This module provides an overview of food incubators and the first steps in developing one. It discusses how food incubators support culinary entrepreneurs through shared commercial kitchen space and business services. The summary explains that thorough research, feasibility studies, and business planning are crucial first steps to understand demand and ensure long-term viability before developing a food incubator.

1. Module 1 - Creating
Possibilities for Food
Incubation in your
Region
This programme has been funded with support from the
European Commission

2. By completing Module 1 (the first of 6 modules),
learners will learn how to
•Understand the context and role of incubators and food
•Review of the potential of the food sector in their region
and the appetite and demand for food incubation
facilities
•Conduct a robust and credible feasibility analysis
•Use research tools to establish need
•Identify the ideal location and suitable premises
•How to technically assess and SWOT each building
"The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not
constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the
authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsi­ble for any use which may be
made of the information contained therein."

3. 1.1 What is a Food Incubator ?
Food incubators are shared-use commercial production
units or kitchens that culinary entrepreneurs can rent in
order to commercially produce food products. They come
in many guises (explored in detail in Module 2) but
typically include:-
Core food processing/ production unit or units within
an enterprise centre infrastructure
Once a novelty, the interest in food incubators is coupled
with a trend of increased investment in the food industry.
Increasingly, success relies on operators going beyond
just providing shared space and offering a more diverse
set of resources for culinary entrepreneurs.
Some examples include..

4. • A food incubator
offering independent
food production units
to start up or growing
businesses
• a shared use incubator
kitchen where
established small
businesses can cut
their operating costs
• an accelerator training
programme for people
looking to change
careers by becoming a
foodpreneur
Most facilities include rental
kitchens, dry storage, refrigerated
storage, and freezer storage, as
well as a variety of other facilities.

5. • a combination of these
formats e.g. a shared use
community kitchen which
can be used for start-up
food enterprises and for
training provision for the
food and catering sector.
A shared use community
kitchen can be an
important component
within the overall offering
of a food incubator and
can provide valuable
rental income.

6. Added value services are typically provided through:-
•Business development - working food entrepreneurs
“from concept to commercialization”
•Market testing
•Product development
•Networking services
•Regulatory assistance
•Logistics and economies of scale
•Quality control

7. Incubators are an idea born sometime in the 1960s but
became popular during the ‘80s in the US as the
government "looked for new instruments to stimulate
economic development and job creation"
Across Europe, technology incubators are playing a vital
role in supporting new tech entrepreneurs to strive
forward. However, the emergence of food incubators,
while lower profile, are powerful drivers of local
economies. As business incubators developed to food
grade standard, they save clients the cost of building
their own units or kitchens and lower the barriers to
entry for food businesses catalyzing the growth of small
business, jobs, and culture.
Through collaboration, execution, and mindfulness, we bring people together
for commerce, cooperation, and contribution to build the community we want
to live in. - Shane Bonner, Newmarket Kitchen, Ireland

8. 1.2 Why are Food Incubators needed ?
•Clustering food businesses in a central multi-tenant
production hub can be a dynamic business development
process involving a strong community focus and input.
•A food incubation centre can not only provide affordable
production space, but also in developmental terms, help to
reduce the failure rate of early stage companies and speed
the growth of companies which have the potential to
become substantial generators of local employment and
wealth.
•A food production infrastructure centre is distinguished
by its unique environment with the lower expense of a
shared business facility, and can incorporate on-site
advice, support and business assistance.

9. • Across all EU nations, speciality and artisan food
products are gaining market share and a new
generation of savvy food entrepreneurs are emerging.
• However, food businesses are among the riskiest
forms of enterprise not least because of the high
levels of innovation needed and the high capital set
up costs. At the same time, many people want to
start a food business based on their passion for food.
• Expanding interest in food incubators is not
surprising considering recent trends and the
economic potential in the culinary industry. In the
US, between August 2013 and March 2016 the
number of kitchen incubators increased by more
than 50% to over 200 facilities.

10. • Interestingly food incubators tend to have a
significant percentage of female clients, ethnic/racial
minorities, and/or those coming from low-income
backgrounds.
Research shows that established food incubators
benefit their host communities by:
• Creating the employment opportunities that
accompany successful small business start-up and
growth strategies.
• Creating food products that celebrate what is unique
and best about a community – its local produce,
ethnic traditions and creative populace – while
keeping a greater percentage of food income
circulating in the local economy.
• Providing new markets for local agricultural products
and establishing rural-urban links.

