Female Founder Funding: Inside The New Accelerator From Pure Organic, Rebecca Minkoff

Although women currently found and lead 42% of U.S. food, beverage, and hospitality businesses, female founders received one of the smallest shares of venture capital deals last year, securing less than 2% of total funding on average.

Kellanova’s Pure Organic brand is hoping to change that statistic through a new accelerator program launched in collaboration with designer Rebecca Minkoff’s Female Founder Collective, called SeedHer. The accelerator is exclusively designed for female-founded emerging food and beverage companies, providing mentorship on retail readiness, operational growth, capital strategy and brand visibility.

“SeedHer is not about fast-tracking hype or just prepping for investor decks – it’s about long-term success, sustainable growth and surrounding women with the right ecosystem to build category-defining businesses,” Leslie Serro, VP of marketing for Sweet Snacking at Kellanova, told Nosh via email.

The 12-week course includes multiple in-depth workshops, dubbed “masterclasses,” covering supply chain fundamentals, retail placement strategies and strategic approaches to financing, marketing and scaling. The custom curriculum includes weekly virtual sessions, personalized mentorship and collaborative cohort programming.

Applications open today and will close on June 16. To be considered for participation, applicant businesses must have a minimum of $500,000 in revenue, meaning Pure Organic and FFC are “looking for brands that have a clear market fit, but need more institutional support to get to the next threshold of success,” according to Serro.

Beyond the eligibility criteria, SeedHer will be assessing brand differentiation, white space and market opportunity, founder vision and team, readiness for the accelerator, and traction as part of the review process.

In July, 20 founders will be selected to join the program’s inaugural cohort. Participants will then be paired with mentors such as Rosa Li, founder and CEO of wildwonder, and Becca Millstein, co-founder and CEO of Fishwife, whose leadership will close the knowledge gap, leading to growth outcomes and scalable strategies.

“Our mentors are well-respected founders in their own right, but they’re also importantly recent founders. They know what it’s like to have a dream, roll up your sleeves and make it happen,” said Serro.

She continued, “Each has scaled a standout brand in food, beverage or wellness – earning national press, landing major retail partnerships and navigating the realities of modern growth. Their guidance, alongside FFC’s ongoing support, will help shape the next generation of women-led category leaders.”

The SeedHer accelerator program will culminate in an in-person demo day in November, either in New York City or Los Angeles, where all 20 participants will pitch their vision and businesses to a panel of industry leaders and investors. Through business model refinement, pitch prep and brand development, FFC and Pure Organic aim for founders to walk away with a clear path to fundraising or retail expansion.

SeedHer plans to track cohort progress over six months and one year to measure the impact of access to capital, brand deals and retail expansion.

“I’ve seen firsthand how diverse perspectives drive innovation and shape the industry for the better, and how strong networks can unlock opportunities that enable great talent to reach their full potential. This program can create a ripple effect that brings light to gaps in support for female founders and drives progress that is essential to shaping the future of food,” said Serro.

“The food and beverage industry is an incredibly unique retail landscape – one that many first-time founders struggle to navigate due to institutional hurdles,” said Minkoff in a press release. “This is especially true for female founders whose odds of failure exponentially increase at brand conception; a stat we’re determined to change.”