food incubator, jobs, nh food policy council
TRANSCRIPT
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Next Street Financial LLC Copyright 2012CONFIDENTIAL 1
GATEWAY CULINARY INCUBATORPHASE 1 FINDINGS
DECEMBER 10, 2012
JOHN DESTEFANO, MAYOR
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WHY FOOD?
The urban food sector is dynamic and asset-rich, representing a powerful job
engine and driver of economic development
> Cities are home to large young adult and immigrant populations, which comprise a large, diverseand expanding market for food products
> In 2010, 82% of the US population lived in urban areas compared to just 64% in 1950
Diverse and
growing
population
Strategic
food assets
Shifting food
policy and
culture
> Most American cities contain assets that give them competitive advantages in importing, storing,processing, wholesaling and delivering food, including central locations, historic public markets,
transportation infrastructure, vacant buildings, and a large workforce
> Increasing awareness among policy makers is driving changes in procurement and reporting,
instigating local food production and influencing waste policies in every market> Emergence of low cost infrastructure such as shared kitchens along with increasing demand for
niche offerings like local products present food entrepreneurs with strong market-entry dynamics
> As the culture of fresh, local foods has become more prominent, institutional procurement officialsare looking to establish regional connections along the food chain
> Increasing diverse and immigrant populations are shifting the demand for raw ingredients andethnically influenced products
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OVERVIEW OF NEW HAVEN FOOD INDUSTRY
The existing food industry in New Haven spans the value chain and represents an
increasingly important component of the local economy
Agricultural
Producers
Intermediate
Processing
Grocery
Manufacturing
Wholesale /
Distribution
End Customer
/ Retail /
Restaurant
Source: Ninigret Partners, 2007 US Census Data, Dun and Bradstreet data
> New Haven County has
~1,800 harvested acreswith a strong shellfish
industry as well
> There are ~14 food wholesalebusinesses located in New Haven,
representing 270 jobs
> New Haven Food Terminal is home toseveral wholesale businesses
> Although there are a fewprocessors in New Haven, these
companies have little
integration with local
producers
> New Haven is home to ~15 food
manufacturing companies,representing 506 jobs,that
produce finished dessert items,
packaged meats, ready-to-eat
sauces, etc.
> Several of New
Havens currentprominent food
manufacturers (e.g.,
Palmieri, Chabaso)
began as cafes
and/or retail stores,
and moved into
product manufacturing
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STRENGTHS OF THE NEW HAVEN FOOD SECTOR
A survey of the New Haven food industry reveals a range of strengths
1. Growing cohort offood entrepreneurs
as well as established manufacturing
and restaurant sectors in New Haven
> Primary research indicates that there is a growing number of homechefs, food trucks, and small ethnic businesses that have inquired
about commercial kitchens available for rent. For example, we were
able to identify over 30 food trucks located in downtown New
Haven and/or Long Wharf
> Additionally, there are several facilities in New Haven (e.g., UltimateFoods) that have proven quite successful at providing
complementary services (e.g., co-packing) to growing small food
businesses that produce sauces, salsas, and other canned products
2. Broad network of organizations in otherparts of the food chain (e.g., distributors)
that could serve as critical partners /
support the food entrepreneurs
> There are a wide range of organizations (both public and private)that we perceive have a vested interest in the success of emerging
food businesses
> For example, the greater New Haven area is home to several largewholesale and food service distributors (e.g., Bozzutos, Thurstons,
Burris), which may be interested in cultivating a pipeline of local
suppliers
Commentary
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GAPS IN THE NEW HAVEN FOOD SECTOR
Additionally, there are a series of gaps in the New Haven market that have impeded
the launch and growth of food businesses
Commentary
1. Currently there is little
infrastructure in the greater New Haven
area to support early stage food businesses
who have needs beyond co-packing
> While some food entrepreneurs have rented restaurants or othercertified food service kitchens for their production / processing
needs, there are currently no shared commercial kitchen located in
Connecticut that are dedicated solely to small food businesses
> The nearest shared kitchen facilities are located in New York City,Lexington, NY, or Providence, RI
> The success of complementary food processing facilities in the NewHaven area (e.g., Ultimate Foods) speaks to the broader demand for
food processing / manufacturing
2. Expansion options for existing food
manufacturers and processors are limited
due to infrastructure and regulatory
constraints
> While there are other strategic food assets in the market, it is ourunderstanding that space for food manufacturing is at a premium due
to restrictions on existing locations (e.g., Mill River)
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THE OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW HAVEN
The existing commercial kitchen, classrooms, and offices at the Gateway Long
Wharf Campus represent an opportunity to address some of the gaps in the NewHaven market for food entrepreneurs
Unmet Needs of New
Haven FoodEntrepreneurs
ExistingInfrastructure atGateway Long
Wharf Campus
Food Assets in theNew Haven Area
Gateway Culinary
Incubator
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WHAT IS A CULINARY INCUBATOR?
