Female founders still have a few days to apply to the “first-of-its-kind” accelerator program SeedHer, hosted by Kellanova’s Pure Organic brand and Female Founder Collective, which aims to help women-led startups “stuck at the starting line” access capital, secure distribution and scale their businesses despite the current difficult investment landscape.
“The investment numbers have remained stagnantly below 2% in terms of VC funding for women in general, and those in food and beverage have take an even bigger hit because investors, as they see more uncertainty in the market, are focusing on businesses that can be valued at over a $1 billion, which historically is difficult for food and beverage businesses,” said Alison Wyatt, Co-Founder of FFC.
But, she added, “women can, in fact, build unicorn businesses that are hugely valuable in the food and beverage space,” such as Allison Ellsworth who co-founded Poppi, which recently sold to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion.
“We wanted to jump in and create SeedHer as a bridge to help more female founders who maybe have a cult favorite food or beverage that is at the farmer’s market, but which are stuck at the starting line because they don’t have the knowledge or capital to successfully scale production of the products or secure distribution,” both of which can be hugely expensive, added Wyatt.
‘The goal is to provide people with the ecosystem that they need to find success’
While SeedHer will not directly offer capital, it will help participating entrepreneurs create more investable businesses and connect with venture capitalists and others who can provide financial support, Wyatt explained.
“The goal is to provide people with the ecosystem that they need to find success beyond just capital,” she said “We are going to be providing access to the capital they need, but also the tools to be able to succeed when they are in front of investors and getting asked really tough questions – some of which they shouldn’t necessarily be asked and which men are not asked.”
She explained, “Women are generally asked about data and stats very specifically in the early days, whereas men are asked about the opportunity. Women tend to be asked to defend how they are going to stay in business. That is a really big difference.”
To prepare female founders for these questions and other challenges they may face while scaling their business, SeedHer will offer a series of masterclasses led by industry experts over 12-weeks that will help participants understand “retail math,” including how velocity is more important that door-count and what it takes to float the money to fill a purchase order until the product sells at shelf, Wyatt said. The classes also will cover other fundamentals, including supply chain and retail placement strategies, as well as personal challenges participants face.
“A big part of this education will be focused on what buyers are looking for, what do they need, how do grocery stores operate, what does success look like and how do you game the system to get your product in a better position at eye level, versus the bottom or at the top where nobody can reach or see you. We will talk about how to get on end cap, how to ensure key metrics are met, how to market, how to navigate cold chain,” and more, she added.
The program also will connect participants with mentors including Neha Kumar, co-Founder of Full Glass Wine Co., Rosa Li, founder and CEO of Wildwonder, and Rebecca Millstein, CEO & co-founder of Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co.
As a co-host of the program, Kellanova’s Pure Organic, which is female founded, will also share insights about “how the system works,” what it is like to be acquired by a large CPG player, what strategics are looking for in potential M&A targets and how to find success at large retailers, such as Costco, where Pure Organic has performed well, Wyatt said.
She added that Kellanova “ultimately might be an acquirers of any of these brands, and so starting that relationship early is really important to us.”
The program will culminate in a demo day in November where participants can pitch a panel of experts who will offer feedback.
Applicants due June 16
The program seeks applicants with a minimum of $500,000 in revenue, which means they have a “clear market fit,” but which need more education and additional tools to “get to the next threshold of success,” according to Kellanova and FFC.
Women interested in applying have until June 16 and can learn more at https://femalefoundercollective.com/SeedHer.