With the support of a federal Economic Development Administration grant, studio\Blu constructed the Taste, Research and Insights Lab, or TRAIL Wagon. This mobile testing lab is an 18 foot box trailer fully equipped with a commercial kitchen, including sinks, refrigerator, freezer, conventional oven, microwave oven, gas stove, griddle and fryer. This self-contained facility will be used to conduct consumer testing on food products manufactured in Idaho.
studio\Blu partners with Idaho manufacturers to mentor Boise State students in developing real-world projects from start to finish. A team of studio\Blu student employees led the design of TRAIL Wagon and will also lead the consumer research events, as well as compiling the resulting insights for clients.
The official unveiling of the TRAIL Wagon will be at Boise Entrepreneur Week, where the facility will be on on display during the Food Expo on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The winner of the TrailMix competition will receive a consumer product test completed by TRAIL Wagon and the studio\Blu team.