Jeremy Halpern, a partner in Nutter’s Food and Beverage Group and the Director of Business Development for the firm’s Emerging Companies Group, discussed commercial agreements in the food and beverage industry in Nutter Insights. Jeremy addressed the risks that signing a commercial agreement may pose, when it makes sense for a food and beverage company to bring on an outside partner, and some considerations when selecting a partner. According to Jeremy, companies should think carefully about grants of exclusivity, sales or production minimums, termination fees, non-compete obligations, and retainer obligations, to list a few potential pitfalls. Entrepreneurs should avoid deals that solve problems for the short term but which may inhibit or even prohibit future growth.