Student entrepreneurs at Penn can follow a wide range of options to explore their passions. Some, like Sai Yeleru, G’23, WG’23, are drawn to the kitchen.
Cooking Up Something Special
The Food Innovation Lab at Tangen Hall provides a space for student entrepreneurs with an appetite for experimentation and creativity
Published: November 18, 2022
“I love cooking and hosting dinner parties with friends,” Sai says. “But I don’t always have time to curate recipes, go grocery shopping, and do all the preparation necessary for a great experience.”
Inspired to help others enjoy the pleasures of sharing meals with family and friends, and to ease the burden of kitchen labor, Sai created DinnerParty. “Our aim is to provide all the ingredients fully prepped, so you can go from box to table in under an hour,” says Sai. “The idea is for busy people to host more and enjoy spending time doing things they love without any of the stress.”
I came to Wharton with a mind to launch a start-up. The Food Lab gave me the opportunity to marry my ambition with my passion.”Sai Yeleru, G’23, WG’23
Sai developed his concept and is working toward making it into a larger, scalable business, at the Food Innovation Lab in Tangen Hall, the epicenter for student entrepreneurship at Penn.
“The Food Innovation Lab exists to support student entrepreneurs in the food and beverage space,” explains Lauren Hooks, Kitchen Manager for the Food Innovation Lab. “Students can work on creating restaurant concepts or food products and host tasting events to gain consumer insight and outline the path to market.”
The Lab is available to all students, undergraduate and graduate across every school, but spots in each cohort are limited based on an application process. Once approved, members receive a subsidized budget for ingredients and can reserve kitchen time.
Besides kitchen space, the Lab provides safety training and certification, equipment that can test shelf stability, and advising time with Penn alumni and industry experts. Students are also encouraged to utilize additional Venture Lab resources such as the Venture Initiation Program and the Digital Design Lab. The Food Innovation Lab also offers a Speaker Series, where lessons are imparted, from tips of launching ventures to issues of social responsibility and sustainability.
On November 15, the Food innovation Lab held a workshop called “Exploring Food Insecurity,” where Penn Nursing professor Janet Chrzan (pictured second from right) spoke about the relationship between food insecurity and food waste. During the program, students packed meals to be distributed in Kensington via Greater Goods, a free grocery store launched by The Sunday Love Project.
Whether working alongside fellow foodies or hosting tasting parties for friends and faculty, the Lab is a place where breaking bread and building bonds go hand in hand. “One of the best things is working alongside other people who are also launching enterprises,” says Mark Wasuwanich. C’23, who has developed a recipe for vegan ice cream at the Lab. “Everyone is really constructive and knowledgeable about food and entrepreneurship in their own ways.”
With the food and beverage industry worth $281 billion in 2021—and projected to expand above $500 billion over the coming decade—the Food Innovation Lab provides a launchpad for students inclined to creativity in the culinary arts.
Melissa Tovin, G’22, WG’22, tests an early batch of her Sumac Sourdough Crisps in the Food Innovation Lab at Tangen Hall.
470 Baking Company’s Melissa Tovin used her time at the Food Innovation Lab to scale up her homemade recipe for sourdough crisps into a viable packaged food business.
Wanich Ice Cream comes in a variety of vegan flavors, from tried-and-true favorites like chocolate and vanilla to East Asia–inspired offerings such as lychee, ube, durian, and tamarind. Mark Wasuwanich, C’23, passed out samples to parkgoers in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square
“For Penn to have a resource like this, where students looking to experiment can get all these hours in a kitchen, it is an unparalleled experience,” says Sai.
“I love having a community where we can explore these interests,” adds Mark. “Everyone needs food, and the Food Innovation Lab gives us the spark to innovate in this space.”
