Food incubators, shared kitchens and pilot plants
Shared kitchens, incubators and university pilot plants. Every fact is checked against the manufacturer's own published information, with the date we checked it.
Shared kitchens, incubators and pilot plants sit between a home kitchen and a full co-packer. Cornell's Food Venture Center notes that some foods cannot be made in home kitchens at all, including acidified and low-acid foods, meat products and vacuum-packed foods1, and UF/IFAS points out that larger co-packers only produce greater amounts while smaller ones offer smaller runs2.
Expect a minimum even here: one entry on Cornell's co-packer list requires at least an 8-hour production run for pilot projects1. If you make acidified foods yourself, FDA requires supervision by someone who has completed an approved course, such as NC State's online Acidified Foods Manufacturing School34. Cornell's two-day Better Process Control School is $4455.
In this directory
18 plants in this directory describe themselves as a shared kitchen, incubator, commercial kitchen or pilot lab on their own websites. They are spread across 14 states, with the most in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Nebraska. 6 publish a minimum order, 3 state a GFSI-benchmarked certificate and 18 say they take startups or pilot runs.
Processes they state
- Bottling9
- Kettle cooking9
- Dehydration5
- Emulsifying and homogenizing5
- Hot fill5
- Spray drying5
- Canning4
- Acidified foods (21 CFR 114)3
Packages they fill
- Bags and flexible film3
- Bulk and foodservice3
- Aluminum cans2
- Glass bottles2
- Glass jars2
- Plastic bottles2
- Bag-in-box1
- Kegs1
Certifications they state
- GMP5
- USDA Organic5
- SQF3
- HACCP1
- Halal1
- Kosher1
Minimums these plants publish
- Advanced Powder DynamicsDA-5 pilot dryer minimum of 5 to 8 gallons of liquid feed (42 to 68 lb wet) per 8 hours of R&D work, or 6 to 12 gallons for low-volume production; DA-50 minimum 20 to 30 gallons for R&D
- Genuine LocalMinimum order is one batch: about 36 gallons for food (288 12 oz or 660 5 oz bottles) or 65 to 70 gallons for beverages (564 16 oz or 744 12 oz bottles)
- SprinkkNo MOQs; can produce down to one piece, with manufacturing time charged on lower quantities
- The Organic Food IncubatorPartner and private label program minimum of 600 units (45 cases of 12)
- Virginia Food Works4-hour minimum to book co-packing services
- Western Massachusetts Food Processing CenterCo-pack production runs yield between 500 and 2,000 units depending on unit size; farm value-added products each carry a minimum weight of the key farm ingredient
The plants
See every plant that takes startups- Payson, AZ
Contract and toll spray dryer in Payson, Arizona that turns liquid ingredients into powders for food and beverage, supplement, protein, pet feed and flavor customers, from lab trials on...
Process
Spray dryingEmulsifying and homogenizingPackaging
Bulk and foodserviceBags and flexible filmMinimum order
DA-5 pilot dryer minimum of 5 to 8 gallons of liquid feed (42 to 68 lb wet) per 8 hours of R&D work, or 6 to 12 gallons for low-volume production; DA-50 minimum 20 to 30 gallons for R&DTakes startups or pilot runs - Ames, IA
Iowa State University center with 14,000 sq ft of food processing and fermentation pilot plant space in Ames, plus a pilot-scale fermentation facility in Boone, Iowa, that does contract...
Process
FermentationExtrusionSpray dryingFreeze dryingDehydrationHTST pasteurization+6 moreMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Madison, WI
University of Wisconsin-Madison dairy research center in Babcock Hall, Madison, that does fee-for-service product development, prototyping and pilot trials for dairy companies from...
Process
HTST pasteurizationSpray dryingEmulsifying and homogenizingMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Fullerton, CA
Fullerton, California beverage co-packer, co-manufacturer and incubator with a specialty coffee background that roasts, blends and extracts coffee and tea into RTD drinks, extracts and...
Process
RoastingBottlingCanningPackaging
Plastic bottlesGlass bottlesAluminum cansKegs+1 moreMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Dorchester, MA
Nonprofit shared kitchen and food business incubator in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts that also runs a licensed co-manufacturing kitchen for small food companies, restaurants and...
Process
Hot fillKettle cookingBlast freezingPouch fillingBottlingPackaging
Bags and flexible filmMinimum order
Minimum not publishedWhat they say: States it has lower minimums than other co-packersTakes startups or pilot runs - Curio SweetsHouston, TX
Houston, Texas food product development firm with an in-house development and pilot facility that can handle limited production for some projects. Develops shelf-stable cookies, bars,...
Process
Not stated on their siteMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Laconia, NH
Small batch contract manufacturer and rental kitchen in Laconia, New Hampshire that specializes in hot pack and hold, shelf-stable products such as hot sauce, salsa, simple syrup and...
