Our Accelerator works through a Phased Approach from launching a product into the local market through national scale. We do this by leveraging our Ecosystem where you are able to become a manufacturing expert in our Kitchen, understand what people want by selling in our Stores, and saturating the local market with District Distribution.
Once in Phase Four, Accelerator Members are considered for a cash investment by our Fund to support national scale.
250% higher success rate at $10mm valuation as a company through our Four Phases
Michael Haft founded Compass Coffee after serving with the U.S Marines. While deployed in Afghanistan, Haft developed a deep appreciation for coffee.
Read more about Michael Haft's journey in entrepreneurship.
Liam Frumkin, the founder of AHAV Food and student at Duke University, is on a mission to improve people's lives through snacks with simple, clean ingredients.
Read more about Liam's journey from Sophomore at Duke to CPG entrepreneur.
Inspired by the rich flavors and traditions of her childhood, Margarita Womack, PhD & MBA, brings Colombian flavors to national shelves through her CPG company Maspanadas.
Learn about her journey and where she is today .
Jesse Konig and Ben Johnson founded Jesse Ben's during their college days at Wake Forest University.
Read more about their journey from dorm rooms to national shelves.
Meet Some of our Amazing Members
Hear about the journey from Union Kitchen Accelerator Members:
Access our Ecosystem of Kitchen,Distribution, and Stores as an Accelerator Member. You'll have the advantage of real-time market access and feedback from day one, allowing for faster product launches and smarter consumer-driven innovation.
Kitchen
BUILT FOR MANUFACTURERS
Learn to be the best at manufacturing your product without the high upfront costs of building your own facility or using a co-packer
Licensed facility (including USDA-Meat, USDA-Organic, and Gluten-Free Certified) with a team of trained food safety professionals on site
Regular tasting events with buyers, distributors, and corporate partners
Distribution
Distributors want to see that you have sales volume before bringing you on. Stores want to work with brands already on a distributor
Our distribution allows you to build your proof of concept and break into stores
Show that you have sales and a product that people want
We buy over $2mm of food founders products/year
Stores
Launch your market-ready products into our stores!
Learn what customers want and build your product into something that is a habitual purchase
Drive early revenue to your brand
Use the sales data to pitch other stores and show that it is something their customers will want to buy again and again
Set up demos and learn directly from customers!
In-House Expertise
We’re in it everyday, running grocery stores, driving distribution trucks, and working with national brokers. We are intimately familiar with every element of the supply chain, from manufacturing through store shelves. We have years of experience building the BEST CPG brands and you get to take advantage of it all!
Industry Partners
We help businesses launch products 8x faster with the support of our leading industry partners.
We do the pre-work for you -- We’ve vetted all of our partners and narrowed down the packages to exactly what you need for launch saving you time, money, and effort.
We connect the dots - Things work a lot better when suppliers talk to each other. We facilitate all hand-offs, join for calls, and make sure things move smoothly along the supply chain.
Our On-Demand Courses
Leverage our extensive library of on-demand courses as part of the Accelerator. Whether you're looking to improve your packaging, product formulation, marketing, or finance skills, our courses are designed to provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to navigate the four phases to build to last.
How to Apply
1. Discovery Call - let's get to know each other!
2. Tour of Union Kitchen - check out the place where we build successful food businesses.
3. After the tour, submit the following:
- Pitch Deck: Introduce yourself as an entrepreneur, your business, and your passion
- Introductory PMP Video: A 3 minute video pitch following Passion, Mission, and Product
- Product Samples: Submit a sample of the product idea you're interested in launching
Join us in building the best CPG brands! We'd love to learn more about your business goals and the best ways to support all the incredible brands in our ecosystem.
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