AccelFoods Signs Six Breakout Startups

NEW YORK, NY (February 19th, 2015) – AccelFoods solidifies its role as the curator of food and beverage innovation with today’s announcement of the incoming class of new companies. This month, six hand-selected startups will join the roster of promising brands backed by the AccelFoods platform. Acceptance into the program is a passport to accelerated, strategic growth.Launched just over a year ago, AccelFoods identifies and invests in emerging brands that show the highest potential to disrupt their categories. To date, AccelFoods has invested in eight companies and put time, money and its platform’s resources behind edible insect protein, dairy free indulgence, and the expansion of ethnic products into new formats―three categories that are still new to the market, but already changing consumers’ perceptions of food and beverage.“Using the enhanced resources, new partners and experience gained during our inaugural year, we are thrilled to introduce six new category forerunners to the AccelFoods community and watch them thrive from the support of our operational team and industry engagement, “ says AccelFoods Co-founder and Managing Partner Jordan Gaspar.

The newest additions to the AccelFoods portfolio include:

San Francisco, CA based Bandar Foods re-imagines popular Indian flavors for an everyday American audience. Bandar’s line of snacks and condiments brings these Indian tastes to new categories and delivers a unique flavor experience in a familiar format. www.bandarfoods.com

 

Boulder, CO based Cows Gone Coconut offers a delicious, creamy, non-dairy frozen dessert made from both coconut milk and coconut water. Cows Gone Coconut provides a smaller carbon footprint and easier to digest alternative to ice cream that delivers a full-flavor experience.www.cowsgonecoconut.com

 

New York, NY based ELEMENT Snacks brings indulgent European flavor to a traditional American snack: a reinvented rice or corn cake with a layer of velvety italian chocolate or creamy fruit. ELEMENT offers a snack that is decadent, yet light, gluten free and all-natural. www.elementsnacks.com

 

Minneapolis, MN based Five Friends Food’s “Fresh Bar” aims to revolutionize the granola bar with fresh, refrigerated, simple ingredients.  Fresh Bar’s taste and soft texture make it a unique alternative for breakfast and on-the-go snacking. www.fivefriendsfood.com

 

Congers, New York based JicaChips is the first chip made entirely from Jicama. With 6g of fiber and under 100 calories per serving, baked JicaChips come in five unique flavors that are as good for you as they are delicious. www.jicachips.com

 

Launched in Australia, redomiciled via AccelFoods, PODlife is a pod-based sports nutrition and wellness company with a patent pending shaker system delivering ultra high-quality protein, weight-loