S9 Ep36: The Secret Ingredient to Food Biz Success: A Shared Kitchen with a Side of Networking with Djenaba Johnson-Jones
“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
Founder Resource Series
“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.
Connect with Djenaba:
Djenaba Johnson-Jones is the founder of Hudson Kitchen, a shared commercial kitchen and storage facility based in Kearny, 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.
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
Tweets:
Shared kitchens are more than just a place to cook - they're hubs of creativity, where food entrepreneurs can experiment, collaborate, and bring their culinary visions to life. Discover how one facility is fostering a thriving ecosystem of food innovation as @jreichman sits with Hudson Kitchen Founder, Djenaba Johnson-Jones. #podcast #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #Season9 #FoodBusiness #FoodEntrepreneur #SharedKitchen #CommercialKitchen #FoodStartup #FoodManufacturing #FoodNetworking #FoodResources #FoodEducation #FoodBusinessSupport
Inspirational Quotes:
02:28 “I'm always a little bit skeptical, not about the food, but about the view I have on the food that's prepped that comes in all the plastic.” —Justine Reichman
04:53 “There is such a huge need for education about how to get started and for a space in general.” —Djenaba Johnson-Jones
08:26 “When you're thinking about what you're going to do and how you're going to do it, and that is your most expensive ticket— you got to figure out how that's going to happen.” —Justine Reichman
09:51 “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
10:57 “Everybody's going to have a different plan for themselves. There's no wrong or right— it's what's wrong or right for you. “—Justine Reichman
17:38 “We want to make sure that not only are members in the right place, that people are in the right place in general.” —Djenaba Johnson-Jones
Transcription:
Justine Reichman: Hello, folks. So today, we have a second guest in The Series for Resources. So today, we're gonna have Djenaba, and she owns Hudson Kitchen. It is a New Jersey resource for people building food businesses. So you're going to want to tune in, and you won't want to miss it.
Hey, Djenaba, so excited to have you here with our friends that are tuning in, listening, and watching that are part of the 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 Founder that started something called Hudson Kitchen, which is for Founders. So Djenaba, would you please give our guests little insights?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Thank you so much for having me. I truly appreciate it. As Justine mentioned, I'm Djenaba. I'm actually Djenaba Johnson-Jones. I'm the Founder of Hudson Kitchen. We are a shared commercial kitchen and storage facility based in Kearny, New Jersey, right outside of Manhattan, about five miles. I started this business by accident. It's become like a real labor of love. I really enjoy working with a bunch of entrepreneurs. We actually rent our space out to about 20 food businesses right now, and over 60 since we opened the kitchen five years ago.
Justine Reichman: Wow, congratulations. That's amazing. And is there any niche for these businesses specifically? Is it just across the board, you could be any kind of food company? Or do you focus on supporting a certain kind?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: We focus on CPG food businesses, so Consumer Packaged Good, food and beverage. But we also have in our kitchen some meal prep companies that ship nationwide, so kind of all packaged to the same thing, and then a couple of food trucks as well.
Justine Reichman: Wow, that's super fun. So anything we've ever heard of out here in California?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: It depends on who you are. So we have a company that some of your listeners may have heard of. It is for postpartum moms, and so it's called CHEO, and it is a meal prep company. They ship out twice a week from our facility all the way across the country.
“I'm always a little bit skeptical, not about the food, but about the view I have on the food that's prepped that comes in all the plastic.” —Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: Awesome. That's great. I just got some, they were prepared foods but from a company in New York called Thistle. You know who that is, right? So they were great. We thought they were really, really good. They're plant forward. They do some other proteins, meat or fish proteins. I'm always a little bit skeptical, not about the food, but about the view I have on the food that's prepped that comes in all the plastic. Because if I buy the things individually, I don't have plastic, I don't have all that other stuff that goes along with it, but I am from New York City. I grew up learning how to get delivery from the age I could dial. That's a hard habit to break. As that song says, it's a hard habit to break. But as our values change, we learn more about the impact it's having. I was just having this conversation with somebody else, thinking about all the people, the single moms, or the elderly people, or the people that have arthritis and can't cook. Should they suffer because of that? No, they should be able to eat healthy foods.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Absolutely. Many of our brands actually have recyclable, biodegradable packaging products, so it works out really well.
