Kitchen Incubators In New England: How An Emergent Business Incubator Model Is Fostering Food Entrepreneurshi

Kitchen incubators are specialized business incubators that provide food production space and technical services in support of food business development. In recent years, kitchen incubators have been established across the country at unprecedented rates, a trend that is also reflected in New England. They are diverse in form and incubation approach. In the interest of better understanding this relatively new model and how it influences business outcomes, the following research evaluates five kitchen incubators in New England to examine features and practices that correlate with business success. Information gathered from kitchen incubator operators, tenants, and through site visits and other avenues of research reveals that, in most cases, kitchen incubators support food business development and entrepreneur competency. Further, key approaches and practices applied through kitchen incubator programs are important to supporting tenant business development, as well as the sustainability of the kitchen incubator operation.