A new incubator specifically for food businesses in Melbourne seemed like a good idea when it was first scoped in late 2019. After two years of disruption in hospitality and a groundswell of entrepreneurship, FoodINC looks like a stroke of genius.

FoodINC (short for Food Incubator and Network Centre) opened Friday at Melbourne Polytechnic's Preston campus, offering commercial kitchens, training and support for start-ups.

"We aim to be in a position to wrap services around them and connect them with people that can help answer questions," says incubator manager Lou Zarro.

The 10 founding members include early-stage businesses that have operated from home until now, making hot sauce, sweets or Middle Eastern specialties, as well as more established outfits looking to mentor others. Zarro hopes to have between 50 and 100 members by the end of the year.

Huda Albardawil, who runs a catering business specialising in Palestinian food, signed up primarily for the 115-square-metre kitchen, which will allow her to take larger orders.

Three years ago, Albardawil started Huda Kitchen Rules as a way to balance work with family, after her full-time job as a pharmacist was proving too time-consuming with three young children. Going from offering meals for two people to catering events for 50, she's now turning down 300-person catering orders. But not for much longer.

It's very much a place that's going to attract a community of people.

Lou Zarro, incubator manager

"I'm excited. It's a big step for me. I hope this happens for anyone else who is excited about their business and wants to do something special," she says.

Albardawil is also hoping FoodINC's networks will help her find her first staff members.

Project partners Melbourne Innovation Centre and Melbourne's North Food Group bring a wealth of contacts, including former Coles and Aldi buyers.

"It's very much a place that's going to attract a community of people. This does differ from a standard 'dark kitchen'," says Zarro.

Nationally, there was a 3.8 per cent net rise in the number of actively trading businesses in the 2020-2021 financial year, with higher figures (6.3 per cent) among retail. This period corresponds with Australia's early brushes with COVID-19 lockdowns that meant many in the food industry spent more time at home.

Several chefs in Melbourne have turned their lockdown pivots into permanent enterprises, including Johnny Di Francesco of pizzeria 400 Gradi. Retail spin-off Gradi Mercato offers the same award-winning Neapolitan pizza, but packaged for people to finish cooking at home.

Meatballs, fresh pasta, sauces and biscuits are also part of the retail line, which Di Francesco created in 2020. The products are now sold nationally by IGA and are stocked in select Woolworths and 150 Coles stores.

"Manufacturing is a completely different ball game to restaurants," Di Francesco says. He spent six months on testing, product labelling and food safety compliance before Gradi Mercato's products were ready for market. "But it's exciting because it's something new," he adds.

FoodINC's fledgling business members will be able to access five hours of formal mentoring across areas that suit their business as part of their annual $350 membership. They can also tap into Melbourne Polytechnic short courses on subjects such as food safety and hygiene.

Condiment business Bruce's Pantry started as a lockdown passion project of landscape architect Alanjohn Rooke-Jones.

After making his own chilli sauce, he expanded the project. He takes vegetables grown by small urban farmers in Melbourne, pays them above wholesale prices and turns the produce into sauces and preserves that generate additional income for these growers.

"I just went down this rabbit hole," he says. "People say hot sauce is a gateway drug."

Two years in, he's ready to improve his processes, find new distributors and do more product testing.

FoodINC has already connected him with consultants The Business of Food for shelf-life testing and other assistance. Rooke-Jones will also be able to scale up production from his kitchen bench to the quantities possible in a commercial kitchen.

"There's kitchens you can hire, but you'd be going in cold," he says. "There's no one there to tell you you should probably do this or you'll be needing that."

At $40 per hour, FoodINC'S kitchens are more affordable for small outfits like Huda Kitchen Rules. Albardawil was quoted $3,000 per month by another commercial kitchen, without any equipment included.

Zarro would like to see more incubators like FoodINC emerge in Australia, citing similar models in the US that have responded to deindustrialisation and food deserts.

FoodINC is already planning a second facility in Melbourne's north, and are in talks with Melbourne Polytechnic about expansion to their Epping campus.

"There's a real opportunity to grow this sector. We see ourselves as [the] first cab off the rank," says Zarro.

foodincubator.com.au