Hope & Main’s New Initiative Launches RI Restaurant-Made Products into Local Grocers
The DishUp RI program lets consumers experience a taste of RI restaurant favorites at home
Chef Sanjiv Dhar shown with his DishUp RI product, Spice Kraft Curry Blend
CITY, RHODE ISLAND USA — Friday, May 21st marks the official launch day for an innovative new program to support RI restaurants as they emerge from the pandemic. DishUp RI was developed by the State’s premier food business incubator, Hope & Main, using funding provided by the CARES Act. A celebration will take place at the Dave’s Fresh Marketplace in East Greenwich to recognize the ingenuity of the RI restaurant community and the premier of more than a dozen new restaurant-to-retail products.
Hope & Main developed the DishUp RI program in late 2020 to provide business and technical assistance to restaurants across the Ocean State to develop products based on their iconic menu items that can be sold by local grocers and retailers throughout Rhode Island.
Lisa Raiola, President and Founder of Hope & Main explains, “During the long months of COVID lockdown many Rhode Islanders missed the comfort of their favorite local eateries. These dining rooms are like a second home for folks and add culinary variety to the menus that are often on repeat in our own kitchens. As the pandemic wore on, restaurateurs approached us with ideas to translate familiar flavors from their menus into products consumers could enjoy at home.
This was a light bulb moment when we realized that we could create a roadmap to develop and produce a sauce or seasoning or special dish and help many RI restaurants bring these items to market,” says Raiola.
In the late Fall of 2020, Raiola and her team applied for a $130,000 Technical Assistance and Training grant through Rhode Island Commerce Corporation made possible by Federal CARES Act Funds. The DishUp RI grants were designed to assist Rhode Island restaurants in navigating the complexities of starting up a product. This includes guidance on recipe development and stability testing, packaging and labeling, as well as marketing and sales.
“Production of consumer-packaged goods (CPGs) sold in grocery stores is a largely unfamiliar world to restaurant owners,” notes Raiola.
Chef Sanjiv Dhar of the Sanjiv Dhar Group of Indian Restaurants says, “As a chef with lifelong devotion to my craft, I am always learning something new. I know a great deal about managing a kitchen, but little about food manufacturing. I wanted to create an original product representative of our restaurants’ food heritage but did not know where to begin. The DishUp RI initiative helped me to master both a new skill set and a new mindset around food production.”
The DishUp RI interdisciplinary team assembled by Hope & Main includes Polaris MEP to provide lean manufacturing training; Rhode Island Hospitality to recruit a critical mass of restaurants to participate; Firebox Creative for graphic and packaging design consulting, and Dave’s Fresh Marketplace to equip restaurateurs with the how-to required to package, price, and brand a successful grocery item.
Ken Banalewicz, Specialty Food and Produce Buyer for Dave’s, says, “Dave’s Fresh Marketplace is a locally-owned and operated retailer, and we felt that it was important to support our restaurant community during these challenging times. Frankly, the DishUp RI products are some of the best local items we have tried, and we know they will do well in the store.”
DishUp RI products are being produced both in the participating restaurants themselves as well as at Hope & Main by their co-packing team. Raiola says, “This program is creating new revenue streams for Rhode Island restaurants and adding new food industry jobs.”
Dale Venturini, RIHA President says, “We are gratified to see how agile and responsive our food community has been to assist restaurants to recover from the pandemic. The project brings together our assets in the food manufacturing, hospitality, and grocery sectors in Rhode Island to create an entirely new category of products for the Ocean State. This will help to distinguish and future proof our local food economy.”
The first thirteen products will be available in all Dave’s Fresh Marketplace stores beginning Friday, May 21, and can also be purchased at local grocers and retailers throughout Rhode Island, including from the WhatsGood online app. New products will be introduced by additional restaurants throughout the summer. Says Raiola, “One of the great challenges of introducing a new food product is getting it on a shelf. This is a game-changer for the restaurants!”
To learn more about DishUp RI please visit
https://makefoodyourbusiness.org/dishupri/
About Hope & Main: Serving as Rhode Island’s premier food business incubator, and regarded as one of the nation’s most innovative since 2014, Hope & Main has helped over 300 food and beverage businesses, offering code-compliant kitchens, an integrated system of accessible resources, a community of educators, and a voice of advocacy. Hope & Main’s nonprofit mission is to empower an inclusive community of entrepreneurs to launch and cultivate thriving food businesses that are the foundation of a more just, sustainable, and resilient local food economy.
The DishUp RI launch will be on May 21, 2021, at Dave’s Fresh Marketplace, 1000 Division Road, East Greenwich, RI 02818. Event details can be found here: http://www.hopeandmain.org/events/dishupri-launch