File photo / Courtesy Nor'Easter Oyster Co.
Nor’Easter Oyster Co. in Brunswick is leveraging advanced wet storage systems with machine learning.
October 10, 2024
Technology is key to development of these growing Maine food companies
Photo / Courtesy, Maine Center for Entrepreneurs
Business leaders in the FoodTech Maine cohort, shown with the MCE team at a kickoff meeting hosted by BerryDunn.
The second cohort of business accelerator FoodTech Maine includes companies that are working on innovations from supply chain improvements to sustainable food preservation.
The business accelerator, a program of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs and FocusMaine, kicked off the cohort this week at a meeting hosted by BerryDunn in Portland.
The program offers customized support and coaching, tailored learning sessions on topics such as business planning, networking with potential funders and investors, and access to information, market data and resources.
The new cohort will wrap in November with a showcase event.
Launched in September 2023, the first cohort consisted of seven companies. The goal of the program is to leverage technology among early-stage and mid-sized companies to improve efficiency, sustainability and quality in the food industry — and to improve the taste and nutrition of its products.
Shelf life, cans and recipes
The second cohort includes Green Geans, which is developing custom freeze-drying services with a goal to preserve Maine’s agriculture and aquaculture products without compromising nutrients. The company's goal is stabilizing local foods, reducing waste and electrical consumption while extending shelf life.
Mainelove partners with local breweries to can water sourced from Sebago Lake. By using brewery downtime to produce water in 100% recyclable aluminum cans, the startup is looking to offer a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative to plastic bottled water. The company says its mission is to celebrate Maine’s natural resources while helping breweries maximize their operational efficiency and diversify revenue.
Watermelon Pie in Belfast has developed a social recipe-sharing platform with the aim of uniting home cooks, families and local food enthusiasts in a single digital space and making recipe management easier.
Oyster shucking
As Southern Maine’s only commercial shellfish shucking facility, Nor’Easter Oyster Co. in Brunswick is leveraging advanced wet storage systems with machine learning to create value-added shellfish products. The goal is to open market opportunities while modernizing traditional techniques like smoking and canning. The company said its processes enhance product quality and strengthen Maine’s shellfish supply chain, improving efficiency and sustainability.
Earlier this year, Nor'Easter Oyster, co-founded by Jacqueline Clarke and Sean Corcoran, won the top prize of $25,000 in the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs' Top Gun Showcase.
The win came after Clarke and Corcoran emerged as first-place winners at the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s 8th annual Top Gun LA Regional Pitch-Off Competition.
Spruce syrup
Pen & Cob, in the Washington County town of Pembroke, is tapping into the potential of native tree species to create specialty foods, including the company's flagship product, spruce syrup — said to be the first of its kind in the U.S.
PHOTO / COURTESY OF PEN & COB FARM
Pen & Cob’s flagship product is syrup made from macerated spruce tips.
Five years ago, Katherine Swann and her family sold their suburban New Jersey home, drove north in an old camper, started farming in 2019 and formalized as a business in January 2021. The first syrup, using spruce tips that are macerated, boiled and strained, with the resulting liquid sweetened, launched in November 2022.
Chocolate shipping
An artisanal chocolatier, Ragged Coast Chocolates in Westbrook is developing shipping and weather prediction software to ensure efficient and sustainable delivery of its perishable goods, which could be a game-changer for scaling high-quality products in a competitive market. The company’s software has the potential to benefit other companies and industries that deal with perishable products.
File PHOTO / JIM NEUGER
Chocolatier Kate Shaffer displays a fresh batch of confections at the Ragged Coast Chocolates production facility in Westbrook.
Owned and run by Kate and Steve Shaffer, the company works with fresh seasonal ingredients such as produce, herbs, dairy and other ingredients sourced straight from the farm. As of 2023, about 73% of sales were direct to end customers. The remaining 27% of the business was wholesale, serving retail stores in Maine, New England and across the country.
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