PepsiCo announced the 10 finalists from around the world that join its fifth annual Greenhouse Accelerator, a mentor-guided program supporting the acceleration of the latest innovators that seek to transform the ways consumers eat, drink and live their lives. This year's Greenhouse Accelerator program looks outside the box in areas like emerging science and technology that can help PepsiCo stay close to evolving consumer tastes and preferences. Each of the participating companies will receive $20,000 in grant funding and begin a six-month business program designed to accelerate their growth through personalized mentorship
"We're excited to evolve our Greenhouse Accelerator program to new areas including cutting-edge science and technology," said Daniel Grubbs, managing director, PepsiCo Ventures Group. "We have a lot to learn from this group and look forward to collaborating closely with these 10 innovators who are changing the game through personalization, emerging technologies, and unique services and ingredients."
The 10 innovators will receive personalized mentorship from experts at PepsiCo across functions including research and development, supply chain and design. Mentors will collaborate with the companies to solve a range of business challenges, including business model development, scaling technology and go-to-market strategy. In June, one company will be awarded an additional $100,000 in funding to continue its growth.
"There's no question that COVID-19 has renewed consumer interest in taking control of their personal health and wellness, and we continue to explore how this evolves in the food and beverage space," said Antonio Tataranni, SVP, R&D and chief medical officer, PepsiCo. "Our Research and Development team continues to look for emerging and disruptive solutions that address consumer needs, such as creative innovations in personalized nutrition, functional foods and supplements, and new technologies that enable vitality."
The 10 companies selected for the fifth annual global PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator program are:*
BioLumen
San Francisco
BioLumen is a nutritional technology company which engineers 100% natural structured fiber that absorbs sugars and fats in the stomach.
Biosustain Labs
Kodagu, India
Biosustain Labs develops sustainable functional food products for consumers looking for specific health benefits from their foods.
Braingaze
Barcelona, Spain
Braingaze is a scientifically proven and clinically validated digital solution to detect and treat cognitive dysfunctions using mind-tracking technology.
Canomiks
Rochester, Minn.
Canomiks is making food as medicine a reality through its genomics and AI-based Product Superiority Platform, a platform that helps companies in the functional food and beverage, dietary supplement and skincare industries develop safe and efficacious products.
Carbiotix AB
Lund, Sweden
Carbiotix AB is pioneering microbiome healthcare through modulators and gut health testing services.
LifeNome – Ask
Sophie
New York, New York
LifeNome's Ask Sophie is a precision pregnancy nutrition and health companion that targets an expecting mother's unique biological needs from preconception to post-delivery.
Melico Science
London, UK
Specializing in precision nutrition and wellness, Melico Science uses advanced technology to provide metabolically personalized dietary advice using chemical fingerprinting of a urine sample to give consumers the tools they need to be their healthiest self.
Seqbiome
Cork, Ireland
SeqBiome currently offers microbiome sequencing, analysis, and consultancy for industry to academia clients, and is now looking to expand this into a B2C offering to athletic and performance consumers to improve or maintain their overall physical and mental performance.
Sphera Encapsulation
Verona, Italy
Sphera Encapsulation is building a more sustainable food system by using patented technology to develop the next generation of encapsulated products, such as functional foods or taken as functional supplements that have a meaningful social, environmental and health impact.
ZBiotics
San Francisco
ZBiotics uses proprietary technology to make genetically engineered probiotics that execute specific beneficial functions for your body, making your healthy life healthier.
The finalists were selected by a committee of leaders within PepsiCo based on their ability to offer ingredients, products or services that encourage a healthy lifestyle and enable health management and wellness on a global scale.
The Greenhouse Accelerator program first launched in Europe in 2017 and expanded to North America in 2018. Over the years, the program has evolved to support the innovators and entrepreneurs that appeal to consumer needs.
* The descriptions of each start-up are based on the respective company's own words. PepsiCo has not verified the accuracy of the product claims of the companies, does not endorse, and is not responsible for the content, actions, or omissions of the companies.
