I built a herbal drinks brand from nothing: developed the recipes, positioned it, priced it, designed everything customers touched, wrote the operating procedures, and ran it.

Opening a food or drink business isn't a design problem or a recipe problem. It's an arithmetic problem wearing a creative disguise — and it's usually lost before opening day, in decisions made before anyone thinks to check the numbers.

Concept and positioning - who this is for, what it's not, and the two or three things that make it worth choosing.

Unit economics - a cost-of-sale model per item: ingredients, yield, waste, labour. This is the deliverable that changes outcomes. Most venues price by looking at the shop next door.

Menu engineering - the menu laid out after the costs are known, so the items that carry your margin are the ones the eye lands on. Structure, naming, pricing tiers, then the design itself.

Brand and collateral - wordmark, menu in print and portable formats, packaging and labels, signage, campaign assets. One asset set, not five separate jobs.

Operating procedures - recipe and prep documentation so drinks come out the same on every shift, stock check and intake forms staff will actually fill in, and revenue and inventory reporting that assembles itself instead of being typed up.

Launch plan - pre-opening sequence, campaign calendar, opening-week assets.

Site selection, licensing, supplier negotiation, hiring and training, and final recipe tasting need someone in the room. I'll build the model, the numbers, the brand and the systems - you or your local team execute on the ground.

From $2,400 for the full model. Individual pieces available: unit economics and menu engineering from $900, brand and collateral from $700, operating system from $800.