 Blue Ridge Food Ventures
OVERVIEW OF BLUE RIDGE FOOD VENTURES
Blue Ridge Food Ventures is an 11,000 sq. ft. shared-use kitchen incubator and natural products manufacturing facility that offers support in product development, guidance through the maze of regulations governing safe production of food products and dietary supplements, advice on packaging and label design, and much more.
We're here to help people who dream--of getting their artisan food products to market, of running a baking or catering business, or even operating their own hot dog cart! We also help individuals and small businesses that want to make natural products and herbal dietary supplements, and get them into bottles and tubes and onto store shelves.
Watch this UNC-TV segment on Blue Ridge Food Ventures.
Statement from Blue Ridge Food Ventures
Internships!
We are looking for interns to work with our programs ranging from the retail and e-commerce Holiday Red Box Program to Winter Sun Farms business management, logistics tracking, processing and delivery. Or maybe you want experience in marketing the Natural Products Manufacturing Facility all over the Southeast US? Click here for more information on our internship positions.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS: Our next "Starting Your Specialty Food Business Class" series will be in
held in the Fall of 2012. Come back often for more information! If you can't wait till then, check out Mountain Biz Works for their classes.
CLASSES & EVENTS
Class on FDA Requirements for Natural Products: Good Manufacturing Practices
May 11 and 25, 2012, 10am-4pm
If you are thinking of making an herbal product that falls under the Dietary Supplements definition of the FDA, you will need to take a class on current Good Manufacturing Practices for Dietary Supplements where you will learn what is required by law to safely manufacture, label and market your product.
As a part of the class, you can also tour the new Natural Products Manufacturing Facility at Blue Ridge Food Venture to learn how you can make your products in our facility and easily meet the requirements of the law. The class will be held at the AB Tech/Enka Campus. If you have questions, call Chris Reedy: 828-348-0130.
Should you Start your Food, Farm or Natural Products Business (NC REAL) Natural Products Business
8-week program attendees will have the opportunity to decide if an agricultural, food or natural products idea or hobby can become a profitable and sustainable business. The class will utilize the NC REAL program in order to emphasize market forces, financial planning, product development, and entrepreneurial skills necessary for determining whether that great idea can become a sustainable, competitive agricultural, natural product or food business. If you have ever wondered whether your special pickles, raspberry jam or herbal soaps can add to your income this class is for you!
Start Date: 03 April 2012
Total Cost: $51.40
To Register: http://www1.abtech.edu/schedules#coned
Course Section Number: SEF-1055-100EN
WINTER SUN FARMS CSA
.JPG) Blue Ridge Food Ventures operates Winter Sun Farms—a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program that provides members with frozen fruits and vegetables from Western North Carolina farmers. The sustainably grown produce is harvested at its peak, then quickly prepared and frozen for wintertime enjoyment. Once a month from December through March, members receive an assortment of diced, sliced or chopped vegetables; scrumptious berries—red, black and blue; and vegetable purees ready to become instant soups or healthy dips. Eat local all year round—from farm to freezer to your table in no time.
It's Time to Sign Up Now for the 2012-13 Season !
Pickup sites for the 2012-2013 winter season are at Blue Ridge Food Ventures on the A-B Tech Enka campus in West Asheville; the Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville (number of subscribers here is limited, first come, first served); Hand in Hand Gallery in Flat Rock; and new this year--the Merry Wine Market in Black Mountain.
CLICK HERE to go to the WSF website to sign up. Thank you for your support.
NATURAL PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING FACILITY
Our Natural Products Manufacturing Facility is a current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP)-compliant facility that allows individuals and small businesses to grind a variety of herb and plant materials, prepare herbal extracts and bottle, label and seal their products. Support services from the Natural Products Laboratory at the BioBusiness Center helps clients meet relevant regulatory guidelines. Find out more here.
TOURS
Tours and visits to Blue Ridge Food Ventures are given by appointment only. After you have studied the website and begun your business planning, please contact us by email with the completed questionnaire (see below). Due to the volume of client appointments, it usally takes about two weeks to set up a meeting.
Initial Tour and Consultation Fee $60 - Includes facility tour & overview of services offered: guidance on product development, regulatory issues and packaging. If you become a BRFV user, this applies as your orientation and application fee.
To request an appointment, please fill in our questionnaire.
A tour for individuals or groups from out of the Western North Carolina region who might be interested in starting their own incubator facility is $75 per hour.
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Directions
Driving directions from I-40 west bound or east bound: Take Exit 44. At the traffic light at the end of the exit ramp, turn right (south on 19/23). Go to the fourth traffic light and turn left on Sand Hill Road. Go to the second entrance on the left and turn into the campus. The Haynes Conference Center will be on your right and Blue Ridge Food Ventures in the Incubator Building on your left.
Blue Ridge Food Ventures
Testimonial
AdvantageWest and Blue Ridge Food Ventures enabled me to turn my idea for a business into a reality. You rock!
Leslie Suber
Owner
Sadie’s Caribbean Fish Cakes
Testimonial
Using Blue Ridge Food Ventures, I was able to move quickly to get my award-winning product from testing to full production in just a year.
Ricardo Fernandez
Owner
Chef Ricardo's Authentic Appalachian Tomato Sauces
Mary Lou Surgi
, Executive Director
Blue Ridge Food Ventures
1461 Sand Hill Road
Candler, NC 28715
ph. 828-348-0128
fx. 828-348-0486
Email Mary Lou Surgi
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