The Inspire Brands Flavor Forward: ProStart® Innovation Lab is a project-based learning experience that invites culinary and restaurant management students to bring classroom learning to life in a commercial product development simulation, inspired by some of America’s most iconic food and beverage brands.
Experiential, Industry-Driven Learning
Developed in partnership with Inspire Brands and aligned with FRCMA curriculum, students will apply culinary, restaurant management and hospitality concepts as they develop and pitch a new product for either Buffalo Wild Wings or Dunkin’.
Through the process of product ideation, recipe development, costing, and marketing, students demonstrate their understanding of key concepts such as target market analysis, profitability, promotional strategy, and consumer engagement while strengthening critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and professional communication skills.
Curriculum Learning Objectives
The Innovation Lab provides student-centered, experiential learning that helps students synthesize classroom learning, connect industry concepts, and apply their knowledge in an authentic, career-focused environment, allowing them to develop workplace competencies and explore career pathways within the restaurant and foodservice industry.
Comprehensive Educator Resources
Designed to reduce planning time and support flexible implementation, the Innovation Lab provides educators with turnkey, ready-to-use resources that can be integrated into a variety of instructional models and pacing structures. Whether it’s used as a semester-long lab, end-of-unit assessment, independent student assignment, or a capstone project, the Innovation Lab helps educators reinforce classroom learning, assess student growth, and connect academic concepts to real-world restaurant industry careers.
The Innovation Lab materials include:
- Lesson Plan Guide
- Brand Overviews
- Project Briefs
- Student activities and worksheets
- Evaluation rubrics
- Ongoing ProStart support
Brand Promise: Buffalo Wild Wings turns game-time into stories worth telling.
Brand Purpose: Inspire legendary experiences between friends.
Stats:
- 1,300 Restaurants
- Leading Sports Bar brand in the US
Brand Purpose: Energize us all to power forward
Brand Promise: Dunkin’ get America ready to get it done.
Stats:
- 13,200 Restaurants
- Largest coffee and donuts brand in the United States
Ready to Innovate?
Complete this form to register and access the the Flavor Forward: Innovation Lab resource hub.
If you have any questions, please contact us at prostart@nraef.org.
Register here to access the Resource Hub
About Inspire Brands
Inspire was founded in 2018 with a vision to invigorate great brands and supercharge their long-term growth. It is the second-largest U.S. restaurant company with 33,000+ restaurants and 650,000 company and franchise members across six nationally recognized brands. Inspire is building a purpose-driven organization with a common cultural foundation – to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences. Inspire unites distinct yet complementary brands, with the goal of enhancing their strength and impact beyond what could be achieved individually.