Greater MSP, the Twin Cities' regional economic-development organization, is launching a program for food and agriculture startups called "Bold Growth" to identify the scene's rising stars and help turn them into national players.
The ultimate goal is to build the next generation of big-name food companies in the Twin Cities.
Bold Growth is part of Greater MSP's MBOLD initiative, which is a partnership of over a dozen food companies like Cargill Inc. and Target Corp., and is co-led by Grow North and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute. Grow North is an organization that supports food and agriculture entrepreneurship in Minnesota.
Bold Growth is a "post-accelerator program," Grow North Executive Director Allison Hohn said, which means it's designed for companies that have either already been through an accelerator or have shown a significant amount of growth. Startups entering the program have to have revenues of at least $5 million, she said. The program is free for participants and won't require any equity from them, she said.
Five companies will participate in the first cohort, which will last up to a year.
Minneapolis-based agriculture-analytics software company Sentera and Minneapolis-based juice-shot company So Good So You will receive full support from the program, where they will work on multiple growth projects and receive advice from advisors that include food industry executives. Minneapolis-based Peace Coffee, crop protection company Katana Agri-Science and Minneapolis-based Bizzy Coffee will receive more limited support and tackle just one problem, Hohn said.
All of the startups were selected because they show the potential for national success, she said. They'll be focused on problems like making their supply chains more efficient and building out their marketing campaigns.
"One of the things that start-up companies need most is access to people who can help them, in the right ways, at the right time. MBOLD's Bold Growth program unlocks that door by putting up-and-coming businesses into direct relationships with leaders at some of Minnesota's foremost food and ag companies," General Mills CEO and MBOLD co-chair Jeff Harmening said in a statement.
This year's Bold Growth will serve as a bit of a pilot program. But expect to see it stick around for years to come, Hohn said.
"The goal is to have this be an annual program," she said
