The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), commissioned a research report to develop a better understanding of the shared commercial kitchen business model and its dynamics. The project team conducted a landscape analysis of the shared-use commercial kitchen industry throughout the state of Minnesota. The work consisted of interviews with key stakeholders, three regional focus groups, four case studies highlighting different operating models in urban and rural areas, and national best practices and perspectives on the industry at-large.
The work pursued clarity around and answers to the following questions:
- What is “broken” in the model for shared-use commercial kitchens?
- What factors contribute to the success or failure of these operations in Minnesota, and how do these challenges
differ in rural and urban communities? - What can we do at a state level to foster growth and development in this sector statewide?
To learn what the research team discovered, download the complete report.