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Stepping inside the bright, bustling dining area of Toronto’s infamous Drake Hotel, graduates of Foodpreneur Lab and their food brands fill the air with scents of decadent chocolates and spicy honey.
Conversations of unwavering tenacity can be heard from this group of culinary entrepreneurs who are committed to taking the lead on changing Canada’s food landscape.
“One of my requests during daily prayer is that He send the right people at the right time with the right commitment, and He has shown up every time with the right people,” Foodpreneur Lab founder Janice Bartley.
Her ritual devotion prayer follows this incubator’s mission: giving access to the right group of brands, taking them from home kitchens to store shelves and restaurant menus by providing unmatched guidance, resources and community to scale.
As the principal food consultancy for Venture Park Labs, Bartley draws from 30 years of navigating the food world across startups, retail expansions, and mentorship program executions for community groups like Ryerson Diversity Institute and JumpStart Refugee Talent to plant other culinary creatives of color with the tools to thrive.
Upon opening Foodpreneur Lab’s membership-based kitchen in 2019, she leaned first into cultivating a culture of radical encouragement. “Most incubators, once you’ve finished just let you go, releasing you to where? This is the first time that these food entrepreneurs have all been linked together in one group and not competing with each other but simply there to support each other. That’s why we’re different,” Bartley explains.
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Indeed, this carefully curated community has propelled dozens of Black food entrepreneurs from uncertainty to accelerating ventures that now stock mainstream hospitality establishments like The Drake Hotel while claiming shelf space in our cultural zeitgeist.
Foodpreneur Lab’s Success Stories Expand Palates and Possibilities
Take chocolatier Kenesha Lewis, founder of One More Cocoa—the neighborhood shop of all things cocoa. After enrolling in Foodpreneur Lab’s 9-month program, she developed new audiences for her brick-and-mortar chocolate store, which now ships nationwide.
When asked about her current obstacles as a non-confrontational founder, Lewis remarks, “This group of entrepreneurs continuously push me to go outside of my comfort zone to take care of business that’s sometimes uncomfortable. While creating One More Cocoa uses everything that makes me and my brand unique as strengths—being a member of this group gives me permission to ask myself, ‘How can I keep growing?’”
Similarly, Kenneth Benjamin credits Foodpreneur lab for transforming his Lignum Honey scotch bonnet pepper premium honey into an award-winning business on track for expansion. He enrolled seeking manufacturing guidance but left with an entire support system to scale his brand.”
“This incubator expands your mindset from just a singular entity, refining every aspect of your business to realistically reach sales at major chains. That knowledge completely shifted my confidence and capabilities,” Benjamin shares.
Through Foodpreneur Lab’s one-on-one mentorship program, hands-on commercial kitchen space experiences, demo days to pitch buyers and leveraging Bartley’s hospitality rolodex, these founders now share shelves with beloved categories rather than occupying peripheral “ethnic aisles.” And they’re just two of over 200 Black food brands who’ve graduated successfully.
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An Advisor-Led Approach to Food Entrepreneurship
“Ultimately, my goal is to be a part of the global warming conversation because we understand that agriculture plays a huge part. We need a seat at the table and part of the conversation to build a legacy around inclusivity for people who look like me by changing systems from within,” Bartley muses during moments of reflection about her venture transcending food.
With specialized programs like the advisor-led and scale support paths, Foodpreneur Lab founders work directly with boots-on-the-ground professionals, guiding them through logistics.
What manufacturers typically treat as elusive trade secrets, they impart through open-source education so more brands and consumer palates can pull up a seat at the table.
Thanks to Bartley’s bravery in building while leading and showing up authentically, her incubator is shifting and seasoning the future of food.
Foodpreneur Lab is now accepting applications for cohort 4. For more information and to apply, visit their website. Be sure to follow along on Instagram and Facebook for additional program opportunities and updates.
