Build Winning Products That Customers Love

    Pilot new food and beverage products with small-batch manufacturing, in-store testing, and a built-in ecosystem

    We help food innovation teams move faster — and smarter — by going straight to the customer. Our certified manufacturing facility supports small-batch production, and our six Union Kitchen stores give you a real-world stage to test, demo, and learn from U.S. shoppers.

    Product testing with customers

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Our Proven Process

    • Align on Goals: Define the product concept, testing objectives, and batch size.

    • Pilot Manufacturing: Produce 1–20,000+ units in our certified facility.

    • Launch & Demo: Place the product in our stores and gather feedback through live demos.

    • Listen & Learn: Get honest insights from real consumers — what they love, what needs to change.

    • Refine & Recommend: Receive a clear recommendation on product direction and next steps.

    → Chat with our Team

     

     

    Testing new product at Union Kitchen Store

    OUR ADVANTAGE AS EXPERTS IN INNOVATION

    • Over 10+ years working with hundreds of founders, corporate innovation teams, and international food companies on consumer-driven innovation
    • Hundreds of successful product launches that have landed on more than 40,000 store shelves around the U.S.
    • Integrated Ecosystem of buyers, suppliers, experts, and partners that speeds up market entry, reduces the need for capital, and drives faster, more sustainable growth.
    • Our expertise is real and comes from running businesses in every part of the food system, not theory or academic research. 
    Food product testing
    Investor Demo Day Photos - Tabling - Tim Grant - Caribe
    Investor Demo Day Photos - Tabling - Tim Grant - True Made Foods - 2

    LEVERAGE OUR FACILITY FOR SMALL BATCH TESTING

    Our 30,000 sq. ft. commercial manufacturing kitchen is built for small-batch and pilot CPG manufacturing. Located in Washington, DC, the facility is USDA-certified, FDA-registered, Whole Foods Market-approved, and Gluten-Free certified — giving your team a turnkey space to produce anywhere from 1 to 20,000+ units with full food safety compliance.

    Our staff includes food safety experts with certifications in HACCP, GMP, and PCQI.

    Whether you're testing a single SKU or multiple iterations, our facility helps you make exactly what you need to learn from real consumers.

    Our Team of Experts

    Cullen Gilchrist, CEO of DC-based food accelerator
    Cullen Gilchrist, CEO & Founder
    Elena Gonzalez
    Elena Gonzalez, Chief Operating Officer 
    Barney Rubin, DC Food Startup Director
    Barney Rubin, Accelerator Director
    Pablo Bravo-Olle
    Pablo Bravo Olle, Memberships Director

    STARTUP STORIES FROM OUR ACCELERATOR MEMBERS

    From Launch to Scale