Grow North, an organization supporting food, agriculture and beverage entrepreneurs in Minnesota, has named veteran Land O' Lakes and Target food scientist Allison Hohn as its new executive director.
Hohn has spent more than a decade working in food product development, most recently as a senior food scientist at Target. She also spent eight years working in food science at Land O' Lakes and serves as the director of research and development for 15/16 Group, a firm that focuses on scaling food businesses.
Grow North, an initiative from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, was established about four years ago. The organization offers education and connection opportunities for food entrepreneurs. Since 2018, Grow North has organized Food, Ag, Ideas Week, a five-day celebration highlighting food innovation in Minnesota.
The organization was initially funded for three years by a grant from General Mills. General Mills has extended its relationship with the organization, and Grow North now gets additional funding from partners like The Schwan Food Co.
Hohn replaces Lauren Pradhan, Grow North's founding director. In February, Pradhan shared plans to step down, saying she planned to pursue her own entrepreneurial venture.
In a statement, Grow North said Hohn is "passionate about growing and building our food ecosystem, helping cultivate strong connectivity across our entire community and further elevating Minnesota as a hub for food and agriculture innovation on the global stage."
