StartUP FIU Food
Supporting Miami’s food entrepreneurs to build and grow successful, long lasting companies.
Learn more about our program:
StartUP FIU Food delivers its industry expertise and management training using a practical, hands-on approach that stresses the development of new skills and tools to be immediately applied to the business without the need for large capital outlays.
Cooking Up A Stronger Community
The world is becoming increasingly specialized and this holds true for pre-accelerators and accelerators. StartUP FIU Food is a domain-specific, industry-focused incubator that serves local, small food and beverage business owners that want to grow and scale their companies. The Chaplin School of Tourism and Hospitality partners with StartUP FIU to bring world-class expertise and practical knowledge about every aspect of the food and beverage industry—from recipe development to packaging design and regulatory requirements—to the participating business owners. The industry focus is complemented with a full range of training in entrepreneurship and small business management. StartUP FIU Food was launched & supported by a $500,000 grant from the Citi Foundation, which supported business owners who are most in need of additional resources and training.
“We are vested in the success of our local community of entrepreneurs, and strive to integrate our faculty expertise with our students’ entrepreneurship, innovation and drive to succeed. Together, the Chaplin School and StartUP FIU Food is making a difference in higher education innovation!“
-Dr. Michael Cheng, Interim Dean, Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Food Incubator
StartUP FIU Food Incubator is a cooperative effort with the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management to leverage a state of the art commercial kitchen to develop food entrepreneurs.
This program is not limited to FIU students or alumni.
“Our goal is to enrich the South Florida ecosystem by providing education, industry resources, and events to better serve the needs of food industry members.”
-Anna Etienne, Director, StartUP FIU Food.
FEED
Food Entrepreneurs Educational Development Restaurant Virtual Bootcamp
StartUP FIU Food has developed a new initiative called StartUP FIU Food On Demand. As part of this initiative, our F.E.E.D Membership presents an all-new Restaurant Virtual Bootcamp. This bootcamp sponsored by Wells Fargo will offer free online consulting sessions, weekly online Zoom webinars, group mentor sessions, and online networking sessions to hospitality employees most affected by closures and layoffs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This program is not limited to FIU students or alumni.
Certificate Programs
In Spring of 2018, StartUP FIU Food will offer a 3-month non-degree certificate program in Finance or Marketing & Branding for local food entrepreneurs. You’ll gain industry-specific business training and have access to a full range of resources.
“In this program hands-on, practical techniques are used to better understand today’s food customer and apply this knowledge to scale a sustainable business.”
-Anna Etienne, Director, StartUP FIU Food
StartUP FIU Food Mentors and Consultants
Mentors are a critical success factor for any program to accelerate the growth of a business. Their experience and advice saves time, energy and capital for busy entrepreneurs. StartUP FIU Food prides itself on its mentors, many of whom manage some of the most well known companies in Miami.
“When you risk it all, it’s like burning your safety net…and there is nothing there to catch you if you fail. High risk, high reward.”
-Letty Alvarez, StartUP FIU Food Mentor, CEO of LA Sweetz
“When you risk it all, it’s like burning your safety net…and there is nothing there to catch you if you fail. High risk, high reward.”
-Letty Alvarez, StartUP FIU Food Mentor, CEO of LA Sweetz
“When you risk it all, it’s like burning your safety net…and there is nothing there to catch you if you fail. High risk, high reward.”
-Letty Alvarez, StartUP FIU Food Mentor, CEO of LA Sweetz
“When you risk it all, it’s like burning your safety net…and there is nothing there to catch you if you fail. High risk, high reward.”
-Letty Alvarez, StartUP FIU Food Mentor, CEO of LA Sweetz
Michelle Roopchand
MKR Media Lab
Misha Gomez
Misha’s Cupcake
Hyacinth Henderson
The Henderson Financial Group
Federico Gil Perez
Consultant GIL de Luna LLC
Pilar Guzman-Zavala
Half Moon Empanadas
Allen Susser
Chef Allen’s Consulting
Vicky Colas
Chef Vicky
Vania Laguerre
Merrill Lynch
Vivian Olodun, Sasha Revolus, Tracy Timberlake
Flourish Media
Gabriel Fraga
Brain Freeze Nitrogen Ice Cream & Yogurt Lab
Luisa Santos
Lulu’s Ice Cream
Leslie Kaplan
The Piping Gourmets
Letty Alvarez
LA Sweetz
Zak Stern
Zak the Baker
Leticia Pollock
Panther Coffee
Romy B. Jurado
Jurado & Farshchian
Karina Pimentel
Trade Marketing Consultant
Scott Joseph
South Florida Food & Beverage Association
Alex Miranda
The Creative Complex
Alexander Ruiz de Aguirre Galarza
Kendu In-Store Visual Solutions
Jilea Hemmings
GREENIE TOTS, ESHECONSULTING
Andres Dominguez Dillon
Natural Sins Co
Suzzette Turnbull
Uncommon Marketing
Dorothée Rubin
LDEi Miami
Anthony Leone
Energy Kitchen
Carolina Braunschweig
Clio Snacks
Abe Ng
Sushi Maki
Andreas Schreiner
Pubelly Restaurant Group
Samuel Gorenstein
My Ceviche & Laffa Mediterranean Kitchen
Dan Collins
I Mac and Cheese
Alan Philips
SomeDay Consulting
David Foulquier
Fooq’s Miami
Contact Us
If you’d like to set up time to speak with someone from the StartUP FIU Food program, or receive more information please feel free to send us a message and we will get back to you at our earliest convenience.
