Food For Thought - From Some of Our Many Appreciative Clients
"The service provided by the Food Innovation Center has been instrumental to my business."
Rob Degnan
Tropiusa LLC
"I am a small business start up of specialty food products, and I was given useful information from the food innovation center for steps I'll need to take in the future and how they can assist."
James Grier
The Gourmet Exchange
"Staff at RFIC are knowledgeable and back their evaluation with industry experience. This is really useful for small business that can develop their portfolio's without unnecessary struggles."
Dev Cham
Rasoi Foods
“The Rutgers Food Innovation Center has been an invaluable mentoring resource to us in all aspects of our business development. Goat World is dedicated to establishing marketing opportunities for premium value-added goat meat products. This goal will be accomplished by cultivating new markets for a value-added product line. Goat World has worked with the Food Innovation Center on marketing research, product development, tasting events and chef focus groups.”
Jim Lechner
Goat World
"Nutty Ducky’s was very fortunate to have met some of the Food Innovation Center staff at the 2005 Summer Fancy Food Show. Having been in business for only 2 weeks at that time (with absolutely no food business experience – what were we thinking?), we gladly took advantage of the professional expertise available in and through the Center. We learned so much about the basics of working with co packers, food regulations, labeling, nutrition facts, marketing and more. It was our privilege to be invited to join the inaugural New Jersey Pavilion at the 2006 Summer Fancy Food Show. Along with that honor came the opportunity to further pick some very intelligent brains. Now with a full year behind us the future looks bright and our gratitude to everyone at the Center is priceless."
Liz Duckman & Mike McCormack
Nutty Ducky’s Inc.
"The Food Innovation Center helped us look at the huge dairy industry, analyze it step by step, and apply the principles of a large, complex marketplace to our small niche.They showed us how to drill down the information and focus on our market.The Center’s staff was very hands-on and networked with consultants and experts in the field.They made the connections with the right people for research and answers to very specific questions about the dairy business."
Peter Southway
Sussex County Cooperative
Milk Producers Association
"I can’t say enough about the Food Innovation Center.They have tremendous experience and a vast network of resources to help small companies and startups develop programs that they otherwise would not be able to afford.There are so many issues facing small companies today, from the trickle down effect of bioterrorism, to outsourcing—it can be overwhelming. For a little company, the Center is a godsend.
The staff has made a real difference for us. Thank you for a program that really works. May you continue to help businesses throughout the state that would otherwise be struggling alone."
Pearl Giordano
Limpert Brothers, Inc.
"We felt we had a very good idea to convert some of our orchards to vineyards; we learned how to make wine, produced our first bottles in 2000, and won awards from the beginning. I believe good wine begins with best practices in the field, but we needed to hire a winemaker, expand facilities and boost our marketing to ensure our growth.The Food Innovation Center coached us every step of the way through a very complex application for a USDA valueadded grant. As a result, we received a $50,000 grant. Without their help, I know we wouldn't have succeeded, and without our value-added products we would not be surviving in farming today."
Penni Heritage
Heritage Station Vineyards & Winery
