By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

NORCO – Home grown food manufacturers in the River Parishes region selling everything from sauces and jambalaya mixes to banana bread and cupcakes are getting a leg up thanks to a non-profit business incubator in Norco.

The endeavor, known as Edible Enterprises, offers use of two health-department-approved commercial-grade kitchens where business owners can cook up their homegrown recipes for mass production. As it enters its second year of operation, the incubator is currently assisting 23 clients who are creating and selling a wide assortment of food products.

“Our facility is one of 24 throughout the United States, and it is the only one in the southeast region,” said Edible Enterprises Director Chelsea Lopker. “All of our clients are from Louisiana and most come from anywhere between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.”

Lopker explained that the incubator offers a low overhead way for local entrepreneurs to get their products onto store shelves across the region by providing the tools and facilities to get started, including storage space, office space and marketing tools.

“If these groups were forced to buy the equipment we offer, they would be paying several hundred-thousand dollars just to get off the ground,” Lopker said. “When they come here, they pay a $200 application fee, plus $20 hourly rental fees and get access to everything we offer.”

Of the 23 clients making use of the facility, Lopker said 13 have a product on the market now. She added that foods manufactured in the facility are available in 200 stores across the Southeast United States. Although there have been no graduates from the program yet, Lopker said some are well on their way.”

“Everyone is a success story,” Lopker said. “We have some tenants who are just in the startup phase, but the ones who are up and running are really doing well for themselves. The ultimate goal of the program is to get these businesses out on their own.”

During a trip to the kitchen Monday afternoon, pastry chef Lee Welch was seen hard at work preparing trays for more than 30,000 cupcakes for Cupcakes & Co. out of New Orleans. Welch said she and owner Kyshun Webster plan to distribute the cupcakes throughout Mardi Gras to generate buzz for their mobile cupcakery.

“The offerings here are outstanding, we never could have gotten this done without the help we get here,” Welch said. “We are looking forward to getting ourselves out there.”

Lopker explained that the program was spearheaded by the River Parishes Community Development Corporation, which signed a lease with St. Charles Parish back in 2007 to get the project started. Through donations from Shell/Motiva in Norco and $400,000 in grant funding, Edible Enterprises finally got going in June 2009.

The incubator operates out of the former Norco Co-op building on Third Street, which was purchased by the parish in 2007. Lopker said the operation is a collaboration between Goodwill Industries and the Norco Community Economic Development Foundation.

Lopker said tenants are not required to have a strict business plan to apply for rental time, but she said the facility looks for clients who have a vision for their products that goes beyond 3-5 years.

“We want motivated clients who are eager to see their products succeed on a larger level,” Lopker said. “We understand that there are people out there who are just going to stick to farmers markets, but there are some who really want to grow.”

Kitchen rental hours are available Monday through Sunday from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. Anyone interested in becoming a client can reach the incubator at 985-764-1504.