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November 4, 2025

Startup that freeze-dries food on deck for Waterville incubator program

An aerial view shows buildings, a river and a bridge. FILE PHOTO / COURTESY DIRIGO LABS Dirigo Labs is at the Hathaway Center in Waterville, seen here.
By Laurie Schreiber

A startup that offers freeze-drying services to farmers and small food businesses — started by a 2025 Mainebiz 40 Under 40 honoree — is one of nine participants accepted into the second cohort of Central Maine Growth Council’s Dirigo Launch Incubator Program. 

Gina Mannarino started Green Gean’s LLC to turn fresh local produce into shelf-stable, nutrient-dense items and to offer milling as a post-processing step in the production line. She started the company in response to a loved one undergoing cancer treatment who struggled with altered taste buds, making food hard to enjoy. 

“Freeze-drying offered a solution, changing textures in a way that made familiar foods simple to eat and approachable again while being nutrient dense,” she told Mainebiz earlier this year, adding, “Everyone is healthy now, yay!”

A person poses for a headshot.
FILE PHOTO / TIM GREENWAY
Gina Mannarino

The Dirigo Launch is an eight-week virtual program designed to support ideation-stage startups as they refine their ideas, identify target customers and build business foundations.

Participants are equipped with tools and mentorship to move from concept to company, with programming centered on customer discovery, market research and business model development. Each week, entrepreneurs engage in workshops, one-on-one office hours and assignments that help them validate their ideas and define paths to growth.

“Dirigo Launch gives founders the structured support they need to test assumptions and bring innovative ideas to life,” said Muffadal Ali, the council’s project management specialist.

Other startups 

  • BM Software in Waterville, led by Matt Boulerice, is a real estate management and accounting software.
  • D-Go in Fairfield, led by Jenn Williams, offers ready-to-drink decaf coffee for health-conscious and caffeine-conscious people.
  • Next Landing in Norridgewock, led by Danielle Scarmazzo, is a job board for small, rural businesses looking to hire high-quality candidates locally.
  • OneBella in Dixmont, led by Dakota Hatch, is a community-driven, age-adaptive Type 1 diabetes management platform that connects families, caregivers and patients with real-time tools, data and support.
  • RIL in Portland, led by Hanks Ouyang, is an AI-powered breast cancer detection platform looking to make the technology more accessible to rural communities.
  • Torus Time in Waterville, led by Luke Brooks-Shesler, helps businesses looking to add revenue streams, powered by AI vending machines.
  • Unify in Biddeford, led by Abbie Anderson, is a student-built social platform helping college students to form meaningful, lasting connections through shared interests and to promote belonging, engagement and retention through institutional partnerships.
  • Viabole in Bangor, led by Alyssa Snow, manufactures dry-molded fiber packaging products made with Maine softwood timber, using proprietary dry-molded fiber technology.

The program includes a demonstration day that’s part of the Dirigo Innovation Challenge, a larger celebration of entrepreneurship in the region. The day, sponsored by Coldwell Banker Plourde Real Estate, is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 13, from 5-7 p.m., at 70 Main St. in Waterville. Attendees will be able to engage with local and regional entrepreneurs, view interactive startup displays and witness hidden judging to select prize-winning ventures.

Last year’s inaugural cohort included products and services such as bottled matcha latte, rescue and rebuilds of old VW vans. A seaweed-based hair product, plant-based Jamaican jerk, Moringa and Baobab powder from Tanzania, data energy tools, holistic rehabilitative care, and platforms for “creatives,” 3D home models, travel, writers, social media marketing, and students.

Dirigo Launch is part of Dirigo Labs’ mission to strengthen Maine’s startup ecosystem through mentorship, education and partnerships that fuel innovation and regional economic growth.

Dirigo Labs, a program of the Central Maine Growth Council, is a regional and statewide startup accelerator based in Waterville. 

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