Grocery chain Raley’s will sponsor the Raley’s Food Lab at the Lab@AgStart incubator, set to open in Woodland, California on April 1. AgStart, part of the AgTech Innovation Alliance which seeks to advance innovation in agriculture, food and health, created Lab@AgStart as a shared use incubator for food entrepreneurs.
Raley’s Food Lab will be a certified food facility where innovators can develop new products, ingredients for taste testing, sampling, and small-volume sales. The facility will have a full kitchen and food preparation equipment. Raley’s will also provide entrepreneurs with mentorship and support to help scale their businesses.
“Raley’s takes great pride operating our business in one of the richest agricultural hubs in the world. We are excited about what this region represents for the future of food production,” said Michael Teel, Raley’s owner, in a statement. “The Raley’s Food Lab will support food entrepreneurs, who will lead the way to a better food system. We look forward to discovering new products and helping to bring them to our store shelves.”
Other participants in the incubator include The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, a native tribe that is the sponsor of the Yocha Dehe Lab, as well as the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the County of Yolo California, and the City of Woodland.
“A unique advantage of our facility is that entrepreneurs can prepare a new combination of ingredients and cooking techniques in the Raley’s Food Lab, and then immediately take their creation into the Yocha Dehe Lab to assess it for nutrient content and other health attributes,” said Leanna Sweha, AgStart program director, in a statement. “The Lab@AgStart facility will help startups commercialize new innovations for a more sustainable food system, and our facility itself will emphasize sustainability.”
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Image: AgStart