2025 Project - The New York State Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture 

20. Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship and Business Development

Consumer enthusiasm for high-protein food products is sky-high, and lower-fat, plant-based, clean-eating lifestyles increasingly are priorities.  Innovations in fermentation have created the potential to produce delicious, environmentally sustainable high-protein ingredients at a large scale and low price. Advanced drying techniques can convert these ingredients into a variety of products while reducing time, improving energy efficiency and increasing process complexity.

During this program, the CoE Summer Scholar will work with experts from the New York State Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture (CoE) to develop a food product using mycelium produced via liquid fermentation using the resources of the Fermentation Farming Lab at Cornell AgriTech. The mycelium will then be processed via homogenization and dried using the technologies available at the Food Venture Center/Seneca Food Foundation Pilot Plant.

Using this high-protein powder, and with assistance from Dr. Bruno Xavier, director of the Fermentation Farming Lab, the scholar will develop a product of their choosing that utilizes mycelium protein extract as an ingredient. The scholar will then build a business plan with the goal of bringing the product to market.

In the program, the scholar will learn about entrepreneurship, food and beverage production, general business operations, Cornell food and beverage research and technology, emerging food innovation and trends, regulatory compliance, government economic incentives, capital investments, business-to-business partnerships, supply chain issues, market research and other pertinent topics.

On-site visits to area food and beverage businesses will allow students to witness the operations of food companies firsthand, providing exposure to the complete food system ecosystem. As part of the project, the scholar will pitch their product before an internal panel to showcase the commercial potential of their business.

Mentor: CoE Executive Director Catharine Young, with additional support of CoE staff members.