{"id":7661,"date":"2019-11-20T12:35:48","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T17:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/?p=7661"},"modified":"2019-11-20T13:00:13","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T18:00:13","slug":"1-reasons-to-start-a-food-business-in-ri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/1-reasons-to-start-a-food-business-in-ri\/","title":{"rendered":"11 Reasons to Start a Food Business in RI"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Starting a food business (or any small business) is a challenging endeavor, and never without risk. But there\u2019s never been a better time to start a food business in Rhode Island. With great food, great culture, and industry-specific support and resources, the Ocean State is committed to — and primed for — innovation and expansion in the food industry. Here are 11 reasons why you should start a food business in RI now.<\/p>\n

1. RI has a food czar<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In May 2016, Rhode Island created a state-level Director of Food Strategy position<\/a>, who will help craft food system policy from farm to table (and beyond). This will augment and continue the already-unprecedented level of collaboration around the state for designing clear, consistent policies that pave the way for ease of doing business and supporting quality products. The collaboration continues at the first ever Rhode Island Food System Summit<\/a> on Jan. 17 at URI.<\/p>\n

2. Johnson and Wales University College of Culinary Arts<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Providence is home to a globally recognized culinary program that brings talent, interest, awareness, and funding to the region. They graduate not just chefs, but food scientists and food managers. JWU<\/a> even offers a concentration in Food Entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

3. Legal Food Hub<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A program that offers free legal services to farms, aquaculture operations and small food businesses is expanding to Rhode Island. The Legal Food Hub<\/a> is a project of the Conservation Law Foundation. The program will reduce the legal burden on food startups and existing food businesses that want to expand or pivot.<\/p>\n

4. Good press<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rhode Island\u2019s local and regional media celebrates food, and spends a lot of ink covering it. Outlets including RI Monthly, Edible Rhody, Providence Journal, Eat Drink RI, Providence Business News, and others provide wide and deep coverage about the food industry, local players, newcomers, innovation, and food celebrations and events.<\/p>\n

5. Food incubators<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In just its first year of operation, Hope & Main<\/a>, the Ocean State\u2019s first food incubator, successfully launched 50 food businesses, created 75 jobs, and poured over a million dollars into the Rhode Island economy. Located in Warren, RI, the non-profit won a 2016 Providence Business News innovation award. Hope & Main\u2019s incubation program provides kitchen space and technical support to budding food entrepreneurs and established food businesses. Two new food incubators are in the works, in Woonsocket<\/a> and Providence<\/a>, to shepherd entrepreneurial food ideas from first batch to market. Farm Fresh RI\u2019s Open Kitchen project<\/a> also aims to \u201cbring transparency to the process of producing value-added foods in Rhode Island.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Farmer\u2019s markets<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There are dozens of farmer\u2019s markets across the state, providing new food businesses with ample opportunity to bring their products to market and get valuable feedback. Farm Fresh RI<\/a> runs many of their own markets and has the most comprehensive list of all farmers markets statewide.<\/p>\n

7. Close proximity<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rhode Island\u2019s size makes it a haven for entrepreneurs. Our small state provides easy access to almost everything you need from the farmers\/producers to incubators, suppliers, markets, and restaurants. Proximity increases synergy and connections to create a tight and connected food community.<\/p>\n

8. RI leads the nation for quality and infrastructure<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In a recent ranking of America\u2019s best cities for foodies, Travel + Leisure ranked Providence #2<\/a> for having a deep bench of stellar restaurants, legendary street food, and a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere to enjoy food as an experience. Country Health Rankings, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program, commended local food hub Farm Fresh Rhode Island<\/a> for their strong infrastructure helping local farmers share resources, connect with consumers, and distribute their products while educating customers about their food.<\/p>\n

9. Amazing restaurants<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Home to numerous remarkable and recognized restaurants and establishments in almost every category, highlighting and catering to a culture with high food awareness and sensibility. Check out Movoto\u2019s list of 15 restaurants throughout the state that will \u201cblow your mind,\u201d<\/a> and Zagat\u2019s compilation of Providence\u2019s best offerings in every category<\/a>.<\/p>\n

10. Retail distribution<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rhode Island is home to numerous local and national gourmet grocery chains keen to feature and promote locally made products. Whole Foods, Dave\u2019s Marketplace, and Clements\u2019 Marketplace all have stores in Rhode Island.<\/p>\n

11. Food Export Northeast<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This nonprofit industry organization offers counsel, conducts trade missions, and delivers training to food companies in Rhode Island and the Northeast interested in selling their products internationally. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the RISBDC, we have been providing assistance to existing and startup food business owners since 1983. We have the experience and knowledge to help these unique businesses succeed. Contact us today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Starting a food business (or any small business) is a challenging endeavor, and never without risk. But there\u2019s never been a better time to start a food business in Rhode Island. With great food, great culture, and industry-specific support and resources, the Ocean State is committed to — and primed for — innovation and expansion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":701,"featured_media":5654,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/701"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7661"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7667,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7661\/revisions\/7667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}