AURI is proud to announce the fourth installment of the Agricultural Innovation Partnership (AIP) program. This program will help catalyze innovation, generate new ideas and support collaborative partnerships that advance Minnesota’s value-added agricultural industry. For this year’s program, AURI is seeking proposals on four distinct topics related to innovation and food in Minnesota.
1. Building and Enhancing an Indoor and Outdoor Food Fish Industry in Minnesota
For this partnership, AURI seeks consultants and technical writers to assemble a comprehensive science and economic based guide to building and enhancing an indoor/outdoor food fish industry in Minnesota. The guide will include the following topics: regulatory and permitting requirements, infrastructure and processing, fish health protocols, food fish markets and supply chain analysis, business and financial resources, and coproducts utilization such as pet food, fertilizers and other uses.
2. Demystifying Digital Marketing and E-Commerce for Food Businesses
AURI seeks proposals to create public domain self-guided tools and/or modules for the purpose of demystifying e-commerce and digital marketing for Minnesota’s food businesses. These could come in a number of forms and should help food businesses address the following:
- What is e-commerce and digital marketing, and how do I start?
- What are the different online platforms?
- What is the difference between self and 3PL order fulfillment?
3. Creating a Marketing Guide for Food Businesses
AURI recognizes the need for development of effective marketing strategies to build and grow a sustainable food business. As such, AURI is seeking proposals to create a food business marketing guide highlighting strategies, tools and resources in:
- Creating and communicating a value proposition to transform a product into a brand
- How distributors, brokers and retailers work
- Managing investment and cash flow to build a sustainable growth model
- Best practices for effective advertising and market identification/growth strategies
4. Conducting a Food Ecosystem Benchmarking Study
AURI is seeking proposals to conduct a food innovation ecosystem benchmarking study. This study would unveil the characteristics of a highly collaborative and integrated innovation ecosystem that delivers national and global impacts. The best practices identified in this study should help foster innovations, new businesses and new technologies necessary to solve the global challenges of food security, health, sustainability and supply chain resiliency. The ultimate goal is to identify strategies that would enhance MN’s reputation as a global leader for food innovation.