From games to gut-health drinks, SKU is looking to train the next generation of CPG brands to stock people’s shelves.
The local arm of the Austin-based accelerator program, rebranded to SKU Dallas from SKU DFW to avoid so many acronyms, has unveiled the members making up its second cohort in the region.
“We had so much success running the program virtually out of necessity for the last year and a half,” said Kirstin Ross, SKU managing director. “It’s such a dream cohort. We’ve gotten to know the founders, and some of them we’ve been talking to for over a year, so watching our relationship with them grow and being able to bring them into the program has just been immensely fruitful.”
Surprisingly, this cohort comprised of companies all located outside of Texas. Ross said that’s partly due to a small number of applicants from the Lone Star State. She added that SKU applicants are pooled from across the country, with the organization’s local mentors selecting which companies to accept. The local mentors share an equity stake with SKU in the cohort companies.
“The mentors have skin in the game, the companies have skin in the game, and it really allows the companies to tap into this mentor network that are accredited investors,” Ross said. “It’s really getting them in front of people who are investing in this space or who represent capital.”
The hybrid virtual and in-person 12-week program kicks off on Aug. 24 with a keynote by actor and CPG investor Patrick Schwarzenegger and culminates with a pitch event in November. The program focuses on later-stage companies with revenues ranging from $900,000 to $5 million, chosen based on things like market traction and product innovation. Ross said the accelerator’s programming is tailored to the companies in the cohort.
“These companies have reached some really amazing revenue numbers for being young brands and we just can’t wait to propel them to the next level,” Ross said.
SKU was launched in 2011 by lawyer Shari Wynne Ressler and entrepreneur Clayton Christopher, who founded Sweet Leaf Tea and Deep Eddy Vodka. It brought the accelerator to Dallas last year in a partnership with DFW CPG, a local mentoring organization co-founded in 2019 by Richard Riccardi and Rick Jordan
With programs in Dallas, Austin, New York and Minneapolis, SKU is looking to continue its expansion with a launch in Atlanta in 2022.
Meet the members of SKU Dallas’ 2021 cohort:
- Bohana (Boston) – a maker of popcorn-like snacks made from whole popped water lily seed co-founded by Priyal Bhartiya and Nadine Habayeb.
- Core & Rind (St. Louis) – a dairy-free cashew cheese sauce startup co-founded by Candi Haas and Rite Childers.
- Crated with Love (Fresno, Calif.) – a monthly subscription box with date night games co-founded by husband-wife team Tyler and Michelle Turk.
- Daily Crunch Snack (Nashville) – a snack brand made from sprouted nuts founded by Diane Orley.
- Hella Cocktails (Long Island City, Ny.) – a mixology company with a line of non-alcoholic bitters and mixers co-founded by Tobin Ludwig, Jomaree Pinkard and Eddie Simeon.
- wildwonder (South San Francisco) – a prebiotic and probiotic health drink brand founded by Rosa Li.
