![]() ![]() Like Scott O'Hotty, food startups often begin making their products at incubator sites (such as a home kitchen) or in commercial kitchens, and they bottle and label by hand. The (FEAST) facility in Inkster is the first to do that. "The next step is to help companies grow from incubator to accelerator. "That is kind of our goal at Eastern Market, to help companies grow," says Mike DiBernardo, director of its Food Innovation Programs. Michigan State University Produce Center offers advice and technical assistance, such as market plans, nutrition labeling and shelf life information.The Michigan Good Food Fund, a public-private partnership, provided an $180,000 loan for equipment.Eastern Market Corp., a regional food hub and the entity that operates the weekly farmers market in Detroit, helped develop the concept, provided expertise and secured the necessary funding - $400,000 - to upgrade and retrofit the plant.Garden Fresh Gourmet, the Ferndale company known for its salsa, dips and tortilla chips, donated its former food manufacturing plant.So, they searched for a facility to boost bottling volumes to meet demand.įEAST's partners created the co-packaging operation with generous assistance from local businesses: But like other businesses looking to grow and reach new markets, they faced challenges, including production limitations. The couple started their business six years ago by making batches for family and friends and eventually moved to a commercial kitchen. Offices of the Muskegon Retail Incubator are at the new Russell Block Market on W. Scott Owens, who owns Scotty O'Hotty with his wife, Suzi, had been tinkering with hot sauce since his days as a teenager. The Consumers Energy Foundation has awarded 125,000 to support the new Muskegon Retail Incubator, which helps entrepreneurs develop sustainable retail businesses in downtown Muskegon. The business partners know firsthand of the need for an operation such as FEAST. "These companies can only produce so much in church or commercial kitchens they need a co-packaging facility to get them to the next level, to help them grow." "We're seeing more and more (food-processing) companies up and running," Loucks said. Some of FEAST’s staff, from left: Ryan Wallace, of Scott O’Hotty Amit Makhecha, owner of M&R Ventures Scott Owens, co-owner of Scotty O’Hotty Suzi Owens, co-owner of Scotty O’Hotty Marcia Nodel, co-owner of Marcia’s Munchies and Dee Owens, a production worker. Located in Inkster, a Detroit suburb, the 14,500-square-foot facility has two test kitchens. The collaborative effort not only enables the companies to grow their own businesses and produce their products at higher volumes but also will assist other small- and medium-sized companies do the same.įEAST (Food Entrepreneur Accelerator & Startup Terminal) offers bottling, recipe development, private labeling and other services to mom-and-pop businesses that have outgrown incubator space or can manufacture higher-product volumes. One new business now setting up in the Russell Block Market is Unruly Brewing, the city’s first microbrewery, which will open in the spring.Three growing companies - Scotty O'Hotty hot sauces M&R Ventures, which makes chutneys and other products and Marcia's Munchies, purveyors of pickled snacks - united to create a co-packing facility, called FEAST Detroit. Western Avenue downtown.ĭavid Mengebier, president of the Consumers Energy Foundation, said the Muskegon Retail Incubator “is an economic magnet that attracts new retail businesses and is helping to energize downtown Muskegon.” Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo were among them. Because they require a match, the anniversary grants generated $2.5 million in total to community investment projects across the state, each in a different community. It is the 10th and final $125,000 matching grant that the utility’s foundation has made during 2012 to celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary. ![]() The Consumers Energy Foundation has awarded $125,000 to support the new Muskegon Retail Incubator, which helps entrepreneurs develop sustainable retail businesses in downtown Muskegon. Terry MacAllister, left, with the Muskegon Retail Incubator, and Dave Mengebier, with Consumers Energy, are all smiles after Consumers presents a check to the downtown nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs.
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