Cultivating progress in the plant-based food industry

With plant-based food sales growing at an exponential rate, it’s clear where the future of food is heading. The NC Food Innovation Lab is the nation’s only facility with cGMP capabilities dedicated to supporting the plant-based food innovators of tomorrow.

NCFIL brings together the latest in food processing equipment, expert food scientists and partners from across the state to help food companies and entrepreneurs get their products to market quickly and effectively.

Though the lab is managed by NC State University, it’s a professional organization—not a student teaching facility.  

Services for every stage of product development

Whether your product is a kernel of an idea or popped and preparing for launch, we offer support to help successfully bring it to market. Collaborate with us on one or all of the following:

• Product Research and Development
• Pilot Plant Production
• Training and Workshops
• Food Industry Consulting

North Carolina: The ideal home for food innovation

North Carolina is a one-stop-shop for food manufacturing, thanks to its thriving, diverse agricultural economy and acclaimed food science resources. The facts tell the story:

• North Carolina's agriculture and agribusinesses account for $87 billion of the state’s annual GDP and 17 percent of all NC jobs 
  
  
• Farmers here grow more than 90 crop varieties in 400 different soil types – making the state a top 10 producer in 19 commodities
   
• North Carolina has 18 research stations, 4 field labs, 2 land-grant universities and NC Cooperative Extension offices in all 100 counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee – the perfect network for farm testing and applying research-based solutions
  
  
• The state resides in the heart of the eastern U.S., one of the largest and fastest growing consumer markets in the nation and a gateway for easy product transportation domestically and abroad 
  
  
• The state has a rich history of (and ample capacity for) converting agricultural resources into value-added products – including textiles, furniture and tobacco

16,000 sq ft of cutting-edge R&D space

Our brand new facility is loaded with state-of-the-art equipment to process grains, fruits, vegetables and raw plant materials by every method imaginable. The product development lab and test kitchen, staffed by on-staff food scientists, support formulation adjustment and sensory analysis to get your food tasting just right.

Learn more about our facility