PepsiCo Chooses 10 Hispanic-Owned Food and Beverage Startups for Accelerator Program

PepsiCo Inc. has revealed the 10 finalists chosen to take part in the Greenhouse Accelerator Program: Juntos Crecemos (Together We Grow) Edition. For the first time in the program’s history, its focus is on supporting new Hispanic businesses that provide products, services and technology solutions for the food and beverage industry. 

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The finalists span consumer-packaged goods, beverage, market analytics and technology, sustainable packaging solutions, and environmental impact and waste reduction sectors:

• Chuza Inc., a maker of fruit and vegetable snacks using 100% Mexican spices, with no added colors or artificial flavors.
• Date Better Snacks, created as an alternative to the traditional candy bar. The Latina-owned company makes the vegan, gluten-free product from scratch using Medjool dates and Rainforest Alliance Certified 85% organic chocolate, with no artificial ingredients and less than 1 gram of added sugar per serving.
• Dathic, an AI-powered platform that provides Hispanic market insights and analytics to CPG brands to help them grow their sales.
• FoodWare, which is powering the circular economy via a tech-enabled reusables tracking system and impact accounting platform.
• Hyfé, a Latina-founded company that repurposes food supply chain wastewater.
• I Eat My Greens, providing chef-crafted, plant-based ready-to-eat soups made with fresh whole-food ingredients grown by farmers practicing sustainable agricultural practices that reduce food waste. 
• Katrina Brewing Co, billed as the first craft nonalcoholic beer that brings an authentic artisanal Mexican option to the emerging nonalcoholic beer sector.
• Pisqueya (pees-keh-yah), a first-generation, woman-owned, Latinx-American food company that offers a premium line of hot sauces and seasonings.
• Tia Lupita Foods, the first brand in the United States to introduce nopales (cactus) as an alternative functional and sustainable ingredient in its line of grain-free tortilla chips and tortillas, which are high in antioxidants, fiber, iron, calcium and potassium. The line of low-glycemic products also helps reduce water waste and the food production carbon footprint. 
• True Spirit Beverage Co, maker of ready-to-drink Parch, the world’s first line of non-alcoholic, vegan, gluten-free, all-natural agave cocktails infused with desert botanicals and adaptogens.

This edition of the Greenhouse Accelerator has teamed with Juntos Crecemos, part of PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey designed to provide short and long-term support to Hispanic small businesses over five years. The companies were identified through a deliberate selection process that evaluated their potential to introduce innovative packaged goods and transformative solutions to improve consumer experience, sustainability and efficiency across the food and beverage industry.

The finalists were revealed at a recent launch event in Plano, Texas, where they were joined by PepsiCo executives and experts from such areas as research and development, supply chain, and design. During the event, each entrepreneur presented an overview of their company and was paired with at PepsiCo mentorship team, which will support the business during the six-month accelerator program.   

“We’re excited to continue helping to fuel the growth of these Hispanic small businesses, not only through financial support, but also by providing them access to top-of-the-line mentorship and business resources,” noted Esperanza Teasdale, VP and general manager of the Hispanic Business Unit at Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Beverages North America. “Through the Greenhouse Accelerator Program: Juntos Crecemos Edition, we’re committed to helping even more businesses grow faster and sustain their long-term performance.”

As well as receiving a $20,000 grant and mentorship,  finalists will have a chance to secure even more funding later this year. In August, each will highlight their progress in a virtual event taking place before an evaluation committee. In November, an expert selection committee will give the business with the highest potential an additional $100,000 to continue its expansion and opportunities to work with PepsiCo and Juntos Crecemos.

The Greenhouse Accelerator program launched in Europe in 2016 and expanded to North America in 2018. This is the eighth Greenhouse Accelerator program.