2012 Summer Fancy Food Show Contest

About the Contest

As part of the City’s continuing effort to strengthen the food manufacturing industry, NYCEDC is offering a unique opportunity for four New York City-based food manufacturing firms to win an all-expense paid package to showcase their product at the NASFT 2012 Summer Fancy Food Show.  The winning companies will receive prizes valued at over $8,000 per company:

• Free exhibit booth in the New York State Pavilion
• Show attendance fees
• Paid travel expenses
• Complementary one-year NASFT membership
• Promotional services
• Expert design, marketing, and technical assistance leading up to the show

The competition is designed to help address challenges faced by local food manufactures, including limited resources to plan for growth; difficulty in fully accessing local, regional, and national markets; and access to technical assistance services.  It follows on the heels of the first city-sponsored Food Manufacturing Business Expo held earlier this fall, coordinated in partnership with NY City Council Speaker Christine E. Quinn and attended by over 150 companies.  It is also one of a series of Mayoral initiatives to support immigrant entrepreneurs. 

Qualifications

To be considered for the NYC Summer Fancy Food Show Contest, applicants must:

• Have their headquarters and production facility located within the five boroughs
• Comply with all NASFT membership requirements

As part of the City’s initiatives to support immigrant entrepreneurs, immigrant owned businesses are strongly encouraged to apply.

Selection Process

A judging panel of industry experts will review all applications received through a competitive process including interviews, reference checks, and site visits. Each business will be evaluated on its growth potential, ability to expand its market, suitability for the NASFT Summer Fancy Food Show, overall quality, and fit with program goals.  A select group of finalists will then be presented to the NASFT membership committee, with four winners announced in spring 2012.

Key Dates:

• Applications Due: February 15, 2012
• Judging Panel Review, Interviews, and Site Visits: March 2012
• Selection of Finalists by NASFT Membership Committee Review: April 2012
• Announcement of Winners: April 2012
• NASFT 2012 Summer Fancy Food Show: June 17-19, 2012

For more information, contact Hunter Goldman at 212-312-3627 or NYCSpecialtyFoodCompetition@nycedc.com.

2012 Summer Fancy Food Show Contest Application

Competition Thrive

The Competition

NYCEDC, in consultation with the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, has partnered with the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College to operate Competition Thrive. Competition Thrive invites organizations that support entrepreneurs to develop proposals for scalable programs that promote growth opportunities for NYC’s immigrant-entrepreneurial community. Plans should take aim at enabling immigrant entrepreneurs to start, operate, and expand their businesses in New York City.

Proposals submitted to the competition will be reviewed by a panel of judges comprised of business and non-profit leaders, representatives from New York City agencies and academics. Proposals will be judged on several criteria including, but not limited to: feasibility, applicability, scalability, and sustainability.

The judges will select five proposals to be developed in Round I of the competition. Each of the five finalists will be awarded seed funding of $25,000 to pilot their program and create a business plan. During the pilot period, finalists will run their proposed pilot and refine their business plan. In Round II, one winner will be selected to receive funding of $100,000 and promotional services to further scale their program.

Prize Structure

Round I: $25,000 seed grant for program development
Round II: $100,000 program grant, promotional services

Key Dates

Round I: 

• Information Session
  July 20, 2011
• Entrant Proposal Period
  June 23-August 31, 2011
• Finalist Announcement
  September 2011

Build Business Capacity

NYCEDC is partnering with the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), and multiple Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to expand business assistance courses into additional languages (including Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Spanish, and Russian) and geographies. NYCEDC translates SBS Business Solutions Centers courses into the proposed languages, and then partners with individual CBOs to provide space and instructors to teach the course, as well as recruit participants who would be able to benefit from the course. The purpose of this program is to target populations who are unable to access the Business Solutions Centers due to language constraints.

A number of different organizations host sessions, so check this page for updates on where and when events are scheduled.

NYC Food Manufacturers Business Expo and Networking Event

NYCEDC, in partnership with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and industry experts, organized an event to connect and strengthen NYC’s food manufacturing industry and better enable local manufacturers to access new markets. The event consisted of a trade show and networking; technical assistance workshops; and the announcement of a competition for the opportunity to win space, promotional services, and technical assistance for participation in a NYC- sponsored booth in the 2012 NASFT Summer Fancy Food Show.