NC Food Innovation Lab names K.P. Sandeep executive director to strengthen university ties

The NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL) has named K.P. Sandeep as executive director as part of organizational changes designed to connect its food development services more closely with NC State University’s research, teaching and Extension expertise.

• K.P. Sandeep is now NCFIL’s executive director.
• Joseph Hildebrand will oversee normal operations as interim director.
• Changes aim to strengthen research, industry partnerships and training.

Sandeep, who heads NC State’s Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences (FBNS), will help strengthen collaboration between the Kannapolis-based facility and the university’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).

The changes are intended to improve support for food entrepreneurs and manufacturers across North Carolina while creating more opportunities for students to gain practical experience in food development and processing.

“These organizational changes give NCFIL a closer connection with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) research enterprise and the academic, research and Extension expertise of the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences,” said CALS Dean Garey Fox. “Our goal is to position NC State to better support food innovation and North Carolina’s food and beverage industry.”

The new arrangement connects the lab’s work with businesses and entrepreneurs more directly to the department’s academic and technical resources. Its objectives include closer research collaboration, stronger industry relationships and an expanded training offer.

Sandeep said the changes would benefit food entrepreneurs while giving FBNS students opportunities to work with practical food innovation challenges.

“I look forward to working with our team to strengthen our industry partnerships, advance economic development across North Carolina, expand the portfolio of training programs we offer, foster research collaborations and provide our students with valuable experiential learning opportunities,” Sandeep said.

NCFIL’s day-to-day operations will continue without interruption under interim director Joseph Hildebrand. The lab will have a reporting line through the North Carolina Agriculture Research Service, according to Megan Jacob, CALS senior associate dean of administration.

A permanent NCFIL director will be hired to support operations in Kannapolis. That operational appointment will sit alongside Sandeep’s executive director role, which connects the facility with the department and the college’s research activities.

The announcement set out several priorities for the revised organization, including service to entrepreneurs, collaboration with university researchers and opportunities for students. It also identified training as an area Sandeep wants to expand, building on the workshops and consultations already offered by the lab.

Located on the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, NCFIL houses food processing equipment and test kitchens within a 16,000-square-foot facility. Its equipment supports extraction, extrusion, drying and thermal processing, giving food developers access to several processing methods within one location.

The facility supports work from initial product concepts through to consumer testing. Its combination of test kitchens and processing equipment allows entrepreneurs and food innovators to work on both product development and the processes needed to make those products.

For companies developing new foods and beverages, those activities involve more than a recipe alone. The lab’s stated role encompasses the practical development work needed to take an idea toward a product that can be evaluated by consumers.

NCFIL has achieved current Good Manufacturing Practice capabilities, or cGMP, and hosts consultations and workshops for food innovators and entrepreneurs. Those existing services provide the starting point for the closer industry engagement and expanded training portfolio described in the announcement.

The organizational changes concern how the facility connects with NC State’s resources and serves businesses and students. The university said the arrangement would strengthen access to research and departmental expertise across North Carolina while normal lab operations continue.

Recruitment of a permanent director will provide support for the Kannapolis operation, with Hildebrand leading the facility on an interim basis.

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