PepsiCo announced ¡Ya Oaxaca!, a food company that crafts artisanal Mexican mole sauces, adobos, and salsas, as the winner of the ninth class of the Greenhouse Accelerator. This year marks the second year of the Greenhouse Accelerator Program: Juntos Crecemos (Together We Grow) Edition, which aims to elevate emerging high-potential consumer packaged food and beverage companies inspired by Hispanic flavors and culture that are better for people and the planet. ¡Ya Oaxaca! products, with ingredients sourced and produced in Mexico, capture the bold and diverse flavors of Oaxaca, making it easy to prepare authentic, chef-crafted and all-natural Mexican meals for any occasion. ¡Ya Oaxaca! will receive a $100,000 grant and other resources to scale their operations and grow their business.
The announcement comes after a competitive judging process and a five-month PepsiCo mentorship program. Founded by Chef Susana Trilling and her sons Kaelin Ulrich, Jesse Ulrich-Trilling and Azul Couzens, ¡Ya Oaxaca! was selected from eight promising finalists by the PepsiCo Selection Committee for applying the mentorship learnings to grow its revenue by 350%, expand retail distribution by 200%, and enhance operational efficiencies to improve gross product margins. Throughout the accelerator, each finalist received a $20,000 grant and hands-on coaching from PepsiCo experts across R&D, Supply Chain, Design, and other key areas. This support was tailored to help finalists tackle specific business challenges, including building brand awareness, go-to-market strategies, supply chain issues, and other specialized needs.
"It inspires me to see how all eight finalists leveraged the resources and PepsiCo mentorship to elevate their businesses to impressive heights - from growing revenue to innovating into new categories within food and beverages and more," said Antonio Escalona, senior vice president of emerging business for PepsiCo Foods North America. "¡Ya Oaxaca! stood out for its commitment to transforming grocery store aisles with bold flavors and new product variations. The company's outstanding results show great potential to evolve the food and beverage industry."
Since expanding to North America in 2018, the PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator, led by the PepsiCo Ventures Group, has evolved to assist entrepreneurs in addressing challenges such as sustainability and unmet consumer needs. This year's Juntos Crecemos Edition continues the same fundamental goal: to foster the growth of entrepreneurs.
"We are so honored to be selected as the winner of the PepsiCo Greenhouse Accelerator: Juntos Crecemos Edition," said Azul Couzens, co-founder of ¡Ya Oaxaca! "This program and the mentorship of the PepsiCo team have been invaluable in supporting our business objectives. With the $100,000 grant, we'll be able to continue our mission of sharing the flavors of Oaxaca through our line of mole sauces, adobos and salsas."