Justine Reichman: That's amazing.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: 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's completely delicious. They make it right out of our facility, and they ship also nationwide. Have done really well on TikTok shops. I was like, it was just grown by leaps and bounds in that area. Super, super fun.
Justine Reichman: We'd have to try that. Since I took us out on a little bit of a detour talking about those foods while they're part of what you do, this is really meant as a resource for our listeners, our viewers and people building better for you food businesses, or just building food businesses, right? Specifically, as it relates to CPG, because you're a resource. So what inspired you as a founder to build something for a founder?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: So I was laid off from my job back in October 2014, and decided that I wouldn't go back to work, that I would launch a business, and it was supposed to be a fitness business. So imagine a concierge service. You're a busy executive, and you want to work out, but you don't know what to do so we help you find the classes, or send you a personal trainer to your home, that type of thing. And as I was preparing for that, a friend of mine said, so what will we eat? And I was like, oh, I can solve that problem. So I found a chef, and we started to create recipes. And in order to launch this meal prep company, and as I was doing all this research on how to start a food business, I realized that there was such a huge need, A, for education about how to get started. And B, for just space in general. So I'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 after hours to make their food in order to sell to the public. So that's kind of how this got started. And along the way, I just abandoned my own food business dreams and went all in on Hudson Kitchen and helping others.
“There is such a huge need for education about how to get started and for a space in general.” —Djenaba Johnson-Jones
Justine Reichman: Wow. So that's exciting. What a big leap. But obviously, what I think is so empowering regarding what you said is that you had one plan. But as an entrepreneur and looking at a business, you knew when there was something else that you needed to focus on, and make that pivot or shift accordingly. And I know that can be a struggle for so many because they have this focus where they're like, I'm doing this and have blinders on so they don't see other opportunities. So I think that's amazing that you were able to go from one thing and then say, you know what? This is what we need.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Thank you. I have to be honest, it was the first time in my life I've ever just gone with the flow. I started researching one business idea and ended up at another. And actually, I realized that I was having so much fun figuring out how I can work with entrepreneurs, and just went that way for the first time in my life. I very much like, as you mentioned, by the book. I'm like, I'm going to do this thing. Here's the plan, and here's what's going on. And I had to abandon that, so I totally get it.
Justine Reichman: Yeah. And I think it's important for our listeners and our viewers to hear that as entrepreneurs, that's part of the process. You're doing it right if you are listening to that and adjusting it accordingly, right?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Yes, for sure.
Justine Reichman: So as you open this up, I'm sure as part of your research, you're trying to figure out, okay, what do these people need? What's missing? Where's the void? And what kind of support do they need? So can you walk us through that, and what inspired your decision behind that? What was the big need that you found aside from the lack of kitchens, but in terms of the whole resource?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: I'll give you a little bit of background on how I got to this point. So in my corporate career, I worked in a marketing department, and we had a research team, and I learned how to create these research studies. So when I was wanting to launch this business, I created a research study, worked with some local bloggers, sent it out to food businesses and got some feedback. So it was like a 17 question survey. Did a little incentive where we gave a $50 Amex gift card and got a bunch of responses. So that kind of helped inform what we were doing. In addition to that, one thing I mentioned to you is I realized that enough education, resources and information were really important for these entrepreneurs, and so we launched a series of networking events. So it was the first thing we did. And the first one, I was so nervous. It was March 2016, we happened to have an 80 degree day. I was wearing sandals, it was fantastic. But on that day, we had this event where we had 75 people show up, 15 food vendors sampling their food in a panel discussion. And I was like, there's actually a need for what we're doing, what we're trying to do, so I use those networking events to kind of mold what we were going to build as I was looking for real estate, because that was the thing that took the longest.
