PepsiCo has announced the launch of a new accelerator programme, Nutrition Greenhouse, that has been developed to support emerging brands in the food and beverage sector.
The programme, launched this week in North America, follows on from the rollout of a similar Nutrition Greenhouse initiative in Europe.
The programme will call on 10 startups in the US or Canada with a vision to 'transform' the food and beverage industry, and which are aligned with PepsiCo's Performance with Purpose focus.
These selected start-ups will be guaranteed $20,000 in grant funding and will participate in a six-month business optimisation programme developed to accelerate growth. At the end of the programme, one start-up will be awarded an additional $100,000 to continue their expansion.
Open Innovation
"Nutrition Greenhouse is part of our commitment to open innovation and collaborating with the changemakers of the future," commented Jim Andrew, PepsiCo executive vice president, corporate strategy, and chief venturing officer.
"In line with our Performance with Purpose vision, we want to find and support entrepreneurs who are helping transform the food and beverage industry with nutritious, natural and sustainable products. We're very excited to bring this program to the U.S. and Canada and hope to expand it throughout the rest of the world."
In 2017, eight start-ups in the European edition of the programme delivered an estimated combined sales growth of over €10 million, which increased on a fourfold basis during the six-month programme period.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
