Food & Bev - Accelerator

Food & Beverage Accelerator

Our Food Accelerator program helps high growth food and beverage ventures through customized workshops, expert mentorship and peer-to-peer circles. The program will provide founders with the tools, skills and connections they need to scale and thrive in the consumer-packaged goods industry.

Man at whiteboard with five people sitting at table.

What to expect

The Food and Beverage Accelerator is a five-month accelerator focused on supporting high-growth consumer packaged goods ventures in scaling up their operations and acquiring new distribution channels.

The program includes:

Weekly expert-led workshops

Monthly CEO fireside chats

Bi-weekly peer sessions

Bi-weekly mentoring with industry veterans

It is key that the founding team stays committed to the program to get the most out of it. We believe that at the core of all successful ventures are its founders. As such our program is designed to provide critical knowledge needed in the complex CPG landscape to founders who are open and committed to learn.

2022 cohort profiles

Community

Grow your network with CPG entrepreneurs, experts and advisors

Leadership development

Challenge your thinking during weekly expert-led workshops and mentoring

Growth frameworks

Refine growth playbook with feedback from mentors, advisors and peers

Milestone driven

Create tangible goals to ensure accountability with mentors, peers and advisors

Timeline

Applications open

January 23, 2023

Applications closed

March 6, 2023

Selection

April 3, 2023

Program kick off day

April 25, 2023

Showcase celebration

September 2023

Application process

Step: One

Companies apply online via the application form linked below.

If you have any questions about the application process, email us at yspace@yorku.ca

Wait list

Step: Two

Short-listed candidates will be invited to interview in March.

Step: Three

Candidates are finalized and contacted in April.

Step: Four

Prepare for onboarding and program start in May.

Program eligibility

Product launched in market (minimum 10 points of sale)
Full-time founder(s) who can commit to 5-months YSpace programming
Venture active for over a year with Monthly Recurring Revenue of $3,000 - $5,000
If ventures are less than one-year, we will review the monthly recurring revenue and growth accordingly.
Focus on growth and scaling to achieve high impact
Driven, coachable, growth-oriented and collaborative leader(s)

Frequently asked

Points of sale can include independent stores (i.e., coffee shops, convenience stores, etc.), grocery, retail, online, etc.

The program will be conducted on-line with the exception of the showcase celebration which will be in-person.

The program is comprehensive and requires commitment of approximately 4-5 hours in terms of meeting time. The program includes weekly workshop, bi-weekly mentor connects, bi-weekly peer sessions, and monthly check-ins with a YSpace advisor.

YSpace offers a Food Incubator to support food ventures who may not fit the Food Accelerator. We work with a number of different community partners to support you in various stages of your entrepreneurial journey.

Please reach out to us for an Idea Consultation to find out more.

Apply

Applications are now closed, please join the wait list for the next cohort.

Wait list

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Contact us

For more information, please contact us at
yspace@yorku.ca
416-736-2100 ext. 44940