11. 1.3 Challenges
•While there are clear benefits for entrepreneurs who
want to work in a food incubator, running one is a
complex and often daunting prospect. The main
challenge is the fact that incubators rise and fall based
on the success of their member entrepreneurs. In
August 2013 Ecoconsult Solutions conducted a survey
among US food incubators. Their report highlights that
incubator fortunes are tied closely to the success of
their member entrepreneurs whose challenges include
a lack of business experience.
•Other challenges faced by incubators include issues
related to facility costs, design and scheduling,
attraction of high-quality entrepreneurs, and regulatory
compliance issues.

12. Achieving viability stands out in the report …
Only 39 percent of US for-profit incubators report making
a profit, while 57 percent break even.
Non-profit incubators have an even more difficult time
being self-sustaining, with just 15 percent making money
and a 31 percent operating at a loss.
NOTE -Non-profit organisations often have multiple objectives (not
always economic) due to their wide stakeholder grouping

13. Some interesting findings from that report…
•The large majority (77%) of facilities have fewer than
three full-time staff members to run the facility’s
operations and programming.
•An overwhelming number (86%) are open for business
24/7 (however, only 18% are always staffed when
open).
•The most common forms of contracting with users are
through a monthly lease (36%) or a membership
agreement (32%).
•Most incubators (67%) have fewer than 25 users,
while 27% have 25-50 users, and 6% have over 50
users. On average 61% of users are women, 28% are
low-income, and 32% are minorities.

14. 1.4 Who Uses Food Incubators?
Food incubator users span a wide spectrum of people who
need to use a commercial kitchen as their production (or
training) output. This includes:-
Artisan and start-up food businesses in need of
their first facility;
Home-based businesses that wish to scale up
whilst adhering to HSE regulation;
Farmer’s Market Traders;
Chefs or instructors in need of a facility to teach
classes;
Businesses looking to grow or reach a new market.
Catering and Food Service Professionals- these
businesses include caterers, personal chefs, bakers,
street vendors and producers of artisan food items.

15. First Step: Research, Feasibility and
Business Plan

16. 1.5 First Step: Research, Feasibility, And Business
Plan
Given the high cost of food infrastructure development,
extensive research, needs assessment and feasibility
studies are vital before embarking on such a complex
venture.
It is important for incubators to be diligent in
identifying demand for their offering and even specific
anchor users. This research will ensure the they are
able to design the space to better meet their users’
needs – both from an equipment/flow standpoint and
from an access, pricing, and operations perspective.

17. A food incubator often starts as a grass roots aspiration‐
as organisers believe there is a need for such a facility in
their region or community. The idea comes to the
forefront because a known group of potential users are
interested.
There are three levels of feasibility assessment that
should be undertaken:
i) Market study: Who will use the incubator? For what?
ii) Operation feasibility: Who will manage the facility?
What structure is needed for long term viability?‐
iii) Economic feasibility: Can the facility be self‐
sustaining /profit generating in a reasonable amount of
time? Will it generate adequate cash flow?

18. The feasibility assessment is essential to guide the promoter
on the format of the incubator, the potential and marketing
considerations.
Why ?
•The feasibility assessment should provide the knowledge,
conviction and specific operational insights into the viability of
a project, in terms of market, technical and other perspectives.
•It should allow the project concept to be tested in a practical
marketplace setting without major resource commitments.
•It will provide the blueprint for developing the concept into a
business plan and subsequent start-up.
•The feasibility assessment document acts as a reference for
support agencies, grant aiding authorities, potential partners,
business associates and lending institutions, as a basis for
generating interest and commitment for the proposed
incubator.

20. A decision tree is a graph that
uses a branching method to
illustrate every possible
outcome of a decision.
Download our template (word
document) so you can complete
your own.
See page 60.

21. The best survey results are achieved when the promoters create a
targeted research listing. Brainstorm a list of stakeholders
without screening, including everyone who has an interest in
food and supporting the food sector. Where possible, identify
individuals. Use the following list to help you brainstorm:
-Food entrepreneurs
-Local food markets
-Government (e.g. public authorities, and local policymakers)
-Food networks and marketing groups
‐ Cooking/catering associations and restaurants
‐ Business and SME funding support bodies
-Community organisations and NGOs involved in food
-Chambers of Commerce
‐ Opinion leaders and media
-Farm representative bodies
-HEIs and VET with an involvement in food
-Property owners and investors
-Regulators and food safety authorities
-Environment (e.g. advocates and NGOs)

