Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

FoodFutureCo

Dear Startups: Kick Off 2020 by Applying to One of These 3 Food Tech Accelerators

If joining a startup accelerator program is in your plans for 2020, it’s never too early to get a jumpstart on the competition. First, if you haven’t already, read up on who should ideally apply for these companies, and why (hint: you shouldn’t be doing it for the money). Then, check out the programs below to see if they fit your company’s goals for growth. Note that some of these application deadlines close soon (like, tomorrow).

We update this list monthly, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, check back February for a fresh list of programs. 

FoodFutureCo
New York City

NYC-based FoodFutureCo looks for companies it can help move from early product-market phase to the mainstream, with specific focus on plant-based food, agtech, sustainable seafood, and fighting food waste. Plant-based frozen meal maker Zoni Food, ethical food brand Eat Nice, and analytics platform Farm Fare are all past participants of the program, which was founded in 2015.

The five-month-long program looks for companies on track to gross more than $1 million in annual sales. Four to eight startups are chosen for each cohort. Participants receive up to $10,000 (for 4 to 8 percent equity) along with mentorship opportunities and potential follow-on investment.

Applications close December 31, 2019.

Brinc Food Technology Accelerator
Hong Kong

Brinc’s Food Technology Accelerator covers a wide range of what it calls “investment verticals”: agtech, alt protein, cellular agriculture, packaging, food safety, supply chain, and food waste. Startups looking to join the program should have a product-market fit in one of these verticals, along with a defined business model. According to the program website, companies must be willing to incorporate in Hong Kong and, ideally, want to deploy their product or solution in the Southeast Asian market. 

Unlike many programs, Brinc charges a $30,000 participation fee for the program, though this can be deducted from the $80,000 investment Brinc gives each participating company (for 10 to 15 percent equity). Startups also receive mentorship, customized curriculum, access to potential investors, and post-program support. Companies must be present in Hong Kong for six weeks of the program for onsite training.

Applications close February 17, 2020.

Coming Soon . . .

Techstars Farm to Fork
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

A partnership with Cargill and Ecolab, Techstars Farm to Fork program looks for startups and entrepreneurs working up and down the food chain, from agtech and manufacturing to food safety, traceability, and waste reduction. Techstars looks specifically for companies using tech to solve problems in these areas, as program alumni like Spoonshot and  Renewal Mill have done.

Chosen participants get a $100,000 convertible note along with mentorship and networking opportunities and access to potential investors. They also get workspace, as relocation to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is required for the duration of the three-month-long program. 

Applications open on January 6, 2020.

Mark Your Calendars to Apply to These Food-focused Startup Accelerators

Business may be winding down for the year, but it’s never too early to start planning for 2020. If that includes applying to a startup accelerator, there are a few programs to note this month either taking applications right now or in the very near future.

January normally brings a slew of new announcements and application deadlines, so be sure to check back next month for more details, dates, and programs geared towards food-focused startup growth.

FoodFutureCo
Remote/New York, NY

FutureFoodCo works with companies moving from early-product-market phase to early-majority stage (that is, having some mainstream appeal). Focus areas include CPGs, plant-based food (including seafood), agtech, and reducing food waste.

Four to six companies are chosen for each four-month-long cohort. Participants get mentorship opportunities as well as $10,000 and lifelong access to the FutureFoodCo network. Chosen startups don’t have to relocate to NYC but should expect to travel there at points during the program.

Applications are open until December 15, 2019.

TechStars Farm to Fork
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

TechStars Farm to Fork accelerator works specifically with companies using technical and digital means to change parts of the food system, from agriculture to supply change to curbing food waste. It counts Renewal Mill, Spoonshot, and EIO Diagnostics among its alumni. 

Relocation is a requirement for this one. The program, which TechStars does in partnership with Cargill and Ecolab, is based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and participants are expected to be there for the three-month-long period. TechStars provides workspace, along with mentorship and networking opportunities, access to potential investors, and a $100,000 convertible note. 

Applications open on January 6, 2020.

Terra
Remote/San Francisco, CA

Terra is a joint effort by startup network RocketSpace and food- and agriculture financing company Rabobank. The program accepts companies up and down the food chain, whether you’re a CPG, agtech startup, or creating sustainable packaging.

At minimum, applicants should be in the seed to Series B stage, have a product, service, or technology already in the market, and have the ability to travel to San Francisco for the program kickoff and Demo Day. Participants spend roughly one month ideating on a pilot and four months executing that pilot, though actual time commitment is determined on a case by case basis with each startup.

Applications typically open in January. Stay tuned for specific dates.

A Few Summer Deadlines for NYC Food Tech Accelerators

You can count on a few things for any summer in New York: the hum of thousands of air conditioning units, lengthy sessions in the park, the unmistakable smell of garbage on the curb. And nowadays, you can also count on a few lingering applications deadlines still open for the city’s fast-growing tech accelerator scene.

While many programs have already wrapped their application process, we dug up a few more NYC-specific ones that are still taking applications, with cohorts slated to start around fall 2019.

If you want the lowdown on food tech accelerators and whether your company would benefit from one, check out The Spoon’s recent Food Tech Fireside chat.

Future Food Co
FutureFoodCo helps companies grow from early-product-market phase to having at least some mainstream appeal (a category often called “early majority”). The program looks for food projects and entrepreneurs ready to scale up on a proof of concept. It counts Zoni Foods, Shroom Snacks, and Ozuké among its alumni.

Four to eight participants are selected for each five-month-long cohort. FutureFoodCo looks for small companies on track to gross more than $1 million in annual sales. While the program is based in NYC, participants do not have to relocate full time in order to take part in the program.

All participants receive $10,000 (4–8 percent equity) along with mentorship and advising opportunities, as well as the usual access to networking and potential investment.

Applications for cohort 6 are open now.

Food-X
Food-X kind of doesn’t need an introduction to Spoon readers at this point. The 14-week program — one of the most well-known in the food tech sector — works with early-stage companies from across the food system, though Program Director Peter Bodenheimer noted earlier this year that ingredient tech and “advanced technology” are two ares of focus for Food-X.

For the Fall 2019 cohort, Food-X offers $65,000 in cash (for 8 percent equity) upon a participant starting the program, office space (participants must relocate to NYC), mentorship, access to the Food-X community, including alumni, and access to potential investment opportunities.

Food-X typically takes eight companies per cohort. Applications are open until July 14.

Accel Foods
While it’s more of a venture fund than traditional accelerator, Accel Foods works with up-and-coming CPG companies to scale their businesses and get products to market. Specifically, the fund looks for brands that already have some loyal customer base and are on track to grow to $250 million and above. The fund started in 2013 and since then has grown to managing three separate funds that equal $85 million.

Current members of the Accel portfolio include Alpha (Plant-Based) Foods, Soozy’s, who makes grain-free baked goods, and Wandering Bear Coffee.

Accel takes applications on a rolling basis, and participation is determined case by case. Interested companies can drop the fund a line to kickstart the process.

Here Are the Latest Foodtech Accelerators You Can Apply to Right Now

As I mentioned earlier this year, foodtech is making up for lost time in terms of innovation, and part of what’s driving that is the number of accelerator programs out there. And while we’re halfway through 2018, there are still plenty of programs to which food startups of all shapes and sizes can apply—so many, in fact, that it’s not really possible to fit them all into a single post. We’ve hand-picked a few here and listed them in order of application deadlines. Feel free to add yours in the comments below.

BSH Future Home Accelerator (new)
Applications: Accepted starting July 23rd

BSH Home Appliances (BSH Hausgeräte GmbH) is teaming up with Techstars to create the “BSH Future Home Accelerator Powered by Techstars”, an accelerator targeted at “early stage companies with innovative digital business models that want to accelerate their ideas around the connected kitchen of the future home.”

The program, which will kick off in February 2019 with an initial cohort of 10 companies, will have a total of three cohort classes over the course of three years (2019-2021) and mentor a total of thirty startups.

