What Southern Culinary & Creative does

Southern Culinary & Creative is an Atlanta-based culinary experience design and event production firm operating as a private partnership. The company delivers three integrated service lines: strategic culinary design and production (programming development, multi-day festival execution, restaurant and bar consultation), client entertainment and corporate events (hospitality, fundraising, sponsorship activation), and brand activation and strategic partnerships (experiential design, talent alignment, sponsorship consultation). It serves corporate clients, brand partners, and hospitality and real estate developers, with named engagements including Lincoln Property Company, Mainsail Lodging & Development, Arthur Blank Sports + Entertainment, PNC, Jamestown, and the Alys Foundation. The company is operationally rooted in the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, founded by Elizabeth Feichter in 2010, and formalized as Southern Culinary & Creative in 2019 with principals Kelly Campbell and Rebecca Lemelin Gann.

The company's product portfolio spans recurring events and one physical venue: Gather 'round (a multi-day Southern food, drink, music, and art festival benefiting Giving Kitchen), Night Market at The Home Depot Backyard (monthly series with Arthur Blank Sports + Entertainment), Epicurean Theatres programming (Tampa and Atlanta with Mainsail), Westside Motor Lounge (a bar and restaurant concept with Lincoln Property Company operating from a repurposed auto repair site), and three Alys Beach signature events (30a Wine Festival, Digital Graffiti, Alys Beach Crafted). The company also delivers turnkey culinary programming for clients such as PNC, with engagements ranging from 20 to 300 guests in both virtual and in-person formats. Marketing channels are concentrated on Instagram, the company website, signature events, and industry referrals.

The business model is professional services with custom project-based pricing; the company quotes per engagement and does not disclose prices publicly. Distribution is direct B2B sales with multi-year contracts to enterprise clients. Revenue is generated through direct contracts with corporate clients, brand partners, sponsors, and hospitality operators. The company is privately held by its three partners, with no external investors, no funding rounds, and headcount of 1-10. Geographic focus is the southeastern United States, with primary operations in Atlanta and secondary presence in Tampa, Florida.

Name

Southern Culinary & Creative

Legal name

Southern Culinary & Creative

Website

https://culinaryandcreative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southern Culinary & Creative is an Atlanta-based culinary experience design and event production firm that serves corporate clients, brand partners, and hospitality developers through strategic culinary programming, multi-day festivals, brand activation, and restaurant concept development across the southeastern US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experiential Marketing & Event Production Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Festivals & Culinary Events (Ticketed Tastings, Pop-ups) (THAJAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Event Catering (Weddings, Social, Private Parties) (THAFAIAB), Food, Drink & Culinary Community Festivals (Community-Led) (MPAGAEAF), Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK)

Keywords

• Culinary event production
• Experiential marketing services
• Brand activation
• Food festival production
• Corporate hospitality events

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Culinary Programming & Event Production: Custom project-based fees for strategic culinary design, multi-day festival production, event execution, and brand activation services. Revenue is generated through direct contracts with corporate clients, brand partners, and property developers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Southern Culinary & Creative designs, produces, and executes culinary-focused events, multi-day food festivals, brand activations, and corporate hospitality experiences for enterprise clients, brand partners, and hospitality/real estate developers. Services span strategic culinary programming, sponsorship activation, restaurant and bar concept development, and event execution, delivered through three service pillars: Strategic Culinary Design & Production, Client Entertainment & Corporate Events, and Brand Activation & Strategic Partnerships.