22. Your Contact Their relevance to your food
incubator research
The perspective they offer Research Action
e.g. Food Business
Network
Potential source of growing food
businesses who
may need increased food production
space
Technical requirements of their food
business – space, fit out specification,
price expectations, terms and conditions
Conduct workspace needs
survey
(see Module 1 questionnaire)
Hold a focus group
e.g. Council
Economic
As supporters of food businesses and
perhaps as
What supports/facilities are available from One to one meeting
Development
Personnel
property owners local government , e.g.
underutilised building or
development site, financial supports or
interested as an
equity partner

23. Before making contact, do some groundwork to understand their
relevance, the perspective they offer, and their relationship to the
issue of food incubators.
NOTE OF CAUTION !
Be aware that while some of your potential tenant respondents
may very interested and enthusiastic, they may not transpire to
be your ultimate tenants. There can be a long lead in time from
conducting research to the opening of the incubator and they
may have made alternative arrangements.

24. Calling new & growing food companies - are you interested
food production facilities in <INSERT REGION>?
Business
Name ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
Your
Name ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
Current Business
Address ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................
Correspondence Address if
different ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................
............................................
Telephone .......................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
Email .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................
In what year was your food business established? If you are at set up,
when do you hope to be in production?
About Your Product
Please indicate the manufacturing category which best describes your
business and list your key product lines.

25. To maximise Response Rates, a good introduction is vital
•Explain who is conducting the survey
•Appeal to ego (their opinion is invaluable to you)
•Give forewarning/advance notice of the research
•Include respond by dates
•Emphasise confidentiality
•Incentivise responses
•Explain how the data will be used
•Sets expectations for the time requirement
•Expresses gratitude for the respondents’ time and insights

26. FREE ONLINE RESEARCH TOOLS
Survey Monkey Basic www.surveymonkey.com
Cost: Free. Enhanced plans with additional services circa €200 per annum.
What It Is: An online survey and opinion poll service.
How to Use It: You can create surveys free of charge for your own
audience. For a fee, you also can get feedback from your target audience
via SurveyMonkey's own samples.
Survey Gizmo https://www.surveygizmo.com/free-survey-software/
Unlimited surveys, questions, and responses. Over 25 question types!
Download your data to a CSV or generate a graphical report.
Stay free as long as you like and upgrade and downgrade.
Google Forms https://www.google.com/forms/about/
Easy-to-create surveys and forms for everyone
Create custom forms for surveys and questionnaires at no cost. Gather
everything in a spreadsheet and analyse data directly in Google Sheets
.

27. Maximise Online Survey Success
• Time commitment
A best practice is to keep your online survey to 5 minutes or less.
According to SurveyGizmo:
“Survey Length – Research has shown that surveys should take 5
minutes or less to complete. Although 6 – 10 minutes is acceptable,
longer than 11 minutes will likely result in significant
abandonment rates.
• Use Skip Logic
• Include an Open-Ended Question at the End
This allows room for comments on topics you didn’t ask,
clarification of answers, and other detail e.g.is there anyone else
in your network that could contribute to this research and from
whom we could learn
• Include a Thank You Page
Thank the respondent for their time, confirm that you’ve received
their responses successfully, and provide a phone number or
email address for them to contact you.

28. Don’t forget to test your survey!
A key part of the planning process is testing your survey. Find
some people to take your survey without any coaching from you,
and then gather their feedback. Ask them about their general
impression. You should also ask some specific questions:
1.Was the survey engaging?
2.How long did it take you to complete?
3. Was the question flow logical?
4.Were there any confusing questions?
5.Were there any areas of frustration?
When you test the survey with several people, DO look at the
data that comes back. Get this raw data into your spreadsheet
or data analysis program and start the process of analysing
your data. If there are any issues with data structure, improper
question type or scale types, they will likely present themselves
here and you can fix them before you launch the real deal.

29. One on One Interviews and Focus Groups‐ ‐
It is advisable to follow up the questionnaire responses
with one on one interviews or focus groups with the most‐ ‐
promising responses across a cross section including new
and expanding food entrepreneurs (potential
tenants/users), business development representatives and
statutory parties (people with expertise). This could also be
achieved through group discussions.
Invite people for the contribution (value) that they can offer
in the focus group.
•Do they have the information and expertise on the issue
that could be helpful to objectives of the focus group?
•How much influence do they have, e.g. companies,
funders, potential tenants etc.

30. Best practice:
•Prepare a set of semi-structured, probing questions
in advance that build on the scope of the online
questionnaire but seek deeper responses
•Ensure the interviewer has good interpersonal and
listening skills and is careful not to demonstrate their
own interviewer bias.

