Test Your Food Product With Real Shoppers

      Get in-store feedback, live demo insights, and retail-ready validation from consumers

      Union Kitchen helps innovation teams test food and beverage products in the most effective way possible: by putting them in front of real shoppers. Our process is grounded in real-world performance — conversations, demos, and everyday interactions that reveal what matters most to customers.

      Testing products at events for customer feedback

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Our Testing Process

      • Place Your Product in Our Stores: We launch your product in one or more of our six Union Kitchen grocery stores across Washington, DC.

      • Run Live Demos: Our staff or yours engage directly with shoppers, asking thoughtful questions and capturing honest reactions.

      • Observe Real Behavior: Watch how people interact, pick up, and buy — gaining insight from natural shopper actions.

      • Capture Key Insights: Discover what shoppers love, what catches their attention, and how they respond to your product.

      • Refine and Relaunch: Use what you’ve learned to enhance packaging, pricing, formulation, or positioning — then go again.

      → Chat with our Team

       

       

      Veggie Confetti Demo
      ballston-1
      Eckington 2
      3rd St Store - Exterior - Streetview

      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 1,000 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