“When you're thinking about what you're going to do and how you're going to do it, and that is your most expensive ticket— you got to figure out how that's going to happen.” —Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: It was probably expensive too, right? When you're thinking about what you're going to do and how you're going to do it, that is your most expensive ticket. You got to figure out how that's going to happen.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Absolutely. And it took four years to find a location. A bunch of trial and error, a bunch of putting in contracts that were eventually not signed by the owner of the building. Craziness happened. And finally, a friend of mine was like, you really should just find a warehouse to rent and build out the space that you actually want. And so we did that. So we took an empty box, 8,000 square feet, and converted it into a commercial kitchen, putting in everything from back, to the hood, to the walk-ins. A true co-working space. I was able to get an SBA loan to help to fund that, along with my severance package that I got from my job. We put all that in. My husband and I have a little skin in the game. And yeah, we were able to build out this facility. It's crazy. My first construction project happened to just be really large, and I'm so glad that we did it that way. It's great.
Justine Reichman: That's amazing. That's freaking a leap of faith. And being your own investors, many people say that you should never invest your own money. You've heard that, right? So what made you decide to go the route of taking an SBA loan and putting your own money in versus trying to get institutional or Angel funds.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: I wanted something that I could call my own and not really have to answer to anyone. Obviously, we answer to the bank to make sure that we know we're making the payments on time. But other than that, we were just able to do what we needed to do to have the business and grow the business. But also, we were at this YOLO point. I got laid off from my job. My husband was in the process of getting laid off from his job. Yet, he actually found out a year in advance that it was going to happen. So we were just like, hey, we're at this point in our lives. We have these kids. What's going to happen? What do we want to do with it? What do we want for our future? And we're like, we want to launch this business, and this is what we want to do.
“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
Justine Reichman: So you guys are partners?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Actually, it's my business. But he's a silent partner, I would say. But yeah, he definitely has been extremely helpful to this day, throughout the whole process of everything.
Justine Reichman: Wow, that is amazing. I can relate, right? And I think so many people can relate that they wanted to be their own business, but everybody's got a different vision. There's some people that are like, I want to raise money, and I want to have an exit. They've got a plan, and I think that everybody's gonna have a different plan for themselves. There's no wrong or right. It's what's wrong or right for you. So I really applaud your decision to keep it home, invest your own money, go that route, and be able to build out. So now, tell me a little bit more about these resources that are available in Hudson Kitchen for these founders of CPG companies.
“Everybody's going to have a different plan for themselves. There's no wrong or right— it's what's wrong or right for you. “—Justine Reichman
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: One of the first things that I did before even the kitchen opened was I created this PDF. This was like 10 steps to starting a food business in New Jersey. And I think that's been a wealth of information just for someone that's just starting out, and needed to find out this information. It's free on our website to download. It has been for us the gift that keeps on giving. Because when someone Googles how I start a food business in New Jersey, that thing comes up. Things come up and drive people to our website. So it's been really great. In addition to that, I created what I call The fFood Business Boot Camp. So it is a day-long course where we teach someone how to create a launch plan for their food business. And so we've been giving the course since 2017, and it's really great. The other thing that we do, and we do network. I mentioned networking events, and we started doing them again. We actually just had one on Tuesday where we brought in a buyer from Whole Foods, a packaging expert and a retail expert, and came in and gave 10 of our member businesses feedback. And they got to pitch their products. So those are the types of things that are really exciting.
Justine Reichman: Yeah. Well, that's amazing. What a great opportunity for those folks.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: A lot of fun as well. It was really good.
Justine Reichman: That's amazing. So through that, the network of being part of that, I'm sure that that also provides a lot of resources to your members. So how many members do you have?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: It varies from time to time, but we're probably about 26 members this year. It's interesting. Obviously, I'm sure you've heard of other commercial kitchens throughout the country, but we kind of focus on, we have a smaller number of members, but they're a little bit larger companies. So with us, we don't typically have the person that's just starting out. They're about 18 months into business when they come to us and have some traction in the business, and are looking to grow. And most of our businesses are shipping out regionally and nationally, so they're really looking for that growth, and we're a part of their journey.
