Through Dairy Runway, food entrepreneurs and dairy innovators with early-stage ideas for value-added dairy products participate in a virtual Cornell-hosted entrepreneurship course to focus on initial product concepts and customer discovery.
Donor Name: Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC)
State: New York
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Program
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/22/2023
Details:
Based on the National Science Foundation I-Corps model, the Dairy Runway program addresses the biggest reason for new product failure: lack of product fit with market demand.
Program participants are led through a process to determine if their product ideas are desirable, viable, and feasible. Graduates are equipped with the skills needed to develop a workable business plan for a scalable product and are positioned to apply to various incubator and accelerator programs and other funding opportunities.
Up to 12 teams will be selected into each Dairy Runway cohort to participate in a virtual course that is approximately six weeks long and combines self-directed online learning activities with Zoom-based class meetings and one-on-one instructor check-ins.
Teams that attend and participate fully in every virtual course session will be offered fully-funded access to Cornell’s Prototyping Kitchen or another approved incubation kitchen in New York state, support from Cornell Food Science technical experts, and guidance from a select group of Entrepreneurs in Residence, in order to bring their innovative ideas to the prototype stage after coursework concludes.
Eligibility Criteria
The program is open to any dairy entrepreneur or food innovator located in the United States with an idea for a new, value-added, cow milk-based dairy product. To be eligible, participants must agree to source cow milk produced in the state of New York in their proposed dairy product.
For more information, visit Dairy Runway Program.
