Upcoming Events:
2024 Maine Food Producer Showcase & Golden Fork Awards
Join us for this year’s Maine Food Producer Showcase & Golden Fork Awards, celebrating the forefront of sustainable and innovative Maine food and beverage products! This invite-only B2B event will take place on October 24th from 2:00 – 5:00 PM at Thompson’s Point, Portland, Maine, providing a prime opportunity for food and beverage buyers, distributors, and investors to explore new products, connect with current vendors, and meet inventive new Maine companies in the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs’ Food Accelerators and FoodTech programs.
Past Events:
BioStartup Blueprint: From Idea to Funding Webinar Series
Our BioStartup Speaker Series, presented by The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs and Maine Health’s Innovation Center, was a comprehensive 3-Part virtual event designed to guide aspiring entrepreneurs through the critical stages of launching a new venture. The series featured industry experts Todd Keiller, Brady Bohrmann, and Andrea Suter, Esq., who provided in-depth insights on a variety of essential topics. Attendees learned about pre-company formation considerations, strategies for protecting intellectual property, validating value propositions through customer discovery, and the key elements of a robust business plan. The series also covered the necessary legal steps for startups, offering practical advice to help participants navigate the complexities of establishing a new business. Each session was packed with actionable guidance, fostering a supportive and knowledgeable community of emerging entrepreneurs.
Maine Entrepreneurs Summit & Top Gun Showcase Winner
In May, we were thrilled to combine our Maine Entrepreneurs Summit with Maine Startup Week, resulting in our largest attendance ever. Our keynote speaker Kevin Hancock, Chairman and CEO of Hancock Lumber, distinguished TED Talks speaker and award-winning author, gave a very motivating presentation on shared leadership and generously shared a copy of his book with attendees. Our two workshops this year focused on Supporting Maine Immigrant Entrepreneurs in pursuing their business dreams and Mastering a Business Pitch to attract investors, customers and partners.
A total of 38 startups completed the 2024 Top Gun program and ten finalists pitched for the Top Gun top spot. A big congrats to Nor’easter Oyster for winning this year’s Top Gun $25,000 pitch prize! We also congratulate BlackTravel Maine, recipient of our 2024 Top Gun diversity scholarship, OPTImind Labs who won the Victoria Hilliard Donovan Award for women in Science and Technology and DeltaCom Coffee who received the Michael Sheehan Memorial Award.
2024 FoodTech Maine Showcase
On April 9th, 2024, Innovators, foodies and tech enthusiasts attended MCE’s inaugural FoodTech Maine Showcase featuring 6 MCE FoodTech Maine member companies, highlighting how the convergence of sustainability and technology is advancing our food system. Attendees were introduced to the innovative companies in MCE’s first FoodTech Maine Cohort: Springtide Seaweed, Ocean Farm Supply, Salmonics, Cap n’ Stem, Maine Garum Company and Everything Seaweed. Peter Handy, President and CEO of Bristol Seafood, provided the keynote and insights on the role of food tech in Maine and around the world, and how Bristol became one of the world’s leaders in seafood sustainability. Over 100 people attended the event held at the McGoldrick Center at USM.
Natural Products Expo East – September 2023, Philadelphia, PA
MCE’s Food Accelerator Team exhibited at the 2023 Natural Products Expo East trade show alongside a distinguished group of award-winning MCE member companies that included Atlantic Sea Farms, Bristol Seafood, Diggables, and Maine Crisp Co. Additional MCE Food Accelerator member companies also participated in the show, including: Luke’s Lobster, Grandy Organics, Green Bee, Maine Homestead, Ocean’s Balance, Papous Kitchen, Pineland Farms Dairy, Short Creek Farm and Vena’s Fizz House.
In addition to exhibiting and promoting Maine’s food industry, MCE hosted a ‘Make it Maine’ Cocktail Reception featuring signature Maine beverages, surf & turf appetizers and tasty snacks. This exclusive event provided a unique opportunity for targeted buyers from leading grocers, retailers, and distributors within the natural and specialty foods industry to explore and savor the diverse range of products and meet the passionate founders and innovators of Maine’s food community.
Maine Food Producer Showcase
Our inaugural Maine Food Producer Showcase was held on June 9, 2022 at Thompson’s Point in Portland, MEApproximately 300 people (food industry buyers, distributors, investors and business resources) attended this valuable B2B event, celebrating and showcasing 42 of Maine’s emerging Food and Beverage companies participating in MCE’s Food Accelerator Programs. Attendees were able to meet with Maine’s food & beverage producers and food industry leaders, taste a wide variety of delicious Maine-made products including grains, produce, proteins, pasta, sauces, seafood, sweets, snacks and beverages, and discover new business opportunities. The first Maine Golden Fork Awards were also announced at the event for Best in Retail, Best in Foodservice and Best New Product.
