PRESS RELEASE
Holmdel, NJ — Looking to launch a food-based product or business? Want to know how New Jersey is shaping food innovation? Then join Lou Cooperhouse, director of the Rutgers Food Innovation Center, for “The Business of Food,” a NJ Strategic Design and Tech Meetup hosted at Bell Works in Holmdel on Wednesday, March 16, from noon to 2 p.m. This will be a lunch meeting to talk all things food and business.
On the menu:
- How to build your own food startup
- Insights in food innovation happening in the Garden State
- The changing restaurant culture in New Jersey
- New Jersey’s food leaders
- Corporate food’s role in New Jersey’s future
The Rutgers Food Innovation Center (FIC), a business incubation and economic development accelerator program, is as unique as the food that comes out of it. Cooperhouse and his staff have worked with 100 startups as well as domestic and international food companies.
In the first half of the 20th Century, the Garden State was a powerhouse in food innovation. Campbell’s, based in Camden, created its iconic tomato soup using the famous Jersey tomato. A farm near Bridgeton pioneered the first vegetable refrigerator techniques and Welch’s Grape Juice was developed in Vineland in 1869, using a technique to preserve the juice without fermenting it. New Jersey continues to lead the way in food innovation with help from the FIC.
The FIC provides business and technology expertise to startups as well as established food companies in the mid-Atlantic region. The team at the center provides assistance creating marketing strategies, product and process development, training and education, and commercialization and manufacturing.
The FIC has served over 1,500 clients since its formation in 2001 and has been named “Incubator of the Year” by the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) and an “Agricultural Innovation Center Demonstration Program” by the USDA.
The future of food innovation and startups remains bright for the Garden State, and Cooperhouse will discuss where it’s going and how the changing culture will aid this food revolution at the NJ Strategic Tech and Design Meetup at Bell Works. Whether you manage a startup, a restaurant or a corporation, if your product is food, this Meetup is for you. Bring your own lunch or buy something from the cafe and to talk with Lou about his experience helping businesses succeed in the world of food and food services.
To register for the Meetup, visit www.meetup.com/NJ-Strategic-Design-Tech/events/.
