HR & Marketing Intern

How does the role fit?

The Kitchen Coop is looking for a dynamic, enthusiastic person to be part of our team. TKC’s Intern will have the opportunity to learn, and various opportunities to contribute, depending on the specific interests of the individual.  Primary opportunities exist helping the Operations department with HR support AND the Service Department with Client & Supplier connectivity, and or both! The Intern will learn important skills in both HR & Marketing: screening & hiring prospective employees, shepherding new employees through onboarding and training, advancing conversations with clients and prospects.  As a part-time member of a small team, the Intern will be exposed to many aspects of the natural Food Industry. TKC would be a great launching point for anyone interested in the world of food start-up and product development.

Essential Job Duties:

Communications

• Responding to service inquiries and talking with food brand owners and product or project managers
• Executing company correspondence and communications with Clients, Prospects, and Staff: emails, appointments, notices, bulletins, appointments, etc.
• Posting web content, and updating social media and other outlets on behalf of the company and perhaps its Brand partners.

HR

• Talking with employees to improve employee engagement and enjoyment
• Helping our team recruit additional employees
• Onboarding new employees and facilitating employee training and enrichment programs.
• Assisting with event coordination including managing all the logistics for client visits, employee meetings, trainings, etc.

 

Skill/Ability:

• Ability to talk plainly and relate to others shall be paramount.
• Spanish fluency would be a huge plus and candidates who are bilingual shall be preferred.
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Willingness to find answers, and then ask questions of others
• Ability to communicate professionally and kindly with a diverse group of people.

 

Job Qualifications:

Education: High school diploma or above.  Bachelor’s degree or candidacy preferred.

Experience:  As this is an internship to gain experience, any work experience shall be considered as part of the evaluation.

Hours: There is flexibility for the Intern to work an hour or two a few days each week and perhaps half a day every or every other week for an average of 10-15 hours weekly.

Compensation: This is a paid internship. 

If you are interested in this position, please submit a cover letter including schedule availability through the linked online form.

The Kitchen Coop FAQs

 

• I have an idea for a food product, what should I do next?
• Is my food business financially ready for The Kitchen Coop?
• Does The Kitchen Coop fit my production needs?
• Does The Kitchen Coop have the equipment my production needs?
• Are there any products The Kitchen Coop is not fit to produce?
• I am interested working with The Kitchen Coop’s clients by joining your Professional Affiliate Program. How can I learn more about the program and how do I get involved?
• How much does The Kitchen Coop cost? What are your rates?
• Is The Kitchen Coop certified Organic, Kosher, or Gluten Free?
• Can I rent a kitchen for a day or two? 
• Is this actually a co-op?

 

 

Congratulations! Colorado’s Front Range is filled with the support and expertise to help you grow your business.  Since you have an idea and not yet a product, you will want a smaller scale commercial kitchen rather than The Kitchen Coop to develop your idea into a product with proper packaging, branding, etc. We do want to help you get started on your journey so here are some steps you can take:

1. Subscribe to The Kitchen Coop’s Newsletter. Our monthly newsletter has upcoming local food events and always contains valuable food manufacturing, safety and business advice. Also never miss a blog post or other relevant food news, by subscribing to our RSS feed, following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
2. If you are located in the Front Range of Colorado, we strongly encourage you to join Naturally Boulder. This natural foods and LOHAS professional group that has a wealth of talented professionals who are generous in sharing their knowledge. Naturally Boulder also hosts monthly networking and quarterly education events.
3. If you need a starter commercial kitchen, please email us at info@the-kitchen-coop.com and we’d be happy to help you find an appropriate kitchen.
4. Need more help? Need help sourcing ingredients or packaging, scaling up a recipe, developing your brand, designing a package, or distributing your product?  Email us details of your product, the services in which you need support, and an idea of the budget or equity exchange and we will be happy to extend your needs to our Professional Affiliate group who can bid for your services.

 

 

The Kitchen Coop team invests extensive manufacturing consulting into each client we bring on; therefore, we require a $1500 monthly minimum (combination of production space, warehouse storage, and office space) for a six month or longer period. A good benchmark to know if the $1500 monthly minimum is feasible is if you are selling $6000/month in product. If so then you probably can benefit from the type of facility and services we offer so please email us info@the-kitchen-coop.com to learn more.

 

Does The Kitchen Coop fit my production needs?

 

The Kitchen Coop’s production space is designed to be S.A.F.E – Scalable, Accessible, Flexible and Equipped. We have designed our spaces to fit the needs of many types of products, details can be found on The Kitchen Coop’s Facilities page. There are a few types of production requirements at The Kitchen Coop:

• The Kitchen Coop is an ideal space for grocery items such as baked goods (cereal, bars, cookies, etc.), liquids & condiments (soups, salsas, sauces, etc.), confections (candies, chocolates, fudges, etc), preserved or dried foods (jams, fruits, nuts, etc), snack foods (chips, popcorn, etc.), and raw foods (desserts, fresh-pressed juices, etc).
• The Kitchen Coop, with our larger scale coolers and freezers and on-site distributor with dual temperature delivery trucks can also accommodate preparation for freshly produced foods.
• If you are using USDA certified meat or seafood in your product (meaning it has already been processed in a USDA facility), you can produce at The Kitchen Coop.

