Food Incubator “Taste to Market OWL”

Have you developed a recipe, a prototype, or even a food product and are ready to take the next step? Do you want to turn your product idea into a safe, reproducible, legally compliant, and marketable food product? 

Then the “Taste to Market OWL” Food Incubator is your next step. Here, we’ll guide you from technical product development all the way to market readiness. We combine food technology, research, hands-on product development, and business development. You’ll work directly on your own product, refine your recipe, test and optimize it, and prepare your product for production, distribution, and market launch.

Apply now!
 

Your Benefits

Financial Support
You’ll have a budget of up to €2,500 available for raw materials, supplies, and other development-related expenses.

Access to Infrastructure
Through a guest student status, you’ll gain access to relevant infrastructure for product development—including laboratories, a pilot plant, and analytical facilities—and can develop, manufacture, and test your product under professional conditions.

Expertise and Guidance
You’ll gain expertise in food technology and receive support in further developing your product. Additionally, you’ll gain knowledge in the areas of startup and business development.

Practice Over Theory
You’ll apply what you learn directly to your own product. You’ll gain methods, tools, and knowledge that will help you advance your product development in a targeted manner.

Network
You’ll gain access to a network spanning science, food technology, industry, and commerce.
 

Your Four Development Steps

Step 1: Technical Fundamentals
November 19 through December 17, 2026—every Thursday—online
Over the course of five sessions, you’ll learn key fundamentals for further product development. The focus is on raw materials & formulations, preservation & storage, food safety & HACCP, and packaging & food law. You’ll apply what you’ve learned directly to your own product.

Step 2: Intensive Week
January 12–15, 2027 – In-Person
Four intensive days during which you’ll apply your knowledge to your product in a practical setting. You’ll also gain insights into startup and business development and create your own personalized roadmap for the next steps. 

Step 3: In-Person Phase: Product Development and Market Readiness
January 20–March 24, 2027 – Weekly Sessions – In-Person

• Wednesdays: Expert Input
  You’ll receive expert guidance on relevant topics related to product development and market readiness. Topics include sensor technology & product optimization, nutritional values & labeling, certifications & retail requirements, quality management, and scaling up from pilot batches to mass production.
   
• Thursdays and Fridays: Application and Lab
  You’ll have the opportunity to directly apply what you’ve learned to your own product and put it into practice in the lab.
  In doing so, you’ll develop an understanding of how your product can be transitioned from the lab to larger-scale production and what options are available for future manufacturing. 

Step 4: Final Events

• April 6, 2027
  To conclude the program, you’ll present the development of your product and your results.
   
• July 1, 2027
  You’ll receive your official certificate of participation at Tomorrow Eats, the OWL Food Startup Festival.

Participation in all program components is mandatory. This includes the technical fundamentals, the intensive week, the in-person final phase, and participation in Tomorrow Eats, the OWL Food Startup Festival.  

Your Outcome

You will not only further develop your product from a technical standpoint but also examine it holistically from technical, economic, and market-related perspectives.
By the end, you’ll be better able to assess:

• How can I manufacture my product safely and consistently?
• What legal and quality requirements do I need to consider?
• How can I package and produce my product effectively?
• How can I calculate the costs and position my product?
• What are the next steps needed to bring my product to market?
   

Your Profile

You are a researcher, a doctoral student, or part of a food startup, and you already have a recipe, a prototype, or a developed food product that you’d like to further refine technically and bring to market.  

Your Application Process

The application period ends on October 31, 2026

Submit
Your Application Fill out the application form completely and also submit a pitch deck or presentation about your product or technology. Deadline: October 31, 2026

. Go to the application form

. Your pitch deck should ideally include:

• Product: What is your product or technology, and what makes it special?
• Problem and Solution: What problem are you solving, and what does your solution look like?
• Target audience and market: Who is your product relevant for, and how do you position it in the market?
• Business Model: How do you plan to monetize your product?
• Sales and Market Strategy: How do you plan to sell your product and establish it in the market?
• Team: Who is behind the project, and what skills do you bring to the table?

Pitch to the Jury
As an applicant, you’ll present your product in asix-minute pitch to a jury and then answer questions. The pitch will take place on November 10, 2026, in Lemgo.

Selection
: The jury will select the teams that will participate in the “Taste to Market OWL” food incubator.

Visiting
Student Status After being successfully accepted, you’ll apply for visiting student status. This gives you access to the relevant infrastructure and allows you to continue developing your product hands-on during the program.

Information on visiting student status

Any questions?

Then join us for the Q&A on October 6, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM: We’ll address any remaining questions about the “Taste to Market OWL” food incubator online via a Webex meeting. No registration required!

Go to the Q&A meeting

Of course, you can also reach us by email at any time: foodlab@th-owl.de

Ready for the next step? With our support, turn your prototype into a market-ready product. Apply now for the “Taste to Market OWL” Food Incubator. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

The “Taste to Market OWL” Food Incubator is supported by TRiNNOVATION OWL. TRiNNOVATION OWL is a project of the federal-state initiative “Innovative University,” funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space.