Earlier this fall, six early-stage food entrepreneurs developing cow-, goat-, or sheep-milk-based dairy products were selected to participate in the Dairy Runway program, which provides a six-week virtual course focused on customer discovery, as well as prototyping training and business mentorship.
As part of the six-week, synchronous entrepreneurship course, participants learn how to use and develop a business model canvas and define their target market, while gaining exposure to industry experts. The fall cohort is concluding this first phase of the program and preparing to shift into the Kitchen Incubator phase, where participants receive prototyping training in Cornell’s Food Processing and Development Laboratory or the Seneca Foods Foundation Pilot Plant with support from Cornell Food Science technical experts. During this second phase, participants work closely with paired business coaches.
These passionate food entrepreneurs are building value-added dairy products with a vision for scaling their businesses and strengthening the future of dairy.
Samantha Wood of Sky Hill Farm shared that her team “sees tremendous benefit in this program as continuing education to inform product development and to establish relationships with people who have technical knowledge and experience we don’t have.” She added, “We will apply what we learn from this course immediately as we make decisions for growing our business.”
Introducing the Fall 2025 Dairy Runway Cohort:
- AA Foods and Beverages – Surya Jampana and Chaithanya Manthena are developing a synbiotic dairy beverage that goes beyond traditional probiotic drinks, leveling up holistic wellness along core gut health benefits.
- Tamarack Springs Farm – Morgan Salinas is making enjoyable desserts accessible to people with food intolerances using a Sicilian gelato recipe to make this delicious goat milk gelato.
- HoneyMilk® – Heta Kariuki is transforming the classic milk and honey pairing into a standardized, ready-to-drink product that is both tasty and convenient.
- Sky Hill Farm – Samantha Wood and Mark Waller are committed to producing sheep milk yogurt from their regenerative farm full of happy livestock making excellent food.
- Butterella – Delia Fernandez and her love for gourmet groceries have led to her creation of pesto butter that uses locally sourced NYS cream and fresh, vibrant pesto. Her intricate butter churning process creates this smooth and rich butter and leaves no waste.
- Destiny Dairy Bar – Amy Brickner and Matthew Lominski are not only cultivating consumer connections to local food systems, but they are also creating a nutritious, high-protein, and great-tasting A2 creamline milk alternative to chalky and artificial recovery drinks.
For Heta Kariuki of HoneyMilk®, the program offers a bridge between creativity and market readiness. “This partnership allows me to ground technical development in real market needs, ensuring the product is both innovative and consumer-ready,” she said.
Throughout each phase in the Dairy Runway Program, they are elevating their products, strengthening their businesses, and redefining what’s possible in the dairy industry.
The Fall 2025 cohort is funded through the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center.