31. Use social media, blogging, online forums, and any other
community spaces you can find (online or off) to conduct your
research. E.g.
LinkedIn Groups are great way to build credibility and make
new connections that can ultimately help grow your business
Facebook (groups) e.g.
•For example, the Slow Food Youth Network Nederland with
the closed group Slow Food Nederland.
Market Research Online Communities (MROC)

32. Market Research Online Communities (MROC)

33. Study Visits, an essential research component
The personal exchange of experience and information that is yielded
from a study visit is extremely valuable and gives life to desk
research. Given the US is so advanced in food incubators a study
visit would be desirable but perhaps not possible, some examples of
visits:-
•Every year, The Food Hub, Ireland hosts at least 20 study visits from
Ireland and throughout Europe.
•Dutch FITR partner Business Development Friesland led a study visit
to Copenhagen’s CPH Food Space.
•In researching the set up of Newmarket Kitchen, Ireland, Shane
Bonner visited food incubators in Washington.
Make sure to organise study visits professionally so that everyone
receives maximum benefits from it. Personal connections and
networks made will be useful for future co-operations.

34. Best Practice Incubator Research
In addition to study visits, conduct desk research and telephone
consultations to build up strong profiles of food incubators in
your area and further afield.
Questions to ask existing food incubators
•What is its purpose? Profit generating or altruistic
•By whom is this organised?
•What did it cost and how were those funds raised ?
•What are existing facilities? (format and scale of production
(high risk, low risk), shared kitchen space facilities and
equipment provided, storage, added resources e.g. shared
distribution, networking, mentoring).
•To what extent are the facilities available?

35. Questions to ask existing food incubators (continued)
•Current usage and trends
•Target clients and marketing tactics
•Pricing Models
•Management structure and staffing
•What are challenges/ limitations?
•Any development plans?

36. Our FITR project partners in Ireland, the Netherlands and
Northern Ireland, UK undertook such research.
Presenting this Information
Presenting this information in a Mapping format is a
powerful methodology. Mapping gives a very visual
oversight of supply and creates a strong geographic gap
analysis.
Beyond infrastructure, the mapping exercise can be extended
to include higher level institutions with food programmes
and colleges with test kitchen facilities.
Netherlands mapping
Ireland mapping
Northern Ireland UK mapping

38. TOOLS TO ASSIST MAPPING
Google Maps is a free Web-based service that provides
detailed information about geographical regions and sites
around the world. Key editing features currently available
in Google Maps include:
Add a place
Edit info about a place
Share more details about a place
Moderate edits

40. The next phase of research that needs to be conducted is a
macro analysis of your region’s potential for a food incubator.
You need to research and capture information about:
•Food industry profile to include food production and food
consumption
•Food infrastructure availability and deficits
•Entrepreneurial climate, start-up and self employment culture
and entrepreneurship in food sector
•Potential barriers in food sector
•Identify policies and programmes that underpin the national
and regional food sector
You will find this information by researching government,
academic and industry research and market reports in which you
will find information about current policies and support
initiatives in relation to food and entrepreneurship. The purpose
of such secondary research sources is to develop a telling market
overview of the environment in which a food incubator could be
developed.

41. Writing Up your Research Findings
For some, this is the hardest part! Now that you have
informative and insightful research findings, it is important
to present your efforts/body of work in an accessible way.
Your aim is to provide your reader with an in-depth view of
the potential of establishing a food incubator. It is
important to keep the findings report detailed but succinct,
informative yet interesting, and concise but critical.
Your report should
– Give context to the motivation behind the research
project, the scope of the research and the methodology
used. Explain why the research was done, what was found,
what the findings mean, and what needs to happen now
– Use research findings to develop conclusions and develop
an argument about your findings

42. Writing Up your Research Findings
Questions your report should address
– What was the research problem/need/opportunity?
– Why is researching the potential of food incubators
important?
– How did you investigate the research problem?
– What are your findings?
– What do these findings tell you?
– How does the project fit into the context of other
research?
– What do you conclude?
– What are the next steps/calls to action?
Do not be daunted. Writing is an iterative process. You do
not have to start at the beginning!

43. Presenting and Sharing your Research Findings
Presenting your research and the conclusions drawn
from it is an important method of disseminating your
findings and getting key stakeholders to subscribe and
commit to your vision.
•Prepare and share an executive summary of your
findings and share with all those on your research
listing.
•Visualise your data : Present graphs or charts with
important numbers and findings. Try infographics!
While there are free templates (Canva and Venngage), it
may be a wise investment to commission a designer to
present your key findings in an infographic.

