Congratulations new University of Wisconsin System President Dr. Ray Cross.

Congratulations new University of Wisconsin System President Dr. Ray Cross.

Ray was selected by the UW Board of Regents yesterday and will soon take charge of the operation of all 4 year and 2 year campuses as well as the UW Extension and Colleges.

In addition to a distinguished academic career, Ray has been an engineer and small business owner in the past.

Importantly, Ray has direct, hands-on experience in the kind of work we are doing in regional food systems.  I had a good long discussion with Ray about our Innovation Kitchen work when he visited us in Iowa County (photo).   I also had the opportunity to talk about how to deploy our Innovation Kitchen business model with Ray later on at his UW office.

Ray will have big agenda items to deal with as UW System President, but I'm confident we have a knowledgeable, empathetic leader in place who knows the value of effective regional food systems to our state and our region.

Congratulations Ray!

"Kale, Kale Everywhere, but Only Cheetos to Eat"

 A new article in the Atlantic discusses how difficult it is for everyone - including farmers living and working in the heart of our growing regions - to make use of farm products directly.

Smart, nimble commercial food processing kitchens can take nutritious, regional foods and make them ready for quick meals for busy people.

End users shouldn't be made to choose between Cheetos and a bushel of dusty kale or unwashed carrots.

Regional commercial kitchens can make these products 'table ready' and put a big dent in this dumb dichotomy.


Innovation Kitchens

 Kale, Kale Everywhere, but Only Cheetos to Eat  The Atlantic, Jan. 8, 2014 

"Why Immigrants Should Invest In The Coming Midwestern Food Renaissance"

Rich Schell is an Illinois attorney and a very good writer on the subject of food and agriculture businesses.

Rich just posted a new piece to his blog, Schell Acres titled, "Why Immigrants Should Invest In The Coming Midwestern Food Renaissance".

A core of his idea is that there are four vital pieces for any entrepreneurial venture:  Founder/mission, Marketing, Making, and Money

Along with our Innovation Kitchen work, Rich brings in some very well known names in the world of entrepreneurship and enterprise into his piece:  Peter Drucker ("The man who invented management" - Businessweek), Ernesto Sirolli (The Sirolli Institute),  Paul Ray (Cultural Creatives) and Jenny Kassan, (Cutting Edge Capital).

Good company!  What I'm most proud of are the good words Rich shares about our work (emphasis added):

"Marketing:  Niche markets and a lot of them made possible by the fragmentation of the mass market in food and agriculture and the rise of the internet and foodies."

"Making:   Wholistic, Bio Based Organizations that are nimble, quick and niched like Rick Terrien's Innovation Kitchen that allows for the "Democratization of Food"-- small runs of batch products that are still FDA compliant. The internet makes it possible to fragment the mass market into a million pieces, and put the pieces and products together in new and profitable niches that have a margin, and that people buy to be different and not the same as everyone else."

This is exactly the path we're taking with our work at Innovation Kitchens.  We've been able to set up the pathways and maps that allow small farms, food businesses and entrepreneurs to create profitable niche food lines and new brands.  Both farms and consumers benefit and it's making some great jobs for people with disabilities along the way.

Thanks to Rich for the good words!

Why Immigrants Should Invest In The Coming Midwestern Food Renaissance

My entrepreneur loan fund hits 50 countries

I have a small personal loan fund that I run through KIVA.org

It allows me to loan small amounts of money to entrepreneurs all over the world.

KIVA lets me join financial forces with other small lenders to fund loans of our choosing.

This is called a revolving loan fund.  The monies just keep coming back as repayments and made available for lending once again.  I've put in just over $400 and thanks to KIVA I've been able to loan out more than $1,500.  I have a 100% repayment rate from the entrepreneurs receiving these loans.

I just made a loan to the 50th country in my portfolio. What a fun way to end the year.

I'm grateful to KIVA for making this possible!

Kiva

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My KIVA list of countries I've made loans to.  These entrepreneurs all over the world inspire me!

Albania

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Benin

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Bolivia

Cambodia

Chile

Columbia

Congo

Costa Rica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Georgia

Ghana

Honduras

Indonesia

India

Iraq

Jordan

Kenya

Kyrgyzstan

Lebanon

Liberia

Mali

Mexico

Mongolia

Mozambique

Nicaragua

Pakistan

Palestine

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Rwanda

Samoa

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Suriname

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Timor-Leste

Togo

Uganda

Ukraine

United States

Viet Nam

Yemen

My thanks and a fond farewell to Iowa County Economic Development

"... positive attitudes, willing support and assistance, and an obvious desire to help people succeed, which Terrien exemplifies.  This is a tribute to Terrien and his team but it's also an important model for the region, of which Iowa County is both a partner and a leader."  - WISC TV editorial, July 2013.

I've greatly enjoyed working in Iowa County, WI as the founding Executive Director of the Iowa County Area Economic Development Corporation.

