PURCHASE, NY. — PepsiCo, Inc. seeks to support Hispanic-owned food and beverage businesses in the eighth year of the Greenhouse Accelerator program with its first-ever Juntos Crecemos (Together We Grow) edition. The company will select 10 brands, products or foodservice concepts for the six-month program, which begins in June.

Participants will receive $20,000 in grant funding and personalized mentorship focused on solving various business challenges across brand development, scaling technology, business model development, product optimization and go-to-market strategy.

Startups will share progress and present updates in August to an evaluation committee, and in November one business will be awarded an additional $100,000 and the opportunity to continue collaborating with PepsiCo to pursue further growth.

“In line with PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey goals to support and uplift diverse suppliers, this year we chose to focus on Hispanic-owned entrepreneurs,” said Esperanza Teasdale, vice president and general manager, Hispanic Business Unit, PepsiCo Beverages North America. “We are extremely excited and proud to offer diverse companies an opportunity to grow their businesses with our support, especially emerging food and beverage brands. Through our mentorship program and grants we hope to see these businesses grow and further expand within the food and beverage industry.”

Launched in 2020, PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey is a five-year commitment to elevating Hispanic communities and businesses and increasing Hispanic representation across the organization.

“PepsiCo is continually looking for ways to expand access to small businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly within communities of color,” said Antonio Escalona, senior vice president and general manager, Hispanic Business Unit, PepsiCo Foods North America. “Knowing that Juntos Crecemos looks to help Hispanic entrepreneurs further grow their businesses, we saw an opportunity to collaborate with the Greenhouse Accelerator program to uncover emerging Hispanic-owned food and beverage brands, innovations and services, and help them realize their business goals, while supporting the Hispanic community.”

The company is accepting applications through May 15. To qualify, an applicant must be a Hispanic-owned business with licensing in the United States and have net revenue between $250,000 and $2 million in the past financial year. Startups will be selected based on demonstrating a clear go-to-market strategy and plan for sustained in-market execution, proof of concepts and working prototypes, uniqueness in the market, gender balance and diversity, a clear and active social responsibility mission aligned with PepsiCo’s Juntos Crecemos strategy, and a scalable business model.

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