44. Example of an Infographic
While not research focused, the principles of this incubator
infographic example apply. Mess Hall is a US food incubator with
four shared kitchens. Founder Al Goldberg provides a snapshot of
their 2016 performance through numbers.

45. Example of an Infographic
http://www.newmarketkitchen.com/blog/february-16th

46. Presenting and Sharing your Research Findings
•Workshop –host a workshop and share your findings
with all interested parties. Share this presentation
widely online.
•Speaking Opportunities – seek opportunities to share
your findings at food networking conferences and
events.
•Use technology to share your information and
stimulate interest
Ideas include (click on links for suggested tools)
• sharing a blog post,
• host a webinar
• host a Facebook Live event

48. Identify the ideal area/location
and suitable premises

49. 1.6 Choosing your Incubator Facility
Like the many different formats of food incubator (see
more in Module 2), you may have different options in
terms of identifying your facility:-
•A new build on a greenfield site
•Retrofitting an existing food facility
Renting, leasing or purchase options are also in the mix.
Your circumstances will determine your choices. For cost
reasons, retrofitting an existing food facility rather than
building a new one often seems to be the better option.
However, existing facilities are not always available, and
if they are, they are not necessarily less expensive to
retrofit than to build from scratch.

51. • Shared commercial kitchen in Amsterdam
• First food incubator in the Netherlands
• Established in 2015
• 900 m2 of production space
• 20 food companies
• http://www.kitchenrepublic.nl/home/
Kitchen Republic

52. Kitchen republic
– More info
Read more articles about Kitchen
Republic:
•https://foodbrigade.nl/2016/bundelen-krachten-als-basis-succes
/
•http://magazine.foodinspiration.c
om/nl/magazine/10259/793966/
kitchen_republic.html
•https://www.deondernemer.nl/ni
euwsbericht/116959/kitchen-
republic-werkplaats-voor-food-
start-ups-groeit
•http://mezpiration.nl/ondernemer
sinspiratie-kitchen-republic-
flitsende-start-jonge-food-
ondernemers/

53. 1.7 Assessing the Target Area’s Infrastructure
The target area for the food incubator needs to be
thoroughly assessed to determine if the location has all the
necessary components for success including:-
•a demand base of emerging and growing food
entrepreneurs,
•welcoming and predisposed funding bodies,
•access to university research expertise,
•infrastructure and zoning/planning considerations
•transportation and access opportunities
•access to labour force
•level of interest within the local community e.g. Chamber
of Commerce
Write up an insightful and robust area profile which will
compliment and build on your earlier research. This will
feed into your business plan.

54. 1.8 Assessing Potential Location Options
A very useful tool in assessing potential location
options/sites is to use a Decision Tree. Decision trees
are predictive models that have widespread use in
operations research to perform decision-making in a
logical way.
They provides a visual representation of risks, rewards,
and value of each decision and help to gain a balanced
perspective of the pros and cons of each possible course
of action and identify the best approach to reach the
intended outcome.
It is basically a tree-like flow chart that lists out each
possible outcome of a decision, and helps to choose
between several courses of action.

55. Evaluate Potential
Options
You can create a Decision
Tree in MS Word or there
are services such as
https://essytree.com/
and http://zingtree.com/
The starting key question
is – are you building a
food incubator or
retrofitting an existing
premises ?
Different approaches are
required as we now
investigate ….

56. Evaluate Retrofitting an Existing Premises
You may have a building available to you or you may need to
search or a building. We review the considerations of both …
A call out in your target area to illicit submissions of interest from
potential host facilities can be very effective. It could be
community owned or under underutilised commercial facilities. A
kitchen in a university or community building may provide a
phase 1 location with minimal modifications. Likewise, existing
food producers or property developers may have unused space at
a fraction of the cost of constructing a new building.
Be mindful that:-
Existing facilities might not always be well-suited for the proposed uses.
The motivation of the host facility will vary greatly depending on whether
the incubator is organised by non-profit organisations, for-profit
companies, universities, or state or regional governments or agencies.
Need to search for a premises ?

