PepsiCo sets eyes on emerging food and beverage businesses in the country and plans on funding these startups to help them get on top of the industry.
In an announcement made on Thursday, the maker of the popular soda drink Pepsi said that it will be launching in North America, an accelerator program designed to aid companies who have just begun to venture into food and beverage succeed in their endeavors, according to CNN.
The program, called Nutrition Greenhouse, is slated to run for six months. Ten startups hailing from the United States and Canada will be selected by PepsiCo to participate in the training. Each of these entrepreneurial organizations or individuals will receive a grant of USD$20,000.
Aside from the monetary support, the Nutrition Greenhouse accelerator program will feature a one-on-one mentoring process which will be overseen by PepsiCo executives themselves as well as representatives from select institutions specializing in food manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and supply chain, the report from Food Business News added.
At the end of the run, one deserving startup will be awarded by PepsiCo with an additional USD$100,000 in funding plus the privilege to operate in direct partnership with the mega food and drinks company.
Jim Andrew, PepsiCo's executive vice-president, and the chief venturing officer said that Nutrition Greenhouse is part of the company's commitment to providing opportunities for innovation and collaboration with future business institutions.
As Andrew added in his statement, the Nutrition Greenhouse is also in line with PepsiCo's Performance with Purpose vision which seeks out and supports budding entrepreneurs who are making an impact in the food and beverage industry. Furthermore, the Mountain Dew drink maker is particularly keen on grooming those industry movers whose priorities are to produce natural, nutritious and sustainable food products.
Following its successful implementation in Europe, the Nutrition Greenhouse will be on its second leg in North America. The PepsiCo executive went on to express his plans to expand the program globally.
Learning Lessons from Industry Trendsetters
Not only is Pepsi providing up-and-coming industry makers the chance to be exposed in the greater market, the program is also geared towards the company's goal to discover and at the same time cater to the ever-changing consumer tastes.
PepsiCo Ventures Group managing director Daniel Grubbs said, and as cited over at FOX Business, the accelerator program is not only a means for Pepsi to give back to society. It is, at the same time, a strategy where Pepsi gets the front-row seats to the real-world scenarios.
