Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competitors launches

The inaugural Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competitors is now accepting functions, offering a possibility for producers of value-added dairy merchandise to convey their improvements to market.

Produced by Cornell’s Middle for Regional Financial Development (CREA) in partnership with the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences Northeast Dairy Meals Analysis Middle, the competitors helps meals innovators in launching merchandise produced from dairy components produced within the Northeast. Finalists and winners will acquire entry to funding and sources as they compete for a complete of $365,000 in awards.

“This competitors responds to a rising demand for modern dairy merchandise that replicate client desire for premium components and positions the Northeast dairy group as a frontrunner in entrepreneurship,” mentioned Sam Alcaine, M.S. ’07, director of the NDFRC and affiliate professor of meals science in CALS.

Supported by a $1 million grant from the USDA’s Northeast Dairy Enterprise Innovation Middle (NE-DBIC), the competitors offers dairy entrepreneurs, together with these making merchandise on natural and small farms, entry to entrepreneurial and technical help. Contributors will obtain early-stage incubation help from globally acknowledged school within the Cornell SC Johnson Faculty of Enterprise and CALS Division of Meals Science, entry to the Meals Processing and Improvement Laboratory (FDPL), trade mentorship and coaching.

“The competitors offers an on-ramp to entrepreneurship for individuals captivated with assembly buyer wants with high-quality dairy merchandise,” mentioned Jenn Smith, CREA’s director of meals and agriculture startup packages. “Due to the help from the NE-DBIC, we’re offering the sources wanted to develop and scale their dairy product companies.”

Together with entry to Cornell’s amenities and school, finalists might be awarded $20,000. Winners will obtain an extra $55,000 and a presence on the Dairy Innovation Showcase on the 2023 Develop-NY Summit in upstate New York.

The competitors is open to all meals innovators, together with small and natural farms, nonprofits and dairy co-ops, situated in the USA that use or decide to utilizing milk and/or dairy components produced at dairies in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont of their manufacturing.

Functions shut at 5 p.m. ET on March 31.

Lauren Simpson is a advertising and marketing and communications coordinator for the Middle for Regional Financial Development.