Meet Richard Keys of Food And Drink Resources in Centennial

Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Keys.

Richard, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
FDR was founded in 2009 by myself and my business partner in Scott Randolph, 2009 was the beginning of the downturn in the economy and one of the most impacted businesses was the foodservice industry. Multi-Unit restaurant companies were down-sizing their corporate staffs and it was at that point that we had identified our niche. My professional background was in food manufacturing and product commercialization and Scott’s was in menu development and operations.

We initially started in Northern Virginia but about a year into it we relocated to Centennial, CO. We realized the multi-unit restaurant scene was growing in CO and the demographics were an idea for research around multi-unit restaurant industry.

FDR took off first as a project management company, handling menu development projects and sourcing. Wasn’t long after this we morphed into a full-service culinary agency. We built a team with decades of experience in food and beverage innovation and our primary goal was to connect resources – people, concepts, and companies – in the pursuit of bringing food and beverage innovation to life.

FDR stays in front of trends to bring fresh ideas. The work results in menus, products, and concepts that excite your customers and strengthen brand differentiation. Not only do we come up with the ideas, but we also ensure our recipes and processes are replicable and profitable.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Probably the biggest struggle we had, which I assume holds true with any new business is client acquisition and retention We had to run the pretty lean first couple of yeas in operation. Until I was able to build a clientele base and industry reputation, I wore many hats in the company. I was both a fire starter and project manager as well everything else in between. We were not well capitalized from the start so client acquisition was key to our success.

Please tell us about your business.
Food & Drink Resources (FDR) is a chef-driven culinary consulting agency. We specialize in:
Menu Ideation + Product Development
Research + Insights
Recipe Development
Marketing
Sales
Manufacturing
What I am most proud of and what as well sets us apart from our competitive set, is the fact we see project through from beginning to send. FDR brings a fresh perspective and an affordable alternative. Plus, our test kitchen is somewhere you’ll want to spend time in. The FDR Research & Innovation Center has plenty of meeting space and a modular, fully-equipped test kitchen and bar. It’s spacious, clean, and has all that you’ll need for recipe development-including a team of expert chefs with decades of experience in restaurant operations and menu development.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was supposed to make a living by being a professional hockey player when I grew up. I spent my youth in hockey rinks and traveling across the country as well as Canada playing hockey, these are my fondest memories.

Contact Info:

• Address: Food And Drink Resources
  6555 South Kenton St.
  Suite 302 Centennial, CO 80111
• Website: https://www.foodanddrinkresources.com/
• Phone: 720-255-2679
• Email: rkeys@foodanddrinkresources.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodanddrinkresources/
• Facebook: @foodanddrinkresources
• Twitter: @FoodDrinkR

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