Tufts University today announced the launch of the Innovation Hub for Food and Materials, a new research and development center intended to advance both development of products and ideas.

Located in Medford, Massachusetts, the facility offers participants access to hard-to-find infrastructure of emerging food technologies and future food products, from prototyping and characterization to culinary and early-stage consumer testing.

The Hub draws from Tufts’ strengths in new food technologies and nutrition at the School of Engineering and the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Experts are available to support the development of Hub clients’ novel ingredients, sustainable food production technology, food processing solutions, and more.

The Innovation Hub is designed to serve startups, established companies, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, nonprofit organizations, and company partners looking to accelerate the development of new food technologies, biomaterials, and other innovative products. A fully equipped test kitchen will allow Hub clients to test how foods may perform in real world settings, and for new and established products to pilot consumer acceptance.

“The Innovation Hub for Food and Materials reflects Tufts’ long-standing commitment to advancing technology in food, health, and materials science,” said Bernard Arulanandam, vice provost for research at Tufts University. “Tufts’ capabilities in nutrition, biomedical sciences, and engineering create a collaborative environment where Hub participants have one resource to tap into a broad range of expertise.”

In addition to food technology, the Hub provides resources for biomaterials development for specialized applications such as medicine, textiles, and agriculture. Hub staff and advisors offer expertise in the design, characterization, and application of biomaterials, which include both sustainable materials for the environment and living materials for medical applications.

“We’ve consistently heard from both researchers and industry that there is a need for shared infrastructure to move ideas forward,” said David Kaplan, Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering.

“The Innovation Hub for Food and Materials is designed to meet the needs of academics looking to commercialize a new innovation, small companies that may not have the resources to test manufacturing capabilities, larger companies focused on production that would like to explore new products or technologies, or anyone that might be missing even a small part of the process to bring a product from idea to market,” he said.

The Hub also offers a “technology sandbox” for businesses that make components of the research and development process that other companies need to operate, like bioreactors, extrusion technology (for food texture), and tools for materials characterization, allowing them to test and improve these components in an integrated setting.

The Innovation Hub for Food and Materials is open to qualified commercial, academic, and nonprofit partners. Key features include:

• A BioLabs-operated incubator located at 200 Boston Avenue in Medford, Massachusetts, featuring 46 laboratory benches along with shared co-working amenities, including dedicated desks, private offices, and meeting rooms designed to support early-stage life science and biotechnology companies.
• A food and materials technology core facility with advanced capabilities in cell culture, bioprocessing, food and material formulation, and scale-up production, supported in part by a $2.1 million grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech).
• An extensive cell bank that includes animal and insect cells and the world’s most extensive plant cell repository with more than 2,000 species.
• A test kitchen and comprehensive sensory analytic suite for evaluating future foods under close to real-world conditions with chef and consumer testing integrated across the product development lifecycle.
• Collaboration with the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture, a leading interdisciplinary center exploring the production of meat, novel materials, alternative proteins, and other animal-derived products from cells rather than whole animals, along with plant-derived biomaterials and hybrid plant-animal cell systems.

The Hub is also integrated with the Tufts Food & Nutrition Innovation Institute, led by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, which convenes a world-class community of industry and nonprofit food system leaders alongside university researchers to identify translational opportunities in bioactive compounds (with high nutritional benefits), sustainable food systems, and novel ingredients.

The Innovation Hub for Food and Materials reflects a significant commitment from Tufts, including a $4.6 million university investment to advance shared research infrastructure and capabilities for product development. This investment—alongside Massachusetts state and philanthropic support—strengthens Tufts’ ability to advance ideas to benefit the public and stimulate local and regional economies with innovations that lead to new businesses and jobs.

Interim space is available immediately; the 17,000 sq. ft. facility, fully outfitted for operations, is scheduled to open in fall 2026. For more information, go here.