being part of that,I'm sure that that also provides
a lot of resource to yourmembers. So how many members do
you have?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (12:39):
It varies from time to time, but
we're probably about 26 membersthis year. It's interesting.
Obviously, I'm sure you've heardof other commercial kitchens
throughout the country, but wekind of focus on, we have a
smaller number of members, butthey're a little bit larger
companies. So with us, we don'ttypically have the person that's
just starting out. They're about18 months into business when
(13:00):
they come to us and have sometraction in the business, and
are looking to grow. And most ofour businesses are shipping out
regionally and nationally, sothey're really looking for that
growth, and we're a part oftheir journey.
Justine Reichman: (13:13):
Wow, amazing. So are there any stories you can
share from your members aboutthe impact they've had from
being part of Hudson Kitchen,whether it's collaboration,
whether it's a jumping offpoint, whether it's change their
access to the available in WholeFoods or Wegmans?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (13:36):
Because we're a shared facility, and I
should have mentioned that weare a really shared facility in
that. People are workingtogether in the kitchen, so
there's a lot of opportunity formembers and their employees to
talk to each other. So what Imentioned to you before, we have
student package goods and mealprep. So actually, this happens
on occasion is one time we had afalafel maker, and they sold
(13:58):
their product to one of our mealprep company. They could do a
vegan meal. So those types ofthings happen quite a bit. Or
someone's including, again, likea CPG product into a meal prep
package that goes out for theweek. So a lot of collaboration
there. Or sometimes, it's justthe sharing of resources.
Someone might know aboutpackaging, or about someone that
(14:19):
can create their label, ordesign their logo, and so
they're giving those resourcesto each other. So that's pretty
exciting.
Justine Reichman: (14:26):
It's like a village.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (14:28):
Totally a village. We interview people
that want to come and bemembers. We have them interview
with current members just tomake sure that it's kind of the
right place for everyone.Because it really is. I kind of
use this word loosely, but afamily. We really care about
what's going on there at thefacility, and they care about
the other members that arethere. So it's great.
Justine Reichman: (14:48):
When you're interviewing potential members,
what differentiates you fromothers from their perspective?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (14:57):
So a couple of things. As I mentioned
to you, the business that cometo us have some traction in the
business. And so because we area shared facility, but we also
do not rent by the hour so ourmembers pay a flat monthly fee
so they can come and go as theyplease. So they're really able
to make a home for theirbusiness. We also offer 6 and 12
(15:18):
month contracts with us so itallows you to be with us, allows
you to grow your business. Wealso offer a co working space,
so you can go in and work onyour computer and get on the Wi
Fi. People can accept deliveriesthere. So all times of the day
or night, any of the fooddistributors come, FedEx, UPS,
we know them all by name. Havecell phone numbers for all of
(15:40):
our delivery people, a really afull service space. And then
there's plenty of parking so noone has to be concerned about,
especially being in thenortheast as you might may
recall, there's a lot of streetparking, right? So we actually
have a parking lot. So there'sall those different types of
things. I think it's just reallythe fact that we consider
ourselves to be full service,and we're offering all the
(16:01):
resources, like I mentioned thenetworking event.
Justine Reichman: (16:02):
I've seen a variety of co working
facilities, and then I've seen avariety of facilities where you
have a shared kitchen, but it'snew to hear all of them in one
fell swoop, in one home, which Ithink is really quite robust and
nice, and it allows you to eventake somebody on a walk around
(16:23):
the kitchen to show it to them,but then go have a meeting.
Awesome. So you don't actuallyhave to leave so often, and I
think that's really nice. Sowhen people are looking for co
working spaces, and I know youmentioned that you like to
speak, interview them, and havethem interview your community so
that it's the right fit foreveryone. What would you
(16:44):
recommend to those peoplelooking to get a shared kitchen?
What would you say to look for?What kinds of questions would
you ask them to set forth inthose conversations, not
necessarily to you, but toanyone. When they're looking to
join a shared kitchen, what arethe things they should be
Yeah. Can you share maybe some fun
looking for?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (16:59):
So some of the things they should be
thinking about is how often theyplan to use the kitchen. And
also what type of product thatthey make. So for example, a
person called me yesterday andthey they make spices. I said to
them, we're not the right placefor you. Because she was like, I
just need a kitchen one day aweek. And I'm like, you should
go to an hourly kitchen. We talkabout what type of product that
(17:20):
they have? How often they thinkthey're going to use the
facility? And what is their planfor growth. And those are things
that they should be thinkingabout as they're moving into a
shared kitchen. Sometimes, as Imentioned, we might send someone
to an hourly facility, and thenthey'll come back to us as the
business has grown. And sothat's kind of we want to make
sure that not only are membersin the right place. That people
(17:41):
are in the right place ingeneral. So I spend a lot of
time on the phone just talkingto folks, and making sure that
they have all the informationthat they need to make a good
decision about a shared kitchen.
collaborations that have comeout? I know you shared the
falafel thing, but has anybodycreated a new brand or created a
fun collaboration out of themembership?