Justine Reichman: Wow, amazing. So are there any stories you can share from your members about the impact they've had from being part of Hudson Kitchen, whether it's collaboration, whether it's a jumping off point, whether it's change their access to the available in Whole Foods or Wegmans?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Because we're a shared facility, and I should have mentioned that we are a really shared facility in that. People are working together in the kitchen, so there's a lot of opportunity for members and their employees to talk to each other. So what I mentioned to you before, we have student package goods and meal prep. So actually, this happens on occasion when we had a falafel maker, and they sold their product to one of our meal prep companies. They could do a vegan meal. So those types of things happen quite a bit. Or someone's including, again, like a CPG product into a meal prep package that goes out for the week. So there is a lot of collaboration there. Or sometimes, it's just the sharing of resources. Someone might know about packaging, or about someone that can create their label, or design their logo, and so they're giving those resources to each other. So that's pretty exciting.
Justine Reichman: It's like a village.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Totally a village. We interview people that want to come and be members. We have them interview with current members just to make sure that it's kind of the right place for everyone. Because it really is. I kind of use this word loosely, but it's a family. We really care about what's going on there at the facility, and they care about the other members that are there. So it's great.
Justine Reichman: When you're interviewing potential members, what differentiates you from others from their perspective?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: So a couple of things. As I mentioned to you, the business that comes to us has some traction in the business. And so because we are a shared facility, but we also do not rent by the hour so our members pay a flat monthly fee so they can come and go as they please. So they're really able to make a home for their business. We also offer 6 and 12 month contracts with us so it allows you to be with us, allows you to grow your business. We also offer a co-working space, so you can go in and work on your computer and get on the Wi Fi. People can accept deliveries there. So all times of the day or night, any of the food distributors come, FedEx, UPS, we know them all by name. Have cell phone numbers for all of our delivery people, a really a full service space. And then there's plenty of parking so no one has to be concerned about, especially being in the northeast as you might recall, there's a lot of street parking, right? So we actually have a parking lot. So there's all those different types of things. I think it's just really the fact that we consider ourselves to be full service, and we're offering all the resources, like I mentioned at the networking event.
Justine Reichman: I've seen a variety of co-working facilities, and then I've seen a variety of facilities where you have a shared kitchen, but it's new to hear all of them in one fell swoop, in one home, which I think is really quite robust and nice, and it allows you to even take somebody on a walk around the kitchen to show it to them, but then go have a meeting. Awesome. So you don't actually have to leave so often, and I think that's really nice. So when people are looking for co-working spaces, and I know you mentioned that you like to speak, interview them, and have them interview your community so that it's the right fit for everyone. What would you recommend to those people looking to get a shared kitchen? What would you say to look for? What kinds of questions would you ask them to set forth in those conversations, not necessarily to you, but to anyone. When they're looking to join a shared kitchen, what are the things they should be looking for?
“We want to make sure that not only are members in the right place, that people are in the right place in general.” —Djenaba Johnson-Jones
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: So some of the things they should be thinking about is how often they plan to use the kitchen. And also what type of product that they make. So for example, a person called me yesterday and they make spices. I said to them, we're not the right place for you. Because she was like, I just need a kitchen one day a week. And I'm like, you should go to an hourly kitchen. We talk about what type of product that they have? How often do they think they're going to use the facility? And what is their plan for growth? And those are things that they should be thinking about as they're moving into a shared kitchen. Sometimes, as I mentioned, we might send someone to an hourly facility, and then they'll come back to us as the business has grown. And so that's kind of we want to make sure that not only are members in the right place. That people are in the right place in general. So I spend a lot of time on the phone just talking to folks, and making sure that they have all the information that they need to make a good decision about a shared kitchen.
Justine Reichman: Yeah. Can you share some fun collaborations that have come out? I know you shared the falafel thing, but has anybody created a new brand or created a fun collaboration out of the membership?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: One of the fun collaborations was the beef, the Cambodian beef jerky, or beef Chris company. I didn't realize this until we had a company that is an Indonesian company, that they actually prepared all their food in our facility, and then they worked out of a food Hall in New York City. They were buying Cambodian beef to put onto their product as a kind of a finisher, which I thought was really interesting. It was really good. That was something that was a lot of fun.
