UMaine creating $4.5 million Food Innovation Lab
Jul. 16—The University of Maine will spend $4.5 million in state and federal funds to create the UMaine Food Innovation Lab to support the state's growing food and beverage manufacturing sectors.
The spending plan approved Monday by University of Maine System trustees calls for renovating 4,800 square feet in the Keyo Building on the Orono campus and possibly building a 1,200-square-foot addition.
Construction is expected to start this fall and be completed by the end of 2025, university officials said in a statement.
The lab will include three commercial food processing rooms, a walk-in cooler and freezer, various food processing machines, blast-freezing equipment, a loading dock, a commercial kitchen, a classroom and office space.
"This facility will provide support to Maine's food entrepreneurs through its proximity to research, education and expertise that is critical to grow Maine's food businesses," said Hannah Carter, dean of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
The lab will have the necessary licenses and equipment so food and beverage startups and established companies can research and develop new goods or scale-up production of existing commodities, said Jason Bolton, associate dean of the UMaine Extension.
Food and beverage manufacturing is a small but rapidly expanding and diversifying segment of Maine's economy. While it accounts for only 1.2% of the state's total workforce, it grew by 755 jobs, or 10%, in the last several years, from 7,536 workers in 2017 to 8,291 workers in 2022, according to a recent report from the Maine Department of Economic Development.
Food and beverage companies in Maine generated $3.5 billion in sales in 2022, and 78%, or $2.7 billion, was purchased by out-of-state buyers, the statement said. The strongest and fastest-growing food and beverage sectors in Maine include frozen fruit, juice and vegetables; retail and commercial bakeries; breweries and distilleries; poultry and seafood.
However, the economic report also notes that "food processing and supply chain infrastructure needs" are currently a barrier to growth.
"Maine's farm sector is critically important to our economy, and being able to bring value-added products to market creates more opportunities for farmers and food processors," said Marge Kilkelly, owner of Dragonfly Cove Farm in Dresden and chair of the Maine Board of Agriculture.
Kilkelly said the food lab will provide "essential support for the food innovators to test their ideas and concepts while providing students with hands-on experience."
The lab will collaborate with universities nationwide that offer similar programs and foster internships and job opportunities for students with food manufacturing and service companies.
The lab will be paid for with $2.5 million in federal funding and $2 million from the state.
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