Product overview

Southern Culinary & Creative is a culinary and experiential marketing company that offers three integrated service pillars: Strategic Culinary Design & Production (programming development, event production, restaurant consultation), Client Entertainment & Corporate Events (hospitality and fundraising), and Brand Activation & Strategic Partnerships (experiential marketing and sponsorship management). The company delivers these services through a portfolio of named event products and concepts including Gather 'round (food festival), Epicurean Theatres (culinary programming), Night Market, Westside Motor Lounge, and various Alys Beach signature events. These offerings range from intimate culinary experiences for 20 guests to multi-day festivals serving thousands, all focused on the curation of authentic and meaningful experiences for corporate clients, brand partners, and event attendees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Culinary Design & Production Full-service culinary experience design and production from ideation through execution, covering culinary programming development, multi-day festival and event production, interactive learning experiences, restaurant and bar pop-ups, and restaurant consultation for corporate clients, brand partners, and hospitality operators.
• Client Entertainment, Hospitality & Corporate Events Service offering covering culinary experience design and production for client entertainment, sponsorship activation, and corporate giving/fundraising events for enterprise clients and their customers/employees.
• Brand Activation & Strategic Partnerships Service offering including experiential design and production, brand activation, talent alignment, brand asset design and fabrication, and sponsorship consultation and management for consumer brands and property/event owners.
• Gather 'round Food Festival Signature multi-day Southern food, drink, music, and art festival founded by Southern Culinary & Creative in Atlanta, voted Best New Food Festival by Atlanta Magazine in 2021 with proceeds benefiting Giving Kitchen.
• Night Market at The Home Depot Backyard Monthly event series curated and produced in collaboration with Arthur Blank Sports + Entertainment, featuring Atlanta chefs, mixologists, musicians, and local artisans at The Home Depot Backyard.
• Epicurean Theatres Culinary Programming Curated and programmed culinary experiences for state-of-the-art theatres at Epicurean hotels in Tampa and Atlanta, featuring dynamic, inspiring, and engaging programming for attendees.
• Westside Motor Lounge Bar and restaurant concept created in partnership with Lincoln Property Company, transforming three vacant auto repair shops into a dynamic indoor-outdoor entertainment venue with a 1/2-acre courtyard, music stage, beer garden, gaming, food, drink, and fire pits in Atlanta.
• Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Multi-day food and wine festival founded by Elizabeth Feichter in 2010, with nine years of curation and execution by the Southern Culinary & Creative team covering programming, production, sponsorship, activation, and operations.
• Alys Beach Signature Events (30a Wine Festival, Digital Graffiti, Alys Beach Crafted) Annual signature events at Alys Beach (30a Wine Festival, Digital Graffiti, and Alys Beach Crafted) for which Southern Culinary & Creative leads sponsorship sales and brand activation in partnership with the Alys Foundation.

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Giving KitchencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2022Nonprofit partner for Gather 'round food festival. Proceeds from the annual festival benefit Giving Kitchen, a nonprofit supporting food service workers in crisis. This partnership combines community impact with brand-building.
• Lincoln Property CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to concept, develop and operate Westside Motor Lounge, transforming three vacant auto repair shops into a dynamic indoor-outdoor entertainment venue in Atlanta.
• Mainsail Lodging & Development (Epicurean)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurates and programs all culinary experiences for Epicurean Theatres in Tampa and Atlanta locations, developing dynamic, inspiring, and engaging programming for attendees.
• Arthur Blank Sports + EntertainmentmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborates to curate and produce Night Market at The Home Depot Backyard, a monthly event series featuring Atlanta chefs, mixologists, musicians, and local artisans.
• Alys FoundationmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerLeads sponsorship sales and brand activation activities for Alys Beach's three annual signature events: 30a Wine Festival, Digital Graffiti, and Alys Beach Crafted.
• JamestownmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped 'PCM Goes Inside Out' programming for Ponce City Market to create safe outdoor activation as COVID-19 restrictions lifted, bringing food hall tenants outdoors.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Cozymeal: Online marketplace connecting consumers and corporate groups with culinary experiences, cooking classes, and chef-led events. Adjacent to SC&C's culinary programming business with overlap in corporate entertainment offerings.

Direct peers

• MKG: New York-based experiential marketing agency with a strong food and beverage practice serving consumer brands on activations, festivals, and pop-ups. Directly comparable in service mix and target customer base to SC&C's brand activation and culinary programming work.
• Outstanding in the Field: Culinary event company producing long-table dining experiences and traveling chef dinners across the U.S. Comparable in its chef-driven, experiential format and its reliance on a curated culinary talent network.
• BITE: Food and beverage-focused experiential marketing agency producing culinary events, brand activations, and content for restaurant and CPG clients. Closely aligned with SC&C's niche of culinary storytelling and brand activation.
• MAS Event Design: Boston-based event design and production firm specializing in large-scale corporate, nonprofit, and culinary events. Comparable to SC&C in combining creative design with end-to-end event execution for enterprise clients.
• Heritage Fire: Traveling outdoor culinary event series featuring whole-animal cookouts, local chefs, and craft beverage producers. Comparable to SC&C's Gather 'round in format (multi-chef, food + beverage + live experience), sponsorship model, and chef-driven programming.

Broad incumbents

• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Global experience marketing agency (Project Worldwide) producing brand experiences, conferences, and culinary activations for enterprise clients. Operates in SC&C's space but with global reach and hundreds of staff.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Global brand experience agency owned by IPG that produces large-scale activations, sponsorships, and live events for Fortune 500 brands. Competes with SC&C for the same enterprise experiential budgets but at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Airbnb Experiences: Global marketplace for bookable host-led experiences including food tours, cooking classes, and culinary workshops. Competes for consumer culinary experience spend and has expanded into corporate offerings, partially overlapping with SC&C's audience.

Regional players

• NYC Wine & Food Festival: Large-scale food and wine festival produced annually in New York City by founder Lee Brian Schrager. Operates a comparable owned-festival model with sponsorship sales and brand activations similar to SC&C's Gather 'round and Alys Beach events.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SCC_Atlanta
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthernCulinaryandCreative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-culinary-creative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Culinary & Creative