There are a wide range of culinary incubator models in the market; however, most
incubators are designed to provided food entrepreneurs with the tools and supportrequired to successfully launch their business
Core Components
Services
Provided to
Businesses
> Key services include subsidized rent for a shared kitchen that includes access toequipment, hot and cold storage space, staff members expertise, and office space
> Incubators are increasingly providing technical assistance (e.g., business training,mentoring, etc.) to tenants to increase their likelihood of success following graduation
Economic Model
for Operators
Benefits to the
Community
> Typically a fee-based model that charges tenants on an hourly and/or monthly basisfor use of the kitchen, equipment, and other shared spaces
> Many incubators are run as non-profits by universities, quasi-public organizations, etc.
> Accelerators, which are run by experienced business owners and/or investors, maytake an equity stake in tenants
> Incubator graduates have the potential to create jobs in the local community,serving as a driver of economic growth
> Creates an opportunity to connect to and strengthen other food assets in themarket (e.g., local agriculture, distributers, etc.)
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CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL INCUBATORS
Leveraging our experience in the incubator space and secondary research, we have
identified several common themes among successful incubators
1. Gain support early from local public and private stakeholders, as well as regulators
2. Leverage local food assets and connect to local agriculture as potential sources for raw
ingredients / produce
3. Identify value-added services and alternative revenue streams (e.g., technical assistance,business education, product development, etc.)
4. Thoughtfully develop a detailed operational and financial planboth for the incubatorslaunch and for ongoing operations
5. Tightly manage overhead costs (e.g., rent, utilities, incubator staff / management, etc.), whilefocusing on quality investments
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PROFILED INCUBATOR: LA COCINA
San Francisco-based culinary incubator La Cocina works primarily with women
food entrepreneurs from low income communities
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PROFILED INCUBATOR: CARBONDALE CENTER
The business below - Babunyas is a start-up that successfully launched out of the
Carbondale, PA Kitchen Incubator
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GATEWAY TECHNICAL BUILDING AT LONG WHARF
Gateway Colleges move to downtown presents a unique opportunity to reuse the
former site on Long Wharf for education and technical training
Context
> Gateway Community College and theBoard of Education, along with Economic
Development partners, are working on a
reuse plan to include:
Hyde Foundation School: Focuson health sciences and sports
medicine
Gateway Automotive: Relocatefrom North Haven and build state-of-
the-art training center at Long Wharf
Gateway Technical Institute:STEM focused learning environment
focused on New Havens growing
economic sectors
Culinary Incubator: Support foodentrepreneurs in the New Haven area
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GATEWAY CULINARY INCUBATOR CONTEXT
Support small business growth and entrepreneurs, particularly inthe food sector, and to generate job creation in New Haven and,more broadly, Connecticut
Create opportunities for Gateway students and the broadercommunity to gain hands-on experience working in a commercial
kitchen and the necessary training to launch their own business
Vision / Rationale
Home to a commercial kitchen, which already has much of theinfrastructure and equipment required to launch an incubator
Located along major transportation corridors (e.g., I-95) withaccess to many distribution channels
Buy-in from key government stakeholders who have alsoconvened key stakeholders across the food chain
Strategic Assets
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GATEWAY PHASE 1 FINDINGS
Phase I of the Gateway Food Incubator Project assessed the feasibility of
establishing a culinary incubator in the Gateway Long Wharf commercial kitchen
Summary of Key Findings from Phase 1
1. Demand for Incubator: Research and conversations with experts highlighted demand for ashared commercial kitchen from a range of individuals and companies (e.g., home chefs, caterers,
food trucks, larger operating companies)
2. Valuable Preexisting Assets: The facilitys underlying assets (e.g., existing commercial kitchen,equipment) will enable the project to manage many of the economic risks typically associated
with culinary incubators
3. Opportunities for Expansion:Additionally, the incubator may have the opportunity to expandinto adjacent rooms (e.g., cafeteria kitchen, classrooms) as the incubator grows