(18:05):
One of the fun collaborations was I
mentioned the beef, theCambodian beef jerky, or beef
Chris company. I didn't realizethis until we had a company that
is an Indonesian company, thatthey actually prepared all their
food in our facility, and thenthey worked out of a food Hall
in New York City. They werebuying the Cambodian beef to put
onto their product as a kind ofa finisher, which I thought was
(18:27):
really interesting. It wasreally good. That was something
that was a lot of fun.
Justine Reichman: (18:31):
I really want to try this Cambodian product.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (18:33):
Definitely have some. We will make sure
that you get some to you. It isfantastic.
Justine Reichman: (18:39):
It sound fantastic. My cousin is from
Cambodia. My cousin's from DC.But when he had a baby, they
were in Cambodia, and she's fromCambodia. I'm always interested
in trying new things, becausethere's a connection there. It's
not just that. It's interesting,and I love interesting things,
but I feel like there's aconnection.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (18:57):
Absolutely. Well, make sure you get some.
Justine Reichman: (19:00):
I appreciate that. I appreciate that. It
would be interesting as anotherresource, right? As you build
out these resources to actuallygive them a platform like these
podcasts that you're on here, isthat something you do with your
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (19:15):
I have a podcast called The Food Means
podcast?
Business Podcast, and we've beenaround for a couple of years. We
actually do from time to timefeature our members on the
podcast. I think it's a lot offun to be able to talk to them
outside of the kitchen, theshared kitchen, and really get
to know them, and introduce themto our broader audience. So it's
(19:36):
a lot of fun.
Justine Reichman: (19:36):
I would imagine, it seemed like the
perfect fit, right? Because itgives them a platform also to
expand their voice, and here youare talking about your Hudson
Kitchen and everything thatyou're doing, and all these the
resources that you're makingavailable to them. And I think
that's just another one to addto the list.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (19:56):
You're absolutely correct, yeah.
Justine Reichman: (19:59):
So what would it be for Hudson Kitchen in the
next three to five years?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (20:02):
Wow, that's something I have been
thinking about a lot. I don'tknow if I can answer three to
five years, but I will tell youwithin the next year. So we will
be increasing the amount ofevents that we do. It was
something that we did, obviouslybefore, as we were building the
business and opening thefacility, and then kind of the
pandemic happened and got in theway of that. And so now we're
back, getting back to our roots,and really bring people into our
(20:23):
facility. I consider myself tobe like a super connector. I
want to be able to connect thatbusiness, whether they're a
member or not, with someresource that they possibly
need. So events, events, eventsis what's going to be happening
in the next year.
Justine Reichman: (20:36):
Sounds like it's all about events.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (20:37):
All about events. Super excited.
Justine Reichman: (20:39):
All about events. And do you see any
expansion possibilities for youdown the road? You've cornered
the market in northern NewJersey now, right? But there's a
lot of markets around you, and alot of room for expansion.
Because I see what you've builtis more like a food club, for
lack of a better word. I wasthinking social club, but it's
(21:00):
not a social club. It allowspeople to cook, to connect, to
network and access events. Andto me, when I think of a social
club, well, minus the working,that's what they're doing,
right? So I think you've builtout something that's a little
bit that's unique, and I couldsee it expanding. I don't know
if you've got plans for that todifferent cities.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (21:23):
No, not just that. Honestly, I feel like
we are a local business, and wewill be here. There may be some
expansion in New Jersey, butalways to be a New Jersey based
business, and be able to supportour businesses as they are
expanding themselves nationwide.
Justine Reichman: (21:38):
That's super nice. I think that that's
amazing. It's always great tostay local too.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (21:43):
Yeah. One of the things I will say
that we do is, I mentioned ourfood business boot camp program,
we do license that program toother kitchens in the country.
So we currently have a licensegoing with the kitchen in South
Portland, and customize thatjust for them in their market.
So there is that nationalexpansion for us from an
education perspective, but thekitchen will be the kitchen.
Justine Reichman: (22:04):
So maybe we'll see you in a southern
Jersey. Somewhere in CentralJersey. Awesome. Djenaba, thank
you so much for joining ustoday. I just want to make sure
that our listeners and ourviewers, if they want to know
(22:26):
more, want to tap into some ofthose classes that they have
access to it. So can you let meknow what's the best way for
them to connect with you tolearn more?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: (22:34):
Sure. So our website is
thehudsonkitchen.com. They canalso follow us on Instagram,
@thehudsonkitchen, and then weare Hudson Kitchen on LinkedIn
as well.
Justine Reichman: (22:44):
Awesome. Thanks so much for joining me
today, and I look forward tocontinuing these conversations.
I want to thank everyone fortuning in today, whether you
watch the video or tuned in viathe podcast. I just want to make
sure that everyone's got all ourchannels so that if you have
been listening to the podcast,but do you want to go to
YouTube, you know that ourNextGen Purpose channel holds
(23:06):
all of our EssentialIngredients, podcasts or
videocast, as it may be. If youhave not gone to Spotify or
iTunes, or wherever you listento podcasts, our podcast is
available atessential.ingredients, so stay
up to date on what we havecoming up. Don't forget to tune
into our channel on Instagram atessential.ingredients. Look
forward to seeing you here everyweek, Tuesday, for a new episode
(23:27):
with me and this series focusingon our resources.
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