Food futurist Mike Lee headlines food entrepreneurship conference March 3 and 4
March 2, 2016
Mike Lee is the founder and CEO of Studio Industries, a food design and innovation agency.
Mike Lee, founder and CEO of Studio Industries, a Brooklyn New York food design and innovation agency, is the keynote speaker at Food Entrepreneurs: Building Ontario Innovation One Product at a Time planned for the Barrie Campus of Georgian College March 4.
The conference is attracting food entrepreneurs from across Ontario interested in moving their businesses forward. The event offers food business owners practical information on overseeing and executing strategy, product idea viability, collaborating for growth, food safety culture, innovation, and more.
The full-day event is offered by the Agri-Food Management Institute (AMI) in partnership with Georgian College, as well as the County of Simcoe and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Lee is also founder of The Future Market, a conceptual grocery store and innovation lab specializing in the application of design thinking to food products and experiences. Lee will explore the question of what will grocery stores and the foods within them look like in the year 2065. Through the research and development of conceptual food products and prototypes, The Future Market aims to guide today’s innovators with aggressive visions of what the future might hold.
The conference is being held at the Barrie Campus of Georgian College on March 4. Friday events also include a “Made in Ontario Showcase” where successful local entrepreneurs will share the stories of how they developed their businesses, display their products and provide products for sample and sale. Conference delegates will have exclusive access to the showcase from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and the showcase is open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m.
The conference is preceded by pre-conference seminars at Georgian’s Kempenfelt Conference Centre in Innisfil on Thursday, March 3.
Well-known Canadian food guru Anita Stewart will emcee a VIP dinner on Thursday, March 3. Among other accomplishments, Stewart is founder and creator of Food Day Canada, a pan-Canadian event that celebrates the summer’s bounty in Canada’s most respected restaurants.