The Checkout: Doordash Launches New Program To Support Entrepreneurs; Plantish Closes $12.5 Million Seed Round
Doordash Launches Newest Main Street Strong Initiative: DoorDash Accelerator for Local Goods
Earlier this week Doordash announced the launch of a new educational accelerator program in New York, Chicago and the greater Washington D.C area aimed at supporting local, consumer packaged goods businesses owned by women, transgender, U.S. immigrants and people of color.
The program’s inaugural class of 50 entrepreneur-owned brands will receive support with resources, education and funding in addition to having their products added to the delivery service’s virtual convenience store, DashMart.
“Local businesses generate a substantial amount of economic return for the communities they thrive within, while also creating notable job opportunities for residents,” said Tasia Hawkins, Social Impact Program Lead at DoorDash, in a press release. “By developing the DoorDash Accelerator for Local Goods, we are equipping aspiring entrepreneurs with the educational and financial capital to become wholesale-ready and create an even stronger relationship between local businesses and consumers residing in the community.”
The accelerator program is an expansion of Doordash’s Main Street Strong initiative which launched in late 2020 and committed $200 million to “empower local communities.” The program’s participants will have access to a six-week course, available both live and self-guided, covering supply chain management, wholesale vendor relationship management, overseeing cash flow and business development.
In addition to educational resources, each participant will receive a $5,000 grant for their business, access to Doordash’s marketing and sales support and guaranteed product placement in its virtual DashMart marketplace. The program’s application portal is now open and any entrepreneur registered and actively operating packaged food business in the program’s launch cities can apply as long as they have been in business for at least two years, have less than 20 employees and generated less than $1 million in revenue in FY21.
Alt-Seafood Company Plantish Closes $12.5 Million Seed Round
Plant-based seafood brand Plantish announced this week it has raised $12.45 million in a seed funding round. The company claims this is the largest seed round to-date for an alternative seafood brand and it was led by State Of Mind Ventures with participation from Pitango Health Tech, Unovis Capital and TechAviv Founder Partners, among others.
In addition to this new capital, Plantish had previously raised $2 million in pre-seed funding and the company, which was founded less than a year ago, has also already debuted its first product, a whole-cut salmon alternative.
“Cracking wholecut seafood is the next big opportunity in our quest for impact and sustainability,” said Merav Rotem Naaman, General Partner at State Of Mind Ventures, in a press release. “When we met the world-class team at Plantish we knew that they had the passion, vision and capability to pull off the seemingly impossible task of producing a true upgrade to fish.”
The company said the new funds will go toward expanding its team and accelerating R&D and product development. In terms of distribution, the company’s co-founder and CEO, Ofek Ron said Plantish is first looking to foodservice, citing that 60% of seafood is consumed outside the home, and said it will launch pop-up locations by the end of the year with the goal of being available nationwide by 2024.
Sweets & Snacks Expo Announces New Locations
Under a newly implemented policy, confection and snacking trade show Sweets and Snacks Expo will change the annual event’s location based on attendee and exhibitor feedback.
Chicago will host the next two events, but starting in 2024 the show will rotate locations with two years in Indianapolis at the Indiana Convention Center followed by one year at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“Indianapolis and Las Vegas are the right fit to meet the growing demand for our show and enable it to continue providing the innovation, insights and connections that the candy and snacks industries want and need,” said John Downs, NCA president and CEO, in a press release. “This decision is all about the show’s future, and it was driven by our exhibitor and attendee community, for our exhibitor and attendee community.”
Typically held every May in Chicago, Sweets & Snacks Expo was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the show was relocated to Indianapolis and held in June, with organizers citing regulations by the city of Chicago around large events as justification for the move. According to hosts The National Confectioners Association, the June show had 8,000 attendees with over 450 exhibitors.
Plant-based Honey Maker MeliBio Raises $5.7 Million
Food tech company MeliBio announced on Thursday that it has raised $5.7 million in seed funding to accelerate and scale the development of its proprietary precision fermentation technology with the goal of launching its first line of commercial products. The round was led by Astanor Ventures with participation from existing and new investors, the company said.
Founded in 2020, MeliBio has raised $7.2 million to date and is currently working toward commercializing its bee-free honey invention. Late last year MeliBio launched its first honey ingredient for B2B and foodservice use and said it also conducted blind taste tests revealing that the product was indistinguishable from regular honey.
“We know that science can produce delicious and nutritious honey, which is molecularly identical to traditional honey, at no cost to our precious bees,” explained Darko Mandich, CEO andCo-Founder of MeliBio, in a press release. “At MeliBio, we are here to introduce certainty in the supply chain and help companies simplify their honey sourcing, while making their honey-based formulations sustainable and delicious.”
“We have seen the MeliBio founders deliver on their big idea of sustainable honey, transitioning from concept to full-scale production and underscoring our confidence in this great team,” continued Andrew D. Ive, Managing General Partner at Big Idea Ventures, in a press release. “Their success is built on strong IP in precision fermentation and a relentless dedication to growing sustainable honey, while positively impacting pollinator diversity.”
