ALBANY, N.Y. — A Massachusetts firm has captured the $150,000 grand prize in the state’s inaugural MilkLaunch competition.
MilkLaunch is a new startup contest focused on “accelerating product innovation” for dairy products in New York.
Boston, Massachusetts–based Slate Milk won the prize, earning $150,000 worth of support to accelerate its new product in the market.
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Slate is a maker of a “low sugar, higher protein” line of lactose-free milks for “everyone – not just children,” per a 
MilkLaunch news release, The company developed a vanilla flavor specifically for the competition.
“There were plenty of people in the [New York agriculture] community (NY Ag) who took a chance on us and helped us launch when we were just an idea. To now have that same community award us the grand prize is extremely exciting,” Manny Lubin and Josh Belinsky, co-founders of Slate Milk, said in the release. “Slate is simply a compilation of all of our employees, investors, advisors and partners. We can’t wait to continue to grow and innovate real milk with NY Ag as a partner!”
More than 1,000 consumers combined with eight expert judges, to vote on criteria such as “uniqueness, taste, viability and the founding team.”
The judges included the president of yogurt maker Chobani, which is headquartered in New Berlin in Chenango County.
VentureFuel, a corporate innovation consultancy — in collaboration with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the New York Dairy Promotion Order (DPO) Advisory Board — operates the MilkLaunch competition.
The contest included applicants from around the globe — ranging from idea stage to existing new products — with sales under $250,000 and products that contain at least 50 percent fluid milk.
“Our goal with this program was to re-imagine and re-invigorate liquid dairy through new products that capture new consumers to drive demand for dairy in New York state,” Fred Schonenberg, founder of VentureFuel, said. “Slate exhibits the best of external innovation – utilizing core products in new and exciting ways that can accelerate growth for an entire industry.”
VentureFuel has offices in both Brooklyn and in Burbank, California, per its website.
All four semi-finalists received $15,000 worth of support each to develop a prototype. They also had access to suite of resources including graphic design; lab or kitchen time; and mentorship from global marketing, packaging, and distribution experts.
Those experts were affiliated with companies that include Chobani; London, England–based Diageo; San Francisco, California–based Pod Foods; Hudson Valley Fresh, which is headquarted in Poughkeepsie; and Blue Hill Farm, which has locations in Tarrytown and in Manhattan, per its website.
The total value of the competition prizes exceeds $210,000.