57. Roscommon, Ireland
conducted an interesting
call for Expressions of
Interest for a host
community/private operator
to put forward properties for
consideration as a food
incubator.
Led by a funding body
www.rosleaderpartnership.ie,
a key part of the ‘attraction’ of
the offering was the potential
for grant aid.
Need to search for
premises ?
Example …
EXERCISE 7 Download
expression of interest form

58. Evaluate a New Build Site
When assessing a site to build a new food incubator, you
need to consider the following:-
Land availability and zoning
When choosing a location, zoning requirements will play a
role in the selection process. Zoning is the enactment to
regulate land use to conform to municipality development
laws in that area. Areas are typically zoned for residential,
commercial, industrial, or other uses.
Zoning laws are found in every region in the EU, affecting
land use, propose property use, building heights, density,
setbacks, and other considerations.
A meeting with the municipality planners will clarify what
can and cannot be achieve for the proposed location.

59. Infrastructure
Once zoning has been established, the type of infrastructure
needs to be assessed. The site should provide the opportunity
for the initial build PLUS room for growth, should an increase
in demand make this necessary.
The design of the physical space must take into consideration
the research findings – what type of production will respond to
the needs that you have established?
What is the mix of mixed climate production space including
subdivision for coolers and freezers, office space, warehousing
and dry storage, shared staff facilities, selling and showcasing
facilities that is required ? To what scale ?
Design principles should be based on the unique attributes of
the area and utilise as much green energy technologies as
possible.

60. WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?
A prototypical food incubator site of 929 m2 allows for a
modest scale to commence operations and still make a
considerable impact. Cost this as a Allow for
•A mix of unit sizes from starter units of 56 m2 to growth
units of 279 m2. Do not finalise the configuration until your
enquiries have translated into tenants!
• If you are developing a shared production kitchen, allow at
least 56 m2 for same.
•A modular internal fit out is absolutely essential so that
tenants can utilise subdivided compartments to provide for
their specific requirements.
•Office space should be available for tenants to use for
administrative functions as well as other needs related to
employees e.g. canteen, bathrooms. Do not use expensive
food production fit out for this!

61. The units should be designed as suitable for a mix of low
and high risk production processes should tenants change
over time. It is important that the incubators should
provide an instructive environment.
The Physical Attributes of Unit Design
The following technical specifications must be observed to
ensure compliance with the latest and anticipated food
safety production legislative requirements.
•General height from floor to ceiling is 3 metres.
•Only stainless or PVC piping used in production area.
•Air Changes 10 per hour in production area.
•Positive air flow and ventilation in changing areas and
toilets.
•Changing area must not be directly linked to toilets. Must
have corridor.

62. The Physical Attributes of Unit Design (continued)
•Each unit must have a separate power and water supply
which are metered.
•Separate changing areas for raw and cooked sections.
•Both product exit and entrance doors should be covered
with a canopy to avoid contamination from birds.
•Floor finish can be smooth with a grey or red powder
incorporated at finish float stage as a minimum.
Depending on the process, an acryl finish is most resilient
particularly if acids are used in the production process.
•The fall in the floor must not be less than 1 in 40. One
should include as many drains as possible to allow for
convenient sub dividing of the unit afterwards. The pipes
under the floor should be clay pipes that can carry boiling
water. All external pipes for ground works can be waven.

63. The Physical Attributes of Unit Design (continued)
•All floor gullets should contain grease traps and it is
essential to have a large (1000 litre) interceptor grease trap
on the main sewer pipe between the last inlet and the
treatment plant.
•The size of the treatment plant will be dictated by the BOD
(Bacterial Oxygen Demand) and volume of waste.
•The outflow from toilets etc will be connected to a separate
Sewer pipe which connects directly to the treatment plant.
•A separate store area needs to be provided on site for bin
waste.
•Layout of food units must have a clear product flow, i.e,
raw material in one door to raw material store to processing
to cooking (Raw and cooking/packaging must be separated
with an air lock) packaging to finished goods store with a
separate exit if possible.

64. • Ideally, the building should include paved areas for
receiving and despatch, outside storage, parking for
vehicles, ramps, and covered dock space.
DESIGN AND TECHNICAL TEAM
The most important development consideration (and
one that can be the cause of very expensive mistakes)
is the composition of your design and technical team.
• Please, please, please ensure your engineering team
is familiar with and has previous experience in the
design of food production facilities.
• Bring on board a food technologist at the design stage
to ensure work flow considerations and plumbing and
drainage design will suit both low risk and high risk
production processes.

66. What Are Food Incubators and Do They Create
Viable Businesses? How the tech-inspired model translates
to kitchens by Tove Danovich, 2016
https://www.eater.com/2016/2/26/11110808/food-
incubator-accelerator-small-business