Justine Reichman: I really want to try this Cambodian product.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Definitely have some. We will make sure that you get some to you. It is fantastic.
Justine Reichman: It sounds fantastic. My cousin is from Cambodia. My cousin's from DC. But when he had a baby, they were in Cambodia, and she's from Cambodia. I'm always interested in trying new things, because there's a connection there. It's not just that. It's interesting, and I love interesting things, but I feel like there's a connection.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Absolutely. Well, make sure you get some.
Justine Reichman: I appreciate that. I appreciate that. It would be interesting as another resource, right? As you build out these resources to actually give them a platform like these podcasts that you're on here, is that something you do with your podcast?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: I have a podcast called The Food Means Business Podcast, and we've been around for a couple of years. We actually do from time to time feature our members on the podcast. I think it's a lot of fun to be able to talk to them outside of the kitchen, the shared kitchen, and really get to know them, and introduce them to our broader audience. So it's a lot of fun.
Justine Reichman: I would imagine, it seemed like the perfect fit, right? Because it gives them a platform also to expand their voice, and here you are talking about your Hudson Kitchen and everything that you're doing, and all these the resources that you're making available to them. And I think that's just another one to add to the list.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: You're absolutely correct, yeah.
Justine Reichman: So what would it be for Hudson Kitchen in the next three to five years?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Wow, that's something I have been thinking about a lot. I don't know if I can answer in three to five years, but I will tell you within the next year. So we will be increasing the amount of events that we do. It was something that we did, obviously before, as we were building the business and opening the facility, and then kind of the pandemic happened and got in the way of that. And so now we're back, getting back to our roots, and really bringing people into our facility. I consider myself to be like a super connector. I want to be able to connect that business, whether they're a member or not, with some resource that they possibly need. So events, events, events is what's going to be happening in the next year.
Justine Reichman: Sounds like it's all about events.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: All about events. Super excited.
Justine Reichman: All about events. And do you see any expansion possibilities for you down the road? You've cornered the market in northern New Jersey now, right? But there's a lot of markets around you, and a lot of room for expansion. Because I see what you've built is more like a food club, for lack of a better word. I was thinking about a social club, but it's not a social club. It allows people to cook, to connect, to network and access events. And to me, when I think of a social club, well, minus the working, that's what they're doing, right? So I think you've built out something that's a little bit that's unique, and I could see it expanding. I don't know if you've got plans for that to different cities.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: No, not just that. Honestly, I feel like we are a local business, and we will be here. There may be some expansion in New Jersey, but always to be a New Jersey based business, and be able to support our businesses as they are expanding themselves nationwide.
Justine Reichman: That's super nice. I think that that's amazing. It's always great to stay local too.
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Yeah. One of the things I will say that we do is, I mentioned our food business boot camp program, we do license that program to other kitchens in the country. So we currently have a license going with the kitchen in South Portland, and customize that just for them in their market. So there is that national expansion for us from an education perspective, but the kitchen will be the kitchen.
Justine Reichman: So maybe we'll see you in southern Jersey. Somewhere in Central Jersey. Awesome. Djenaba, thank you so much for joining us today. I just want to make sure that our listeners and our viewers, if they want to know more, want to tap into some of those classes that they have access to. So can you let me know what's the best way for them to connect with you to learn more?
Djenaba Johnson-Jones: Sure. So our website is thehudsonkitchen.com. They can also follow us on Instagram, @thehudsonkitchen, and then we are Hudson Kitchen on LinkedIn as well.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. Thanks so much for joining me today, and I look forward to continuing these conversations.
I want to thank everyone for tuning in today, whether you watch the video or tuned in via the podcast. I just want to make sure that everyone's got all our channels so that if you have been listening to the podcast, but do you want to go to YouTube, you know that our NextGen Purpose channel holds all of our Essential Ingredients, podcasts or videocast, as it may be. If you have not gone to Spotify or iTunes, or wherever you listen to podcasts, our podcast is available at essential.ingredients, so stay up to date on what we have coming up. Don't forget to tune into our channel on Instagram at essential.ingredients. I look forward to seeing you here every week, Tuesday, for a new episode with me and this series focusing on our resources.
