Happy New Year! And welcome to the first-ever post of the Branchfood blog. If you’re already familiar with our company, you’ll know our maxim: innovation will fix our broken food system. This year, we’ll take that sentiment further than ever before, expanding our services and establishing even more connectivity between foodies, techies, and entrepreneurs who are transforming the Boston food and tech startup scene as we know it.

Since 2013, Branchfood has offered a wide variety of events for those interested in breaking into the food industry. Our community of more than 850 members has full access to workshops and panels that feature successful food entrepreneurs from the greater Boston area. We’ve highlighted the work of food moguls such as Mark Andrus from Stacy’s Pita Chips, Eli Feldman from Clothbound, and Jessie Banhazl from Green City Growers, who have offered their expertise to the Branchfood community. In addition to these educational seminars, we host Community Table gatherings, where attendees have the opportunity to share and sample food, swap business cards, and discuss whatever is on their mind around one table. Members are also invited to Happy Hours that take place at hip bars around town every other month.

Branchfood is HQ-ed at the Boston location of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), where we offer coworking space for startups to connect and grow their businesses in a central downtown location. Our offices promote community and connectivity between entrepreneurs. Companies who work in our space have access to a community of food innovators, advisors, all the benefits of the CIC, and free access to Branchfood events. If you’d like to view our space, sign up for a tour!

In the coming months, look out for Branchfood’s exciting new endeavors -- we’re introducing a new service that will help food entrepreneurs manage social media, analytics, and event planning. And of course, stay tuned for upcoming events! TheFebruary Community Table is fast approaching, as is Funding 101, a workshop focused on helping you raise capital for your business, and the Mystery Speaker Series will return in late February to highlight local food tech founders growing their businesses in Boston.

Remember to follow our blog to receive coverage of our events, updates on Boston’s rapidly-changing food innovation sector, exclusive interviews with food startup founders, and more!