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• Venture funding is weak in the food industry for creative business ideas Another of the interview questions asked the contacts to support either a for - profit or non-profit incubator model. Overwhelmingly, the incubators spoke in favor of a for -profit model, citing the inability of a non-profit incubator to effectively grow and innovate. Finally, the incubators were asked about their total capacity, and responses cited an average of approximately 5-12 different tenants at one time. Local culinary schools One of the key questions our group hoped to address was whether there was a pre-existing supply of individuals with the technical skills necessary to operate a start-up incubator or specific features the incubator would need to achieve short- and long-term success. In attempting to garner responses from individuals affiliated with or who have graduated from local culinary schools, we asked the following questions, and received the attached answers: • If you could run your own incubator kitchen space, what sort of features would you want in it? o Cooler space, table space, ovens, griddle, grill, and dishwashing area, both manual and automatic dishwasher • What do you think is the most challenging part of running a start-up? o Arriving at a menu or list of products you plan to offer, then of course staffing. Overall, we would need more information from culinary school affiliates to proceed with this part of the labor analysis process. However, it was helpful to receive feedback regarding necessary equipment for space, as our group by no means has a background in kitchen operations. Co -packagers Co -packagers are defined as companies that handle the packaging of previously produced food, so the food producers may focus on actual production. While co - packagers were not contacted for the purpose of this study, a list of co -packagers in Greater Minnesota was compiled (with approximately 1/3 of the total in the Twin Cities metropolitan area). The advantages of co -packagers lie in their specialized equipment for the purpose of packing food. Further, since they do not focus on producing the food, they are experts in their field and may be the cheapest option for a start-up kitchen incubator seeking to diminish costs as much as possible. Further, co -packagers are able to quickly respond to the needs of the food producer, especially if they are local to the 16