By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Several times a month, Kendra Baroudi makes big batches of Kabob It At Home marinades and dressings at the Northwest Ohio Cooperative Kitchen (NOCK) on Middleton Pike north of Bowling Green.
Baroudi, who co-owns the Bowling Green restaurant Kabob It with her husband, Zach, connected with the NOCK three years ago to help grow the spinoff business from their restaurant.
She was one of four local business owners who shared their success utilizing the resources and facilities of the NOCK during the June CIFT Agribusiness Forum.
Kevin Mackey, best known for his Angry Irishman hot sauces, has utilized the commercial kitchen for 11 years, expanding his food-related business to sell in stores, online, at farmers’ markets and conferences.
Stateline Sauce Company co-owner Craig Wagner has learned so much since finding the NOCK and connecting with the knowledgeable staff and other local entrepreneurs.
Katie Perrine, one of the newest tenants at the commercial kitchen, brought her Patsy Cakes to the NOCK in April. She has seen an almost immediate impact in the success of her cakes and confections business.
According to Kareem Hammuda, small business development manager at CIFT, the organization is “dedicated to helping manufacturers and food processors scale and compete through innovation, to ignite growth, deliver food and manufacture technical solutions.”
The NOCK is “a launchpad for emerging food businesses,” he said. With a general kitchen, food processing kitchen and the newest addition, a food preparation kitchen, the NOCK’s facilities allow entrepreneurs to test recipes, and prepare, bottle and package food products. The NOCK also offers comprehensive planning and networking resources to help small businesses start up and scale up to turn a food recipe into a recipe for success as a retail-ready product.
“We’re dedicated to each customer and partner that we work with. We know it takes a village, and we don’t want to quit until the job is done,” he said.
Over the years, CIFT, northwest Ohio’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, has helped retain 2,683 jobs, increased sales by more than $31 million, and retained sales by more than $215 million. Additionally, area food manufacturers have invested more than $154 million in the region.
For Perrine, after her joint coffee shop/baked goods business closed, she discovered the NOCK.
“That was a huge impact. I no longer had space to bake in or daily interactions with customers,” she said. She was able to join the NOCK and reestablish and rebuild the business.
In the short time she has been using the kitchen, her sales are up 25% from a year ago and she rediscovered her passion and creativity for baking.
“It was a huge hurdle to overcome, but having this space and the resources that are available have launched everything over again,” she said.
Baroudi credits COVID-19 for helping to launch their retail business.
When the Baroudis had to shut down Kabob It’s dining room during the pandemic, they pivoted into delivering family meals all over northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.
“We didn’t have to fire employees or let them go; instead, we put them all on routes to deliver the meals,” she said. “When we could open back up, people told us they still wanted to eat at home.”
That is when they launched Kabob At Home to sell their authentic Mediterranean dressings and marinades from long-time family recipes.
Baroudi found the NOCK’s resources the key to the success they have had thus far.
Going into the business, I had no idea what I was doing,” she said. “Kareem has been instrumental in giving us resources for labels, cheaper products and ingredients, as well as how to get into Meijer and other grocery stores.”
Mackey said the NOCK saved him upwards of a million dollars that he would have spent to acquire a building to make his hot sauces. Producing the hot sauces at the kitchen helped him more easily scale production from one gallon to five gallons to 100 gallons without changing the flavor profile.
“Being able to produce here in this facility and the wealth of resources has been a godsend for the last 11 years,” he said. “You can’t put a price tag on that.
Beyond successful products, the NOCK creates community for entrepreneurs, Hammuda said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re making millions of dollars or thousands of dollars, you’re always going to have the same challenges, and you can always call on us to help,” he said.
Wagner praised the sauce community that he has been able to network with, including Mackey.
Each of the panelists said they source their ingredients locally, whether it’s organic, seasonal or from local farmers in the area.
Mackey started growing the peppers for his hot sauces, but the demand outgrew what he could provide. He connected with a local farmer who provided 4,000 pounds of peppers last year.
“I’m always looking for the best way to source locally whenever I can without compromising quality,” he said.
Perrine often finds local sources when she attends local markets. Her children are big helpers at the markets, finding local growers and businesses that have ingredients and products she can use in her baked goods.
One of the NOCK’s newest business-launching endeavors is a partnership with Meijer. Currently, 11 Meijer stores feature various local emerging products displayed in an “Ohio Favorites” end-of-aisle location.
Including the Stateline Sauce products in Meijer stores has been a game changer for Weaver’s company. “The opportunities that have come up at the NOCK have been big for us,” Wagner said.
Hammuda and eight emerging brands of current and previous businesses that used the kitchen, attended the Fancy Food Show in New York. The idea is to promote national exposure for the brands, he explained.
For more information about CIFT and the NOCK, visit the website at agincubator.org/cift-nock.