This was my first experience launching a new nonprofit and the first time I've worked directly in economic development.  In this capacity I helped organize and set directions for this new organization.  I created policies and programs that have become nationally recognized and globally relevant.

I started the day the great recession was formally declared, Dec. 1 2008.  We're closing up the organization five years later.  Funding cuts and the improving economy both indicate its time for this organization to come to a close.

I've been grateful to all the friends I've made in this beautiful area, and the many businesses I've been fortunate enough to work with.

Here are a few of the results my work has generated in the past few years:

My report card from Iowa County businesses and stakeholders. Economic development report issued in Summer 2013.    Full report.  28 pages.

One page overview.  Highlights from 4.5 years of business and economic development in Iowa County, WI.

Food and Farm business development report.  Subset of main report focusing on food and farm entrepreneurship.  18 pages.

Letter from the Board Chair, Iowa County Area Economic Development Corporation (ICAEDC).  Nov. 2013

Thank you note from the Board of the ICAEDC.  Dec. 2013

What a great experience.  Thanks to all who welcomed me to the Iowa County area and all the great people I had the honor of working with there.

Thank you and best wishes one and all!

Innovation Kitchens welcomes Craig Kettleson as our new CFO

Innovation Kitchens LLC is proud to announce the addition of Craig Kettleson as our new Chief Financial Officer.  As CFO, Craig will lead our finance efforts and help bring our story to the world.

Craig has an extensive background in building and financing new businesses.  

Craig Kettleson serves as VP Finance for U.S. Foods and Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where his efforts have raised $1.2 million from private sources to date.

Craig has been a Founder and CFO of Woodridge Venture Group, a venture capital business focused on providing investment resources and technical assistance to businesses seeking to commercialize early stage renewable technologies.  While there Craig participated in private placements which successfully raised $14 million in equity.

 

Craig has served as the Business Development Manager for Wisconsin Business Development Corporation.  He was Lead Planner for MSA Professional Services, Inc.,  and the Community Finance Specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Development.

We welcome Craig and his extensive knowledge of finance, business development and the launch of successful new organizations.

Welcome Craig!

Lighting up a 109 year old food association with our Innovation Kitchens story

Just back from making a presentation about our work at the annual meeting of the Midwest Food Processors Association.

It was great fun to introduce all the new innovative farms, companies and brands we’ve helped develop.

It was even more fun to talk to major food processing stakeholders about the many positive, sustainable opportunities our model represents for their industry.

Thanks for the invitation to speak and to meet so many members who want to grow their industry through our Innovation Kitchens story.

Innovation Kitchen rock stars. Go YumButter!

My friends Matt and Adrian are smart food entrepreneurs who are fun to work with. 

Matt and I have talked about this since it was just a gleam in his eye.  Now he and Adrian are lighting up the artisan food world and I couldn't be prouder.

They are featured in this month's Martha Stewart Living magazine and they have an exciting Kickstarter campaign underway you should check out.

The Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen has supported the development of a number of great foods from many entrepreneurs and regional farms.   We are currently producing and packaging Matt and Adrian's Yumbutters.  A wonderful win-win.  Together we're making great food and important regional jobs.

Innovation Kitchen rock stars!


Yumbutter web site

Article about Martha Stewart meeting Yumbutter 

YumbutterGO's Kickstarter campaign

Support Yumbutter's Kickstarter campaign with just 3 clicks

Farms, food and the future

This is an amazing time to be considering careers and new businesses in the food world.

The University of Wisconsin National Agri-Marketing Association visited the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen last week.

It was exciting discussion to consider the wide ranging opportunities these young people have waiting for them in food and agriculture.

Thanks for a great visit!

Farms, food and the future.  These young people inspire me!

"Farm-to-Institution: Next Steps in Supporting Local Food Infrastructure"

If you want regional food systems to work you have to include professionally certified small-batch food processing at a regional scale. 

Good new article:  "Fruit gives way to jam, tomatoes become sauce, vegetables are pickled, relished and frozen. Seasonality, and our responses to it, may be the single most defining characteristic of local food. And, methods of processing, preserving and adding value are emerging as an important part of the opportunity and challenge"

"Build Infrastructure and Develop Networks: In order to sell to institutions, farmers need to address product availability, seasonality, quality, and consistency, as well as the sales, distribution, processing and handling needs of institutions. U.S. food infrastructure is better equipped to deal with larger farms and longer supply chains. So, smaller farms aimed at localized sales often do not have the ability to wash, chop, pack or freeze their products in order to accommodate institutional demands."

Regional systems need support networks and year-round sales to succeed.

From Farm to institution:  Next Steps in Supporting Local Food Infrastructure. At HuffingtonPost.com  10/25/13 

Thanks to Michael Hoadley at FEWZION for the link.

Tomatoes are 'Sweet Olive' that we grew along with 'Sungolds' in our garden this year.  Both great producers.