Food Entrepreneur NEW YORK — New York-based BeyondSKU, a partnership with Austin, Texas-based consumer packaged goods accelerator SKU, and BeyondBrands, New York’s natural products consulting agency, is looking for innovative food and beverage brands for its fifth track starting in September.

The 12-week program, which goes through December, will teach companies about mission and vision, branding, investment strategy, legal, channel strategy, supply chain, innovation among others.

Founders also will have access to mentors of consumer product companies as well as other CPG founders, industry experts and investors.

Beginning in January 2025, founders will pitch to an audience of investors and CPG leaders from the local community.

“Building on the continued success of BeyondSKU’s past four tracks and the legacy of the original SKU in Austin, we are excited to kick off BeyondSKU Track 5 this September,” said Eric Schnell, founder and chief executive officer of BeyondBrands. “I am proud our New York focused accelerator plays a key role in growing our local entrepreneurial community of small brands to become household names, while leveraging the collective wisdom of our diverse talented group of seasoned CPG veterans who lean in deep with mentorship and networking.” 

The program is accepting applications until June 15.

Five brands selected to participate in the program’s fourth year included:

  • Dam Good English Muffins, a family-operated baker of vegan sourdough English muffins with an open hiring model;
  • Down to Earth, a brand of ready-to-drink iced teas formulated with functional ingredients;
  • Gourmend Foods, a maker of organic, gut-friendly broths and seasonings;
  • Kekoa Foods, a manufacturer of organic purees incorporating herbs, roots and spices to expand babies’ palates; and
  • Pinsa Love, a brand of Roman-style, frozen pizzas.
“We can’t believe how accelerated our growth has been since participating in Cohort 4 of BeyondSKU,” said Danny Auld, co-founder of Kekoa Foods. “The mentors are seasoned CPG leaders who encouraged us to share our biggest pain points so they could offer their insight, expertise and connections to help us develop a solid growth plan over an 18-month period. Each week we delved into all aspects of running a CPG business with leaders in each of the areas of sales, marketing, branding, operations and fundraising, to name a few. We perfected our pitch by program completion, all while being supported by, and supporting, our fellow cohort founders, and established an amazing network in our industry.” 


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