PepsiCo Seeking Hispanic-owned F&B For Greenhouse Accelerator Juntos Crecemos Edition

PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator program will join forces with the company’s racial equity platform this year for the first ever Greenhouse Accelerator: Juntos Crecemos Edition, intended to help drive growth for startup Hispanic-owned food and beverage businesses. This is the first time that the program, launched in 2017, has focused specifically on a social equity cause.

Applications are open now through May 15. PepsiCo will select ten businesses by early June, ranging from brands and products to foodservice concepts, to participate in a six-month personalized mentorship and educational business program. Selected participants will also receive $20,000 in grant funding. At the end of the program in November, the “highest potential” business will be awarded an additional $100,000 grant and have the opportunity to continue working with PepsiCo and Juntos Crecemos.

“We’re always looking to expand the Greenhouse program to new areas. Each year, the Greenhouse Accelerator focuses on different areas and different parts of the world,” said Esperanza Teasdale, VP and general manager of PepsiCo Beverages North American Hispanic Business Unit. “In 2023, in line with PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey goals to support and uplift diverse suppliers, we chose to focus on Hispanic-owned entrepreneurs in the US.”

Previous Greenhouse Accelerators have focused on themes such as Sustainability and Health and Wellness with brands including Spudsy, Hapi Water, Love Corn and Sophie’s Kitchen as participants, among many others.

Juntos Crecemos, which launched in 2021 as part of PepsiCo’s $50 million Racial Equality Journey goal, provides small Hispanic-owned food and beverage businesses with long term support through grants and business development opportunities. The program also hosts an accelerator program, dubbed IMPACTO, which intends to distribute $10 million between 500 Hispanic-owned food and beverage businesses over the next five years.

“Over the years, the [Greenhouse] program has evolved to support the innovators and entrepreneurs that appeal to consumer needs, including sustainability and nutrition solutions,” said Teasdale. “With innovation and collaboration at the forefront of this program, there is unlimited potential for participants to bring forth concepts focused on sustainability and nutrition, which we know are two areas of importance to consumers.

During this year’s Greenhouse program, mentors will help business owners work through a range of challenges including brand development, scaling technology, business model development, product optimization and go-to-market strategy. Halfway through the program participants will share their progress with the evaluation committee.

Applications will be assessed by an external third party for a clear go-to market strategy, proof of concept, active social responsibility mission, scalable business model, among other objectives. In order to apply, businesses are required to be within $250,000 to $2,000,000 net revenue in their most recent past financial year and be a licensed hispanic-owned business in the U.S.