Food Processing Center Helps Move Products from Stoves to Storefronts

Food Processing Center

Even though it’s something everyone needs on a daily basis, food is a tougher sell than you might think. For starters, the failure rate of new food products hovers well above 75 percent, with the New York Times entrepreneurship blog claiming 9 out of 10 new food items will fail to cut the mustard their first year on the market.

Entrepreneurship has always been about playing the odds, but attempting to break into a market where current competitors have trounced approximately nine other similar products each to earn their place can be intimidating. That’s why the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Food Processing Center was founded: to help food entrepreneurs fight the good fight.

“This is not an easy field — if you’re not careful, you can lose your shirt,” said Dr. Rolando Flores, the center’s director. “Everyone thinks they have the best product because Grandma made it. Sometimes it’s hard for people to understand what’s good for a family may not be good for a consumer.”

Since 1983, the Food Processing Center has helped aspiring foodstuff moguls fine-tune their product for a viciously competitive marketplace. Entrepreneurs who need help at any point on the long road from their minds to customers’ mouths can seek the center’s aid, which it falls into one of three categories or “phases.”

The first phase — for those just starting out on the long journey that hopefully ends in the trailer of supermarket-bound semi — is a seminar entitled “From Recipe to Reality.” During the 8-hour symposium (the next of which is scheduled for June 4), food neophytes are told of the daunting challenges they face and what is needed to overcome them.

Dr. Rolando A. Flores - photo courtesy University of Nebraska - Lincoln

“Newcomers are made aware of what they need to do to put their food product on the market,” Flores said. “At first, it sounds simple — but it gets very complicated very quickly.  They are exposed to all the requirements of the food market in the U.S, all the ins and outs of how to put a product in the market.”

After that, comes the second phase, aimed at those food entrepreneurs confident enough to continue pursuing their goals. In exchange for the corresponding fees, entrepreneurs receive consultation on the food industry’s inner workings — the benefits of contracting a co-packer (a company that manufactures and produces food for another) or how to apply for grants — as well more practical help, such as whipping up test batches to determine a product’s feasibility.

“It’s one thing to make a product in a kitchen or a stove where you are making maybe a gallon or so, but if you’re going to produce 50 or 100 times that, scaling up becomes an issue,” Flores said. “Then, there is the issue of fine-tuning the product in terms of flavor, texture and other characteristics, as well as what needs to be included on the label. Our consultants help provide that information.”

The final leg of the Food Processing Center’s three-pronged plan is aimed at the entrepreneurs who’ve not only made the leap into the industry, but have defied the odds. Just implemented last year, the National Small Food Manufacturers’ Conference provides a forum for food industry veterans to mingle and share their experiences with one another.

“Despite the economic situation, we had between 120 and 130 food processors who came last year,” Flores said. “It’s mostly for people who are already in business, but it’s open to anyone. People come to exchange ideas and network– companies of all different sizes take part.”

This year’s conference will be May 20-21 at Embassy Suites Old Market in Omaha, Nebraska.

Flores also commented on a proposed “fourth phase,” one aimed at successful food entrepreneurs looking to take their business to the next level.

“In one year’s time, we hope to enact a new tier of entrepreneurship help,” he said. “The fourth phase is for those individuals who’ve reached a certain point in their business and now want more training. Perhaps, how can they expand to an international market?”

If interested in registering for the “From Recipe to Reality” seminar, contact Jill Gifford at (402) 472-2819 or e-mail her at jgifford1@unl.edu.