Business Incubation Expertise

Food Spectrum provides business incubation expertise, with an unparalleled level of integrated services for food and agribusiness incubation programs being developed by universities, industries, foundations, community non-profits and/or government agencies as a catalyst for the creation of sustainable economies.

Business Incubator Feasibility Studies

• Geographical and sector-based needs assessment
• Stakeholder outreach strategies, and development of stakeholder-driven process
• Qualitative and quantitative economic and trends assessment of regional marketplace
• Qualitative consumer research, including design and development of stakeholder focus groups
• Quantitative consumer research, including design and development of surveys for target markets
• Best practices research, incorporating regional, worldwide and/or sector-based incubator programs

Incubator Program Business Plan Development

• Strategic planning process with stakeholder groups
• Mission, vision, and values statement development
• Service model and outreach plan development - clients to be served and programs to be offered
• Service model and outreach plan implementation – clearly defined steps to achieve program goals
• SWOT analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to incubator program
• Core competency assessment of host institution(s) and/or strategic partners
• Organization analysis and management team recommendations
• Partnering strategy development – industry-government-academia
• Economic development strategies via university technology transfer
• Impact measurement and modeling strategy
• Incubator marketing and client recruitment
• Legal structure recommendations
• Recommendations for advisory board or board of directors that enables both accountability and stakeholder input

Incubator Financial Strategies

• Development of a financially sustainable business and market model
• Revenue stream development, derived from fees for marketing, technical and educational services, and from tenant usage fees, copacking, and other models
• Development of comprehensive proforma statement, including revenue sources and expense sources from varied incubator operations
• Identification of local, state, federal and international funding opportunities, and assistance with grant application process
• Strategies to attract funding and collaborations from the private and public sector

Value-added Product Strategy Development

• Assessment of local economy and regional raw material supply to identify opportunities for value-added concepts as intermediate or finished products
• Assessment of opportunities for nutritional, nutraceutical and medical foods that can be derived from regional agricultural commodities
• Assessment of value-added products that can be domestically competitive, and manufactured at a lower cost and/or higher value and quality than an imported or locally produced product
• Assessment of value-added products that can be internationally competitive and of the proper product, packaging, and quality specification that are acceptable for export
• Assessment of value-added products that fit within the distribution infrastructure of the region
• Assessment of value-added products that are consistent with the consumption patterns of the local/regional population
• Assessment of value-added products that are of the highest value possible in which maximum revenue and profit potential can be generated by client companies and maximum revenue and profit potential can also be generated by the incubator facility and aid in its ability to be self-sustaining

Incubator Design and Development

• Strategic planning for incubator facility, that incorporates flexible processing and maximum service capabilities, that contribute towards financial self sustainability
• Site selection strategies
• Product strategy development and process flow consideration
• Plant design and engineering considerations and architectural renderings
• Process design and equipment selection for potential ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, and ready-to-cook products such as:

- Value-added fresh-cut produce
1. - Raw and cooked meat, poultry and seafood products
2. - Value-added dairy products
3. - Value-added agricultural commodities, including grains, tropical fruits, etc.
4. - Heat processed products such as entrees, soups, sauces, salads, jams, jellies, catering meals, etc.
5. - Cooked products such as pies, breads, and other assorted baked goods, and dehydrated products
6. - Beverages – bottled, aseptic, etc.

• Sanitary plant design, and compliance with local, state, and federal regulatory authorities and/or international quality guidelines Sanitary plant design, and compliance with organic, gluten-free, kosher, halal, and other special dietary needs
• New technology development, with expertise in an array of formulation, packaging, processing, and distribution technologies, including cook-chill, modified atmosphere packaging, sous vide post pasteurization, acidification, cold pasteurization, and other shelf life extension and hurdle technologies
• Incubator operations, distribution and logistics systems development
• Incubator management strategy and assessment, and creation of job descriptions for key hires
• Incubator client screening and prioritization process development
• Client entrepreneurial training development
• Development of usage agreement templates for incubator tenants/clients