(CHICAGO) — The Hatchery Chicago® — a non-profit food and beverage incubator — announces their Private Kitchen Pitch Contest Presented by Midwest Dairy. The contest supports emerging brands by providing access to commercial kitchen space and wraparound services for business growth. In partnership with Midwest Dairy, a farmer-focused non-profit that promotes dairy products, finalists have the chance to win six months of private kitchen space to accelerate their growth. All applicant businesses must use 25% or more of cow’s dairy milk in their ingredient base.
“Innovation is needed to sustain and grow consumer confidence and demand for dairy products,” said Midwest Dairy’s Research and Innovation Manager, Robin Brown. “We’re excited to partner with The Hatchery to help bring innovation to the dairy category.”
The winner will receive six months of free rent in a private kitchen space within The Hatchery’s state-of-the-art, 67,000 square foot facility. They will also have access to large co-working and private meeting spaces, dry, cold, or freezer storage, on-site business planning, and incubation services for accelerated business growth. Other prizes include one year of free membership, $1,000 in equipment credits, and ongoing mentorship with The Hatchery and Midwest Dairy teams.
The pitch will take place this fall on site at The Hatchery, located at 135 N. Kedzie Ave in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. Contestants will present their business ideas to a panel of industry experts with a pitch presentation and tasting samples.
All entrepreneurs interested in pitching must apply by 5 PM CST on Thursday, June 30. Visit www.bit.ly/kitchenpitchmidwestdairy for more information.
ABOUT THE HATCHERY CHICAGO®
The Hatchery Chicago® was developed as a joint venture of two Chicago nonprofits, Allies for Community Business and Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC) to economically develop the west side of Chicago. All funds support The Hatchery’s mission of helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses and enhance economic development and job creation on Chicago’s West Side.
ABOUT MIDWEST DAIRY®
Midwest Dairy® represents 4,600 dairy farm families to 39 million consumers working on their member’s behalf to build dairy demand by inspiring consumer confidence in our products and production practices. Midwest Dairy focuses its efforts on sharing insights and developing programs and resources for retail, health and wellness, school food service, and industry partners. Its goal is to maximize the impact by working with and through partners to share information and real-time experiences that showcase how dairy products resonate with today’s consumer: responsibly produced, nutrient-rich, locally driven and offers real enjoyment. Midwest Dairy is funded by farmers across a 10-state region, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma.
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