Mass Innovation Nights - Foodie Edition

Wednesday I went to my first Mass Innovation Night here in Boston.  Mass Innovation Nights aim to give exposure to innovative Bostonians' new ventures and help connect these brands, marketers, job seekers, and the media (or just curious people) to create awareness and buzz about cool new things going on in the Bay State.  Each month's event has a theme, and to my great excitement, February was "Foodie".  Obviously I went.  :)

This month, the meet-up was held at the Microsoft New England Research & Development Center (or N.E.R.D Center) on Memorial Drive.

Sorry about the reflection - the view was pretty enough I decided to include it anyway.

Here's a little rundown of some of my favorite finds for the night.

Off the Cob Sweet Corn Tortilla Chips - These chips are made with sweet corn (instead of dry field corn like a lot of brands out there) and seasoned with sea salt and a trace of lime, so they're sweeter than most.  I really liked the chips, but liked the story behind them even more.  Cameron, the founder, told me he got his start in college when he won Babson College's Entrepreneurial competition, a $20,000 prize.  From there, he did a Kickstarter campaign and added another $15,000 to his business.  Here's a recent article on Boston.com about the start up, and a link to where you can buy them online!

Chocolate Therapy - I was excited about checking out this table.  Ever since the truffle making class Ann and I took, I've been interested in different chocolates.  This Framingham-based store uses therapeutic ingredients in most of their truffles - cold pressed olive oil, cayenne, honey, and ginger to name a few.  They were FANTASTIC.  I especially enjoyed "Liquid Caramel" - milk chocolate with a liquid caramel center.  If you don't live in the Boston area, you can check out the online store on their website.

BodyPhysica.com - Ok...truth time...I knew these guys before the Innovation Night, but that doesn't change the fact that they're awesome!  Lisa is a veteran fitness expert and has owned a Pilates studio in Brookline for 15 years.  Last year, she released her first two fitness DVD's - Modern Pilates with Lisa Johnson and Body Physica INTENSE.  Both feature Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced modifications  so there's something for you no matter your level.  Buy her DVD's!

Image from their Facebook page

NoshOnIt - As a foodie and a blogger, I was so excited to hear about NoshOnIt.  This is a curated content network that sends a daily email featuring recipes from up-and-coming bloggers and chefs.  Each day of the week has a theme - Meatless Mondays, Healthy Tuesdays, Sweet Tooth Fridays, etc.  Sign up for whichever themes interest you and enjoy the creative and beautiful dishes the arrive in your inbox each week.  Sign up for their emails here!




BudiBar - Budi Bars were the surprise of the night.  These things were seriously delicious.  The founder developed these superfood packed treats while studying Psychology and Mind/Body at Harvard.  These have "high antioxidant levels, mind balancing Omega-3 fatty acids, mind focusing amino acids, and natural ingredients that time release energy without causing sugar spikes".  Take that 5 Hour Energy!  I sampled the Macadamia with 72% Dark Chocolate and was blown away.  Currently, they're sold in local Whole Foods or you can buy'em online.

Ivyees Jamacian Honey is a new gourmet honey company.  They are currently based outside of Boston, but farms their own bees in Jamacia.  This is not your everyday, comes in a bear-bottle honey guys.  I sampled three of their four flavors and brought home two little sample jars of their "Hibiscus & Sorrel" and "Logwood" honeys.  I can't wait to use them!  You can buy some for yourself at their website.


The other companies in attendance were Bixby Bars, Boston Teawrights, Delectable Desires, KEO Homemade Ice Cream, and Unreal Candy Unjunked.  I couldn't try most of these products because I'm allergic to soy, but did enjoy watching everyone else "ooh" and "aah" as they sampled the products.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of these new companies as much as I did!  What are some of your favorite new finds?