Deli Star Corporation, an industry leader in protein manufacturing and culinary innovation, and Saint Louis University’s Doisy College of Health Sciences announced a strategic partnership highlighted by a joint commitment to nourishing the human body through food nutrition, open innovation and education. The partnership will commence July 1, 2021 - nearly two years after initial talks began between Deli Star and Saint Louis University.
A focal point of the new partnership is the Food Discovery Center (FDC), Deli Star’s new hub for research and culinary innovation located at City Foundry STL. Through the partnership, SLU students and faculty in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics will have access to the FDC for labs, coursework and mentoring. At the FDC, students will learn in a collaborative, open-innovation environment and gain hands-on experience with the product-development process, commercialization and food nutrition.
“The research, problem-solving and innovation conducted in the Food Discovery Center will provide opportunities to discover new and better ways of innovating food products that promote healing through human nutrition,” said Deli Star CEO Justin Siegel. “This intersection of research and development and higher education through the Deli Star-SLU partnership at FDC will serve to inspire students and nurture the talent pipeline in our industry for many years to come.”
Deli Star executives, chefs and food scientists will lead learning sessions for SLU students focused on Deli Star’s five fields of food-science expertise: Food Microbiology, Food Engineering & Processing, Food Chemistry & Biochemistry, Nutrition, and Sensory Analysis.
“We are fortunate to have partnerships with exceptional clinical sites offering diverse hands-on learning experiences for students,” said Tricia Austin, Ph.D., PT, ATC, interim dean of Doisy College of Health Sciences at SLU. “The opportunity to partner with individuals and industry experts at Deli Star and the Food Discovery Center in St. Louis is a welcomed and exciting opportunity. We are grateful for the support to continue to advance innovative learning experiences for our students.”
In addition to learning from Deli Star senior leadership, SLU students will have access to Cure8 Ventures Advisors, also housed at the FDC. These industry veterans draw upon a depth of expertise in a variety of areas, including food venture, culinary support, research & development, sales & marketing, restaurant operations, supply chain & finance, manufacturing and food safety & quality.
Source: Deli Star Corp.
