An alternative that could bring a little spark to the passage: the word 'fledgling' (having a metaphoric sense of young, new, recently-established, drawn from the concrete sense of a bird that has just learned to fly) is often used in the business world.

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fledgling‎ : "A young bird that has just become able to fly ... 1: a young bird just fledged 2: an immature or inexperienced person 3: one that is new <a fledgling company>"

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/business-engli... : "a fledgling company or industry is a fairly new one with little experience in a business activity: ... One of those fledgling industries in the area is tourism. a fledgling airline/brewery/bank..."

connection.ebscohost.com/tag/VUSKOVICH%252C%2BJoseph : "...‎Vuskovich relied on hard-work, diligence and instinct to turn a fledgling food-manufacturing business into a $1.2 million, two-restaurant "chain" in less than five..."

'fledgling company,' 'fledgling business,' and 'fledgling firm' total about 350,000 Google hits.

a new company/business in the food sector