Pasta-maker Barilla’s Venture Group, BLU1877, announced this week that applications are open for the next cohort of its Good Food Makers accelerator. According to a press release sent to The Spoon, the forthcoming program will be BLU1877’s fourth since starting the accelerator in 2018 with San Francisco, California-based incubator Kitchen Town.
Past participants to the eight-week Good Food Makers program include Plant Jammer, Renewal Mill, and Regrained, among others. Typically, each startup chosen to participate in a cohort receives $10,000 to use for business growth during the program as well as mentorship opportunities and the possibility of further collaboration with Barilla. Those chosen for cohort four can expect the same set of benefits.
For this latest cohort, Good Food Makers is looking for companies developing solutions for the following:
- Circular Economy: Companies developing circular-economy solutions for upcycling pasta regrind, wheat brand, and bread crust
- Better Food Delivery: Solutions that improve the preparation, logistics, automation, packaging, and recipe development of food delivery
- Digital Nutrition Guides: Digital platforms that address the nutrition and sustainability of food items
- Easy Meal Routines: Healthy meal kits and services
Good Food Makers has always run small in terms of the number of companies it selects for each cohort. This time around, the program will pick one startup for each of the above topic areas. In addition to specializing in one of the topic areas, applicants should also have, according to the announcement, “proven business results” and the “ability to demonstrate transformative ideas and approaches to supporting a better food system.” As with past cohorts, Kitchen Town will help with the selection process.
The program will kick off in September. For now, all programming is virtual, though BLU1877 notes that there is a possibility of in-person collaboration depending on the location of the chosen teams and current COVID-19 regulations.
Applications are open through August.
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