By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

NORCO – Cousins Marty Vutera and Mike Mercante have been mixing up an array of wing sauces out of their Hammond area homes for nearly a decade, entering the concoctions in contests throughout the Gulf South.

“We have gone from Hammond to Florida participating in and winning competitions,” Vutera said as he motioned to the assorted trophies on a display table. “It was amazing how often we would get requests about purchasing them. We would always say the sauces were merely a hobby because we both have full time jobs. We never had the means to mass produce.”

That all changed when Vutera came across Edible Enterprises, a food industry incubator for small business owners located in the heart of Norco. The 27,000-square-foot facility, which celebrated its third year in operation with an open house Thursday, offers full-service kitchens, bottling and labeling capabilities and marketing assistance for entrepreneurs trying to get their ideas off the ground.

“They helped turn our idea into a marketable product,” said Vutera, who came up with the name Sweet Southern Sauces for his collection of wing mixes. “It’s not just about the facility. They have been able to market our products to help us get it into stores like Academy and Bass Pro Shops.”

The incubator operates out of the former Norco Co-op building on Third Street, which was purchased by St. Charles Parish in 2007. Director Allen Allgood said the facility operates under a grant from Goodwill Industries and is supported by the Norco Community Economic Development Foundation. Additional subsidies come from Shell and Motiva, the River Parishes Community Development Corp., Greater New Orleans Inc. and St. Charles Parish Community Development.

“We have been able to help hundreds of business owners understand how to get started and where to go to get their products off the ground,” Allgood said. “The program has had five graduates, one of which recently built their own production facility in the area.”

Residents, community leaders and other tenants at the incubator mingled with the budding entrepreneurs Thursday sampling a wide selection of delicacies, from sauces and pickled products to small pastries and rum cakes.

George Lovecchio, who has used the incubator for about a year creating Chef Chan Asian Sauces, said his idea would never have gotten off the ground without the help of Edible Enterprises.

“A place like this makes it easier to experiment on a research and development level,” said Lovecchio, who sells the six sauces to Asian buffets at area casinos. “You have the opportunity for lots of trial and error, and you couldn’t do that without a facility like this.”

Meanwhile Slidell natives Cathy Nolan and Bonnie Diecidue of Bushwood Farm, said they recently joined the incubator in an effort to grow their pickled vegetable business.

“We have taken the products to various local festivals and farmers markets in the region, and now we want to see if we can get them into supermarkets,” Diecidue said. “This place is like a turn key for any new business.”

Allgood said the incubator has about 30 tenants in all, who pay a $200 application fee, plus $20 hourly rental fees to get access to two state-of-the-art, FDA approved, commercial kitchens, plus loads of advice on growing and sustaining endeavors.

“Tenants come here with a plan, a dream, or an idea, and we help them convert it to a reality,” Allgood said. “There are other business incubators in the region, but this is the only one in the state devoted entirely to the food industry.”

Tenants are not required to have a strict business plan to apply for rental time, but Allgood said the facility looks for clients who have a vision for their products that goes beyond 3-5 years.

“We want motivated clients who are eager to see their products succeed on a larger level,” he said. “We understand that there are people out there who are just going to stick to farmers markets, but there are some who really want to grow.”