Land O’Lakes Dairy Accelerator
Applications Due: June 29

Those companies wanting to disrupt the dairy space should apply to the Land O’Lakes’ Dairy Accelerator, which kicks off in mid-September. Participants don’t have to fully relocate to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, but are expected to travel there for the session days taking place throughout the program. All companies receive a $25,000 stipend to offset travel and other costs, as well as training, mentorship, and networking opportunities.

Land O’ Lakes wants companies using dairy as a prime ingredient in their products (duh) and who have done around $200,000 or more in revenues over the last 12 months. Detailed information is in the accelerator’s FAQs.

Chobani
Applications Due: July 2

Greek yogurt maker Chobani has one of the more high-profile incubators coming from a CPG. As Catherine Lamb noted recently, the current round of applications are for the fourth iteration of the program. The chosen ones will be early-stage food and beverage startups who already have some traction in the market (roughly under $10 million in revenue).

Six to seven companies in the manufacturing space will be selected. Chobani provides pretty thorough details on its selection criteria, so you can easily determine if you’re an appropriate fit.

In addition to the company’s high-profile incubator, Chobani just launched a new food tech residency program focused specifically on food and ag tech startups. The program, which is targeted at early stage startups with strong technical pedigrees that could benefit from access to Chobani’s food expertise, will run simultaneously with the Chobani incubator program and culminate in a joint demo day in December. Applications for this new program are also due July 2nd.

FoodForward

Applications Due: July 29

FoodForward is a new food tech accelerator managed by Deloitte Italy in partnership with a group of Italian corporate partners such as Amadori, Cereal Docks and Gruppo Finiper and food innovation entities such as Innogest, Digital Magics, Seeds & Chips and Federalimentare Giovani. The accelerator is open to both Italian and non-Italian startups that fit into the following themes: new foods, quality and traceability of food, healthy lifestyle, circular economy, new delivery models, smart packaging and precision agriculture.

The program, which will accept seven startups in its initial cohort, will run between January and May 2019 in Milan. Each startup will receive a commitment of access to €20k in cash contribution and €50k in services in direct investment in exchange for 6% of of the company’s equity.

Food-X

Applications Due: July 15

“We use a pragmatic, data driven approach to perfect your offering, your operation, and your message,” claims the Food-X website. In terms of how that helps your growing startup, that means access to Food-X’s extensive network of mentors, investors, and other partners, including AWS, Hubspot, California Technology Council, and DigitalOcean. Chosen participants also get $50,000 in cash upon starting the program (in exchange for 7 to 10 percent equity).

Food-X looks specifically for early-stage companies at the “product-market fit” stage. The accelerator takes place at the company’s NYC offices over a 14-week period.

Accel-VT Ag & Food-Tech
Applications Due: August 15

Accel-VT cohort members are chosen based on their company’s ability to use technology to solve an issue related to agriculture—supply chain management/traceability, reducing energy usage, and food distribution, to name a few. The accelerator consists of three, four-day sessions onsite in Burlington, Vermont. There are webinars and homework assignments in between sessions.

Those looking to apply should be at startup or seed stage, have at least two team members, and demonstrate, according to the Accel-VT site, “market adoption in the form of a pilot or paying customer.”

FoodFutureCo
Applications Due:On a rolling basis

The Food Future Co folks pride themselves on being a slightly different kind of accelerator, namely one that caters to founders wanting to scale up their concepts and solutions. Its four-month program, which runs twice per year, looks for entrepreneurs who have some proof of concept and are on track to gross $1 million and up.

FoodFutureCo just wrapped Cohort 3, which took place at Project Farmhouse NYC. For future cohorts, four to six companies will be selected and receive mentorship as well as an in-kind value of up to $100,000 per company.

Food System 6
Applications Due: On a rolling basis

FS6 looks specifically for companies wanting to solve challenges in the food system, be it finding pesticide alternatives to reducing food waste and creating tools for regenerative agriculture. The four-month program takes place twice per year, all of which take place in the San Francisco Bay Area. A mix of for-profit and non-profit companies are selected to participate.

The chosen few (6 to 10 companies) receive training and mentorship, as well as opportunities to connect with partners and investors.