The Detroit Food Academy has always been about helping aspiring young Detroiters launch their own craft food business. Now the Midtown-based nonprofit has the means to make that possible.
The DFA recently launched
Small Batch Detroit, a subsidiary company that will feature a line of products created by academy students. The idea is to provide a proven avenue for these young people to test their products in a real market, and to help raise some funds for the nonprofit. Small Batch Detroit's first featured product is Mitten Bite, a sweet snack that will be sold in local Whole Foods markets and online.
"They are soft, chewy chunks of all-natural goodness," says Noam Kimelman, co-founder and board president of
Detroit Food Academy. "They come in chocolate peanut butter and cranberry."
Mitten Bite was designed by a Cody High School student a couple of years ago when he was one of DFA's earliest enrolees. He is now a high school graduate and the newest addition to the DFA's staff, where he is charged with helping build the fledgling organization. The DFA currently has a team of 10 people, including four recent additions, who are figuring out how to get their products in front of more consumers.
"We will be in 10 to 15, maybe 20, grocery stores (by the end of the year)," Kimelman says. "We are figuring out how to wholesale to grocery stores."
Source: Noam Kimelman, co-founder & board president of Detroit Food Academy
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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