This month, a new cohort of dairy innovators started Dairy Runway, a free entrepreneurship program supporting early-stage ideas for value-added dairy products using New York State cow’s milk.

Carol Fitzgerald’s entrepreneurship journey began with making whiskey-infused fudge for members of her son’s band, Whiskey Shivers, and their parents as a gift around the holidays.

Launched earlier this year in partnership with the Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center (NDFRC), the program offers a free, virtual curriculum that focuses on product concept and consumer discovery, along with training in prototype development and business coaching.