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Makers of fava bean snacks and sweet potato puffs are among the ten start-ups selected to join PepsiCo’s second annual North America Greenhouse programme. Each of the brands will receive $20,000 in grant funding and participate in a six-month business initiative designed to accelerate their growth through personalised mentorship.   PepsiCo mentors from brands including KeVita and Stacy's will address marketing, distribution, manufacturing, supply chain, packaging, label claims, fundraising and overall challenges related to growing a business. "PepsiCo's Greenhouse programme aims to accelerate growth for entrepreneurs who have built purpose-driven brands that are changing the way consumers eat and drink," said Daniel Grubbs, managing director PepsiCo Ventures Group.  "We provide a grant and mentorship to these companies, and we also draw great value from working closely with the entrepreneurs who are at the forefront of industry trends."

The brands in full

• Beauty Gourmet (Boulder, CO) – A female-founded company that makes a range of sparkling teas

• Love Corn (Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ) – Created a range of crunchy corn as an alternative to chips, pretzels and crackers

• Mudlrk Snacks (LaPorte, IN) – Produces shiitake mushroom crisps and jackfruit crisps in packaging made from compostable materials

• Numilk (New York, NY) – Offers machines and ingredients for grocery stores that allow customers to make their own fresh, plant-based milks in reusable bottles

• Nuttee Bean Co. (Miami, FL) – Makes whole roasted fava bean snacks in three flavours: wasabi and ginger, chili and lime, and salt and vinegar

• Shindig (Milwaukee, WI) – Creates a juice that blends fruit and vegetable ingredients into nutritious recipes

• Siren Snacks (San Francisco, CA) – Manufactures a line of bite-sized snacks that incorporate functional ingredients

• Spudsy (Costa Mesa, CA) – Makes sweet potato puffs in three flavours: cheesy cheddar, bangin' bar-B-Q and cinnamon churro

• Superfrau (Cambridge, MA) – Creates sports drinks from liquid whey combined with flavour extracts like cucumber lime, lemon elderflower and peach mango

• Synapse (Atlanta, GA) – Offers a plant-based alternative to energy drinks

The finalists were selected by a PepsiCo committee based on their product and brand qualities, how they integrate purpose into their offering and how they meet the needs of consumers. At the end of the programme, one company will receive an additional $100,000 in funding based on its progress, level of collaboration and partnership with the PepsiCo mentors, and the effective use of the initial $20,000 grant. That company will also have the opportunity to continue partnering with PepsiCo to further its growth. PepsiCo first launched its Greenhouse programme in Europe in 2017 and expanded it to North America in the fall of 2018, awarding Texas-based Hapi Drinks, a sugar-free kids drinks company founded with the mission to fight childhood obesity, as the winning brand in the spring of 2019. Collectively, the ten participating companies in the inaugural North America class grew their average revenues 200% during the six-month programme.