4. No Insurmountable Roadblocks:While identified several risks / key questions for additionalvetting, we believe that the Gateway culinary incubator has met the burden of proof from
economic, regulatory, and demand dimensions to be given the green light to proceed
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ASSESSMENT OF EXISTING FACILITY
When evaluating Gateways space, we considered both what can be done with
relatively little investment to the current kitchen as well as how the concept could
expand after the model is proven
Gateway Commercial Kitchen Cafeteria Kitchen Adjacent Rooms
Capabilities
> Suitable for basic cooking education, foodpreparation, dining / meals production, and
baking with some basic office and storage
space
> Quick cooking andprep space
> Office and / or classspace for tenants
and additional dry
storage
> 3 stoves, 2 deck ovens, 2 standalonerefrigerators, 1standalone freezer, 2 Hobart
mixers, 1 proofer, and 1 grill
> Shared dishwasher and ice machine withcafeteria
Equipment
> Small walk-in freezer,grill, deep fryer, and
deck oven
> TBD
> Limited number of hot stations> Minimal dry and cold storage> Poor heat / humidity control> Loading and transport of goods to kitchen
Possible
Challenges
> Transportation ofgoods / prep to
commercial kitchen
> Coding requirementsif used for storage
and / or prep
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TENANT PROFILEWe have identified a preliminary profile of Gateways target tenant based on our
understanding of market demand and limiting factors resulting from the facilitys
existing infrastructure
Limiting
Factors
> Based on Gateways existing infrastructure, there aresome limitations on the types of businesses that could be
supported in the incubator (without significant fit-out)
> As there are several successful co-packing facilitieslocated in New Haven area, the incubator should not
focus on high-volume production of sauces and salsa
> It is important to identify anchor tenants that can berelied upon to use the facility consistently
Geographic
Breadth
> The facility should focus on attracting entrepreneursfrom both New Haven proper and its surrounding
counties, including Fairfield and Hartford, which jointly
have a population of over 2.6 million
Profile of Possible Tenants
> Catering companies
> Low-volume bakeries(e.g., cookies, pies,
cupcakes)
> Food trucks who needprep space
> Larger companies in needof test kitchens for
product development
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SERVICE OFFERING
The incubators service offering would be based on a core membership model that
includes training and a baseline number of kitchen hours with additional a la carte
kitchen hours and technical assistance available to members and non-members
Core ComponentsService Offering
Membership
Hours a la
carte
Storage
> Receive 15-20 hours of kitchen use a month, but not inclusive of storage> With membership, tenants receive select business and kitchen training; additional
training / technical assistance purchased separately
> If adjacent classroom(s) are utilized, could offer businesses shared work / office space
> Members and non-members can purchase additional hours to use hot and prep space> Accurately assessing how many hours members and other users will require will be a
critical part of tenant intake
> Consider allocating a select percentage of prep space hours for food trucks
> Dry: Sell shelf space, lockable cages (small and large) and pallets> Cold: Offer shelf space and lockable cages within the standalone refrigerators and
freezer for members and non-members
Technical assistance (e.g., business education, kitchen training) for members and non-members
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OFFERING
Discussions with stakeholders have highlighted the importance of incorporating
technical assistancee.g., business education and kitchen trainingas part of the
culinary incubators service offering
Examples of Potential Education / Training
Business plan development
Finance and accounting basics (e.g., QuickBooks)
Marketing and branding expertise
Assistance navigating licensing / food regulations Technology training
Business Training
Food safety training (e.g., ServSafe)
Equipment use and training
Product testing
Nutritional analysis
Storage training for raw / finished products
Kitchen Training
Peer mentoring and networking
Connections to financing assistance / capital resources
Internship opportunities
Industry workshops
BusinessDevelopment
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QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: WAYS TO GET ENGAGED
> Sector round table meetings (sign-ups available)
> Comment cards
> Personal tours of Gateway available (ask EDC staff)