Process
Hot fillBottlingMinimum order
Minimum order is one batch: about 36 gallons for food (288 12 oz or 660 5 oz bottles) or 65 to 70 gallons for beverages (564 16 oz or 744 12 oz bottles)Takes startups or pilot runs - Ronan, MT
13,000 sq ft shared-use food processing facility in Ronan, Montana run by Mission West Community Development Partners, with seven production areas covering dry fill, USDA-inspected meat...
Process
SmokingKettle cookingSlicing and portioningBakingDehydrationBottlingPackaging
Bulk and foodserviceMinimum order
Not publishedSQF (level not verified)Takes startups or pilot runs - Kannapolis, NC
NC State cGMP pilot plant of 16,000 sq ft at the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis, North Carolina, offering ideation, product and process development, scale-up and pilot production for...
Process
Spray dryingFreeze dryingDehydrationExtrusionMilling and grindingDry blending+13 morePackaging
Bag-in-boxBags and flexible filmMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Columbus, OH
Pilot and small batch beverage manufacturer in Columbus, Ohio that cans and bottles soda, water, seltzer, tea, RTD cocktails and mocktails. Offers custom formulation, pilot runs so...
Process
CanningBottlingPackaging
Aluminum cansMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Bridgeton, NJ
Rutgers University food business incubator with a 23,000 sq ft USDA- and FDA-inspected, GMP-certified plant in Bridgeton, New Jersey, where clients develop, scale up and run fee-based...
Process
Hot fillAcidified foods (21 CFR 114)BottlingKettle cookingBlast freezingPackaging
Glass bottlesPlastic bottlesMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Paterson, NJ
Strictly gluten-free, vegetarian shared kitchen and co-packer in Paterson, New Jersey, with a 10,000 sq ft facility that rents production time and makes products for brands from...
Process
BakingDehydrationBottlingKettle cookingMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Omaha, NE
Nebraska candy development lab and small-scale contract manufacturer founded in 2019, with a development lab in Omaha and a flexible manufacturing facility in Albion. Develops and...
Process
Molding and depositingPan coatingMinimum order
No MOQs; can produce down to one piece, with manufacturing time charged on lower quantitiesTakes startups or pilot runs - Lincoln, NE
University of Nebraska-Lincoln service center in the Food Innovation Center in Lincoln, operating since 1983, that offers product and process development, pilot plant scale-up,...
Process
ExtrusionHPP (in house)Batch pasteurizationEmulsifying and homogenizingSpray dryingFreeze drying+9 moreMinimum order
Not publishedSQF (level not verified)Takes startups or pilot runs - Bloomfield, NJ
SQF and USDA Organic certified contract manufacturer and co-packer in Bloomfield, New Jersey, founded in 2009 as a kitchen incubator, that makes sauces, condiments, soups, jams, salsas,...
Process
FermentationMinimum order
Partner and private label program minimum of 600 units (45 cases of 12)SQF (level not verified)Takes startups or pilot runs - UGA Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center (FoodPIC)Griffin, GA
University of Georgia product development center on the Griffin campus that helps start-ups and existing food companies with formulation, prototyping, packaging and processing...
Process
Not stated on their siteMinimum order
Not publishedTakes startups or pilot runs - Farmville, VA
Nonprofit that runs commercial co-packing and production rental at the VDACS-inspected Prince Edward County Cannery and Commercial Kitchen in Farmville, Virginia, serving farmers and...
Process
Hot fillKettle cookingAcidified foods (21 CFR 114)Packaging
Glass jarsMinimum order
4-hour minimum to book co-packing servicesTakes startups or pilot runs - Greenfield, MA
Nonprofit food processing center in Greenfield, Massachusetts, run by the Franklin County Community Development Corporation since 2001. Co-packs shelf-stable prepared and acidified foods...
Process
Hot fillAcidified foods (21 CFR 114)Kettle cookingPackaging
Glass jarsTubsMinimum order
Co-pack production runs yield between 500 and 2,000 units depending on unit size; farm value-added products each carry a minimum weight of the key farm ingredientTakes startups or pilot runs
Read before you call
- What it costs to launch with a co-packer
- What is a co-packer?
- Low-acid canned foods and acidified foods: the pH 4.6 line
Other categories
Sources
- Cornell Food Venture Center, Kitchens and Co-Packers (University)
- UF/IFAS Extension FS380, Finding and Using a Co-packer (University)
- NC State Extension, Resources and Steps for Acidified Processors (University)
- NC State Extension, Acidified Foods Manufacturing School (University)
- Cornell Food Venture Center, Services and Fees (University)
General information, not legal or regulatory advice. Confirm your product's requirements with a process authority or regulator. Plant facts come from each manufacturer's own published information; see the data policy.