Food Innovation Center, Portland Oregon

📣 This post is a group project! We'd love to hear from you!

This year marks a remarkable milestone: Sarah Masoni celebrates 25 years as a true food designer at the OSU Food Innovation Center. She was honored by Marcia Walker at our annual Holiday Market last week.

Known by the New York Times as having a “million-dollar palate,” Sarah has been a tireless champion for food entrepreneurs and businesses across the Northwest and beyond. Her deep expertise in consumer flavor preferences, product development, and manufacturing has shaped food innovation in nearly every category on our grocery shelves.

At the Food Innovation Center, the hero display proudly showcases brands touched by Sarah’s work—a testament to her impact on the industry.

💬 We’d love to hear from you: how has Sarah influenced your business journey?

🌟Congratulations, Sarah, on a stunning and impactful quarter century of innovation with Oregon State University.

Oregon State Food Science & Technology

Our team was overwhelmed with the innovation, creativity, and delicious food at the annual Holiday Market hosted at the OSU Food Innovation Center last night.

We welcomed food entrepreneurs that have worked with our team for years and many that are just bringing their food products to market.

The steady crowd of shoppers were elbow to elbow with food makers and industry contributors.

We hope you enjoyed the evening and learned more about what makes our center unique and invaluable.

Follow here and join us for future Northwest food industry events and educational workshops.

Shout out to contributors from Oregon State University Alumni Association (OSUAA) PCC Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Parallel Food and Drink Prosper Portland Oregon Department of Agriculture Oregon State Food Science & Technology

See you at the OSU Food Innovation Center Holiday Market Thursday evening - 4:00 - 7:30 pm.

Nearly 40 local food businesses will be eager to fill your holiday shopping basket!

Remember to bring non-perishable food donations to support the Oregon State University Alumni Association food drive.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
December 11
4:00-7:30 pm

Holiday Market featuring nearly 40 local food makers at our center.

📇Shop unique food goods.

🍷Stroll with a fine wine from Parallel.

🎼Listen to live music.

🥫Donate non-perishable goods to the OSU Fighting Hunger Food Drive

Be There! Be Delighted!

With full hearts, we celebrate the chance to walk alongside our clients and collaborators—your trust and creativity inspire us every day.

From all of us at the Food Innovation Center, may this season bring you comfort, joy, and plenty of pumpkin pie.

We'll be attending My People's Market for the holidays on December 6th, joining Oregon State University in supporting local food makers!

This season, make time for yourself, your loved ones, and your community.

Join us at My People’s Market, December 6th and 7th (11 am -5 pm) at the , for a weekend of live music that’ll get you moving, art that inspires, and food that hits every craving. Plus, shop and support over 150 amazing local small businesses.

Where food ideas take flight!

The Food Innovation Center in Portland, Oregon is powered by industry pros and fueled by the academic brilliance of Oregon State University’s Department of Food Science & Technology. Think of us as your food product development engine—revving up innovation for brands big and small.

- Need help with a new formulation?
- Looking for a scale‑up sidekick?
- Ready to reformulate with clean‑label ingredients consumers demand?
- Need sensory or consumer confirmation of your new product?
- Want to nail your “best‑by” date or extend shelf life?

We’ve got the tools, the talent, and the taste buds.

👉 Link to tell us what you need—then let’s make it happen together! https://airtable.com/apppiKdL6VH2RZrJ4/pagRRCLfKako6VDS9/form

Did you know there is a leading program here in the Northwest that can also help you with critical consumer testing services?

Here at the OSU Food Innovation Center and the Corvallis campus, panelists can be hand-selected from our database of over 50,000 people to meet your target demographic and sharpen your understanding of your food product.

Expert sensory scientists will design protocols to support product development, quality assessment, and consumer satisfaction for all food categories.
- Acceptance/ Preference Testing, like CLTs, IHUTS, Store Intercepts
- Focus Groups with Professional Facilitators
- Difference Testing
- Sorting/Rapid Profiling
- Sensory Training
- Custom Descriptive Panel Development

Got questions? Reach out to [email protected] or the website in our bio.

What are your best dinner hacks for saving money at the grocery store?

We love how purchasing canned or frozen fruits and vegetables can save on waste and extend your food dollar. Visit https://foodhero.org for more ideas from Oregon State University Extension Services!

Please share ideas with our community below!

The Food Innovation Center hosted a packed house this week!

Fifty food entrepreneurs learned the nuts and bolts of Food Product Development from our team of pros in a workshop sponsored by Prosper Portland. We shared insights on several topics, including turning a recipe into a formulation, producing food safe foods, developing process flow diagrams, basics of food regulation and labeling, and establishing shelf life.

Follow us for future workshop opportunities like this. Part of our mission is to educate and elevate our regional food ecosystem!

Visit our website for more information: https://fic.oregonstate.edu


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Join us at Chicago IFT Section on November 5th as we share our services and expertise. Special swag for Oregon State University Alumni!