 

Does The Kitchen Coop have the equipment my production needs?

 

The Kitchen Coop has a variety of processing and packaging equipment suited for many different product applications.  That list is ever growing so we cannot post it here.  However, generally speaking, we have industrial scale measuring, mixing, heating, cooling, and forming equipment AND we have packaging equipment for powders, thin and thick liquids, along with lines for bagging, and wrapping products.

 

Are there any products The Kitchen Coop is not fit to produce?

 

• We currently do not have an automatic, hi-speed bottling line, so although we can fill bottles for liquid condiments and the like, we are not set up for larger scale beverage operations.
• Rendering meat, processing raw dairy and butchering poultry requires a USDA registration beyond that of The Kitchen Coop’s current certifications

 

If you are unsure if your product fits at The Kitchen Coop, please email us at info@the-kitchen-coop.com.

 

I am interested working with The Kitchen Coop’s clients by joining your Professional Affiliate Program. How can I learn more about the program and how do I get involved?

 

First, please take a look at the benefits and expectations of joining our Professional Affiliate Program. Once you know more about the program and are interested in joining our Professional Affiliate Program, please submit the following via email.

• Brief biography and links to website and social media (if applicable)
• Explanation of how your services and rates may suit the variety of clients at The Kitchen Coop.  This can be some of your standard marketing material with some clarification of how small food manufacturers might benefit.
• A few examples of previous client success and what services were provided.

Once we get acquainted with you from the above information, we like to meet in person to explore opportunities for collaboration.  Ordinarily you will start with a blog post to increase awareness within the community.  If you are interested in collaborating as an Affiliate, please email Affiliates@the-kitchen-coop.com.

 

How much does The Kitchen Coop cost? What are your rates?

 

Since we offer so many different services, we cannot provide a simple answer to this common question.  Our kitchens range in price from $15 to $54 per hour.  That includes utilities and use of the space and processing equipment.  The use of packaging equipment is additional.  Rental of warehouse and office space and hiring of production labor are optional and additional to kitchen rental.

 

Is The Kitchen Coop certified Organic, Kosher, or Gluten Free?

 

Since it is the manufacturing process from purchasing and receiving through packaging and distribution that must be certified rather than the location, our clients, as the manufacturers of record, rather than the Kitchen Coop are the holders of any certifications.

As a facility pursuing SQF Level 2 certification, we require all our clients to adhere to a high standard of operating professionalism, including GMP’s, standardized policies & procedures, and proper documentation throughout.  We enforce all that to make sure that actions taken by any client allow, and do not compromise, compliance of any other client with certification requirements.

 

Can I rent a kitchen for a day or two? 

 

The Kitchen Coop is really a food manufacturing plant for small companies, not exactly a commissary kitchen.  We can rent our Test Kitchen by the hour when it is not reserved for client R&D or The Kitchen Coop Community purposes.  However, any products made in our facility for public sale must be under either a wholesale food manufacturing license from the State of CO Department of Public Health & Environment or a retail food license from the Broomfield Department of Health & Human Services.  We do not extend a commissary license at this time.

FAQ for Website  

• I have an idea for a food product, what should I do next?
• Is my food business financially ready for The Kitchen Coop?
• Does The Kitchen Coop fit my production needs?
• Does The Kitchen Coop have the equipment my production needs?
• Are there any products The Kitchen Coop is not fit to produce?
• I am interested working with The Kitchen Coop’s clients by joining your Professional Affiliate Program. How can I learn more about the program and how do I get involved?
• How much does The Kitchen Coop cost? What are your rates?
• Is The Kitchen Coop certified Organic, Kosher, or Gluten Free?
• Can I rent a kitchen for a day or two? 

I have an idea for a food product, what should I do next?  Congratulations! Colorado’s Front Range is filled with the support and expertise to help you grow your business.  Since you have an idea and not yet a product, you will want a smaller scale commercial kitchen rather than The Kitchen Coop to develop your idea into a product with proper packaging, branding, etc. We do want to help you get started on your journey so here are some steps you can take:

1. Subscribe to The Kitchen Coop’s Newsletter. Our monthly newsletter has upcoming local food events and always contains valuable food manufacturing, safety and business advice. Also never miss a blog post or other relevant food news, by subscribing to our RSS feed, following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
2. If you are located in the Front Range of Colorado, we strongly encourage you to join Naturally Boulder. This natural foods and LOHAS professional group that has a wealth of talented professionals who are generous in sharing their knowledge. Naturally Boulder also hosts monthly networking and quarterly education events.
3. If you need a starter commercial kitchen, please email us at info@the-kitchen-coop.com and we’d be happy to help you find an appropriate kitchen.
4. Need more help? Need help sourcing ingredients or packaging, scaling up a recipe, developing your brand, designing a package, or distributing your product?  Email us details of your product, the services in which you need support, and an idea of the budget or equity exchange and we will be happy to extend your needs to our Professional Affiliate group who can bid for your services.

Is my food business financially ready for The Kitchen Coop?   The Kitchen Coop team invests extensive manufacturing consulting into each client we bring on; therefore, we require a $1500 monthly minimum (combination of production space, warehouse storage, and office space) for a six month or longer period. A good benchmark to know if the $1500 monthly minimum is feasible is if you are selling $6000/month in product. If so then you probably can benefit from the type of facility and services we offer so please email us info@the-kitchen-coop.com to learn more.

Does The Kitchen Coop fit my production needs?   The Kitchen Coop’s production space is designed to be S.A.F.E – Scalable, Accessible, Flexible and Equipped. We have designed our spaces to fit the needs of many types of products, details can be found on The Kitchen Coop’s Facilities page. There are a few types of production requirements at The Kitchen Coop:

• The Kitchen Coop is an ideal space for grocery items such as baked goods (cereal, bars, cookies, etc.), liquids & condiments (soups, salsas, sauces, etc.), confections (candies, chocolates, fudges, etc), preserved or dried foods (jams, fruits, nuts, etc), snack foods (chips, popcorn, etc.), and raw foods (desserts, fresh-pressed juices, etc).
• The Kitchen Coop, with our larger scale coolers and freezers and on-site distributor with dual temperature delivery trucks can also accommodate preparation for freshly produced foods.
• If you are using USDA certified meat or seafood in your product (meaning it has already been processed in a USDA facility), you can produce at The Kitchen Coop.

Does The Kitchen Coop have the equipment my production needs?   The Kitchen Coop has a variety of processing and packaging equipment suited for many different product applications.  That list is ever growing so we cannot post it here.  However, generally speaking, we have industrial scale measuring, mixing, heating, cooling, and forming equipment AND we have packaging equipment for powders, thin and thick liquids, along with lines for bagging, and wrapping products.   Are there any products The Kitchen Coop is not fit to produce?

• We currently do not have an automatic, hi-speed bottling line, so although we can fill bottles for liquid condiments and the like, we are not set up for larger scale beverage operations.
• Rendering meat, processing raw dairy and butchering poultry requires a USDA registration beyond that of The Kitchen Coop’s current certifications

If you are unsure if your product fits at The Kitchen Coop, please email us at info@the-kitchen-coop.com.

I am interested working with The Kitchen Coop’s clients by joining your Professional Affiliate Program. How can I learn more about the program and how do I get involved?  First, please take a look at the benefits and expectations of joining our Professional Affiliate Program. Once you know more about the program and are interested in joining our Professional Affiliate Program, please submit the following via email.

• Brief biography and links to website and social media (if applicable)
• Explanation of how your services and rates may suit the variety of clients at The Kitchen Coop.  This can be some of your standard marketing material with some clarification of how small food manufacturers might benefit.
• A few examples of previous client success and what services were provided.

Once we get acquainted with you from the above information, we like to meet in person to explore opportunities for collaboration.  Ordinarily you will start with a blog post to increase awareness within the community.  If you are interested in collaborating as an Affiliate, please email Affiliates@the-kitchen-coop.com.

How much does The Kitchen Coop cost? What are your rates?   Since we offer so many different services, we cannot provide a simple answer to this common question.  Our kitchens range in price from $15 to $54 per hour.  That includes utilities and use of the space and processing equipment.  The use of packaging equipment is additional.  Rental of warehouse and office space and hiring of production labor are optional and additional to kitchen rental.

Is The Kitchen Coop certified Organic, Kosher, or Gluten Free?    Organic, Kosher and Gluten Free certificates are heavily (70+%) based on the raw ingredients.  The remaining (30%) requirements relate to the Facility and the implementation of Pest Control; chemistry in the sanitation process and triple sinks; and the layout, segregation and separation between the Kitchens, Warehouse and auxiliaries locations. The Kitchen Coop facility and operating processes are designed with these requirements in mind, and our staff assist our Clients in achieving the various certifications.

Can I rent a kitchen for a day or two?    The Kitchen Coop is really a food manufacturing plant for small companies, not exactly a commissary kitchen.  We can rent our Test Kitchen by the hour when it is not reserved for client R&D or The Kitchen Coop Community purposes.  However, any products made in our facility for public sale must be under either a wholesale food manufacturing license from the State of CO Department of Public Health & Environment or a retail food license from the Broomfield Department of Health & Human Services.  We do not extend a commissary license at this time.

Is this actually a co-op?    The Coop is pronounced Coop   (kp) and is a reference to the business as an incubator, much like a chicken coop.  The corporate structure is not a co-op, although fostering community, collaboration, and cooperation is fundamental to The Kitchen Coop and embedded in our values.