Baking Up Business in Council Bluffs, IA

Smaller companies helmed by locals are finding success here.

By Amy Antonation on December 19, 2023

Daniel Muller

The food industry is heating up in Council Bluffs, IA – and it’s not just big ag (Tyson Foods and Conagra Brands both have a presence in the area). Smaller companies helmed by locals are finding success here. Once someone has a business idea, a lot goes into moving from whipping up a batch of gluten-free brownies for friends and family to selling their wares to the public. 

This is where the Kitchen Council, a program of Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation, comes in. Its mission: Dismantle barriers to entry for food startups and help entrepreneurs navigate the process. 

Help Wanted 

The Kitchen Council officially launched in 2018, says managing director Holly Benson Muller, but its genesis was way back in 2015. That was the year it “was just getting off the ground and was bringing players together, fundraising and talking vision,” she says. 

Benson Muller, who has a background in project management and spent eight years working at Google, was thrilled to join the Kitchen Council team in 2017. 

“It’s important, exciting and incredibly needed,” she says. 

A boom in Council Bluffs’ food businesses fueled the need. Benson Muller cites the intersection of “amazing” local farmers markets, large area food corporations, and a burst of creativity in food and restaurant industries as factors in the surge. 

“There was this takeoff in food startups and people needing help,” she says. “It’s daunting to start up. Especially in food, you can’t be an expert in everything. … We needed to make entrepreneurs feel like they were being lifted up and help them get licensed.” 

Daniel Muller

Food With Benefits 

The Kitchen Council provides a range of resources for small food businesses. It provides 3,000 square feet of shared commercial kitchen space in the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center, which is run by Pottawattamie Arts, Culture and Entertainment, to its resident members, as Benson Muller calls them. The storage, freezer and production space; specialized commercial equipment; kitchenware; and even an area for client tastings are often the first things that attract prospective members. 

Lindsey Richards owns Primal Indulgence, a gluten-, grain-and soy-free bakery that she began with her sister in 2017, and says the shared space has been indispensable in running and growing her business (Richards is now the sole owner). She says the best thing about the Kitchen Council is “the ability to have commercial kitchen space. Neither of us had a home that would be conducive to being a cottage bakery. … You can’t wholesale to Hy-Vee [grocery store]” – one of Primal Indulgence’s first big clients – “without having commercial kitchen space. It just comes across to the public more legitimately.” 

Resident members rent kitchen space for just $350 to $450 per month and receive one-on-one mentoring and education that’s equally crucial to the Kitchen Council’s mission. 

“We’ll get them talking to advisory board members and bring in consultants [for members],” says Benson Muller. 

In addition, the Kitchen Council regularly puts on Food Startup 101 workshops targeted toward prospective business owners and covering topics like startup costs, business planning, health department and licensing regulations, and marketing. It has also offered food photography workshops and a series of classes on scaling and growing existing businesses; a social media class is currently in the works. 

“Every day, we’re fielding questions or providing assistance,” Benson Muller says. 

She estimates the Kitchen Council assists between 100 to 125 businesses per year, many of which are not even members. “We’re not going to do the work for them, but we help them understand what’s needed. We’re being their teammate.” 

Daniel Muller

Teamwork Triumphs 

Then there’s the less formal benefit of having a Kitchen Council membership: collaboration. Resident member Hannah Smith, owner of catering company Fig and Honey Charcuterie, says, “The other food entrepreneurs we’ve met through Kitchen Council have been an absolute surprise and delight in terms of learning, referrals and even social media. At first, we were looking at this beautiful space … but these [connections] have been more instrumental for us.” 

Smith says fellow Kitchen Council residents have directed her toward online groups she should be joining and tagging as well as introduced her to their own connections and referred customers to her. “The collaborative aspect is definitely No. 1,” she says of the Kitchen Council. “It’s the knowledge base of the leaders there. They’ve been through it, already started their businesses and have been able to help us along so much quicker than it would have been otherwise.” 

The Region’s Economy

In addition to small startups, Council Bluffs’ strong economy is made up of all sizes of companies – and they fall under several different sectors. In fact, it’s the region’s diverse industries that play a key role in keeping the economy running smoothly. 

Here, you’ll find sectors like dairy, plastics, railroading, technology and gaming. A few major players in the gaming industry include Ameristar Casino & Hotel, Harrah’s, and Horseshoe. Also related to gaming is American Games, whose 1,000+ employees produce instant pull-tab and scratch-off tickets for lotteries played around the world. 

Another key sector here is education, which boasts employers like Council Bluffs Community School District, a satellite campus of Buena Vista University, and Iowa Western Community College. 

Representing the region’s successful food manufacturing industry are companies like Bunge North America, Conagra Brands, Swift Prepared Foods and Tyson Foods. As far as advanced manufacturing, the region is home to employers like Future Foam, Omaha Standard Palfinger and U.S. Pipe. 

Health care is another key sector in the region, and its top facilities include CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital. 

A few other successful companies you’ll find in Council Bluffs are Amazon, MidAmerican Energy, Union Pacific, Walmart and Highline Warren. 

Kevin Litwin contributed to this article.