Rhode Island’s food economy ripe for growth

FURTHERING FOOD: Lisa J. Raiola, founder and president of Hope & Main, the state's first culinary business incubator, says she would like to see a plan for the I-195 land in Providence that has some element of the state's food economy. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
FURTHERING FOOD: Lisa J. Raiola, founder and president of Hope & Main, the state's first culinary business incubator, says she would like to see a plan for the I-195 land in Providence that has some element of the state's food economy. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Lisa J. Raiola is founder and president of Hope & Main in Warren, Rhode Island’s first culinary business incubator. She’s also vice president of institutional advancement at Roger Williams University. Raiola, who lives in Bristol, conceptualized Hope & Main in 2009 and fully launched it in late 2014, after beating a serious illness.

You’ve said Hope & Main “organically attract[s] others like a center of gravity.” With 60 businesses launched to date, what is the secret sauce that makes that so?

Because we are building a food community, not just a small-business food community but a food community writ large – we have everybody from startups to mature businesses that are involved with Hope & Main. The examples would include Ellie’s Bakery in Providence, which needed additional space to meet holiday demand, and Blount Fine Foods, which is teaching a workshop at Hope & Main about how to cost a food product. My point is, it’s not just a community of everybody starting out; the rest of the community is getting involved with our makers and each other, so it’s almost like a peer collaboration. When that happens, they make each other better.

How would you define Rhode Island’s “foodie” culture, and how are some of your successful startups at Hope & Main tapping into it?

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Here are four companies, and all of them understand that Rhode Island has tremendous pride of place. They believe Rhode Islanders will buy Rhode Island-made products: Fox Point Pickling, Ocean State Smoked Fish, Biggest Little Popcorn Company and Anchor Toffee. They said, ‘I’m going to go right for the Rhode Island market.’ … I know the startups are thinking of the pride Rhode Islanders have, so they went for that in the way they branded their products.

What can be done to improve access to capital to further the growth of culinary startups?

For one thing, the industry can certainly invest in itself. One of the things we can seek to do is create a revolving loan fund that is specific to the food industry.

Is anybody doing that?

Not here. There are other states that have models for food investment: Maine and Vermont have funds to specifically support the food industry.

One of the things we could do is something that Andy Posner did at the Capital Good Fund: to create a direct public offering so nonqualified investors could actually invest in the fund, and you’re creating a fund almost like investing in Main Street. If you invested, you would be more inclined to buy the products from these makers. It’s a great example of a way for mainstream consumers to also be investors in small, local companies.

In your role in advancement at Roger Williams University, what do you find is the biggest challenge when raising money for higher education?

I think people have lost sight of why higher education exists: There’s a lot of political backdrop now that higher education doesn’t have a return on investment for students and families, and in that narrative we’ve lost sight of that core purpose of education. … The biggest challenge is communicating that we have a mission that is compelling to donors, because we are giving these students the skills employers demand by deploying them in the community in ways that solve society’s problems. That resonates with donors.

Everything we’ve done with Hope & Main is a quintessential example of that: I believe in civic engagement and felt it was my duty not to wait for money to drop out of the sky. I would love for students to develop that same ethos.

What is your view of 2015 in Rhode Island in terms of the state’s economic health?

You can feel some inertia. We all know there will be a heavy lift to revitalizing our economy but the journey of a thousand miles definitely begins with the first step. [In] 2015, we took a cold, hard look at Rhode Island’s economy and said, ‘We need to turn this around. No one is going to turn this around for us.’ This state administration is looking at how different sectors can collaborate to build on our strengths and the Rhode Island Foundation is doing a great job, because philanthropy moves the dial.

What do you see for 2016 in terms of Rhode Island’s economic health?

I see us on a positive trajectory, with greater support for small and growing businesses.

If you could, what one thing would you like to see happen in Rhode Island in 2016?

I would like to see a plan for the I-195 land come to fruition, and I sure hope it features some element of the food economy. •

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