PepsiCo to launch North American accelerator programme for startups

PepsiCo has announced that it is going to launch a North American accelerator program to help grow food and beverage startups.

The Nutrition Greenhouse will give ten startups US$20,0000 each. It will also match them with an expert mentor from one of PepsiCo's brands including Quaker, Naked, and KeVita.

The second largest food and beverage business in the world said that the programme will offer guidance on strategy, fundraising, product development, supply chain management and more. 

At the end of the six-month programme, one firm will also receive an additional US$100,000 to continue its expansion.

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"Nutrition Greenhouse is part of our commitment to open innovation and collaborating with the changemakers of the future," said 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."

Last year, the firm started a similar accelerator programme in Europe. Irina Turcan, Founder of Erbology and winner of the 2017 European Nutrition Greenhouse, said that the programme helped her grow the business and expand into the US market.

"It was more than the prize money – our mentor gave us valuable insights on retail and consumer marketing as we extended our 'powerful plants' concept into a unique range of snacks,” she said.

“As a result, our revenues grew over four times last year and we launched Erbology in U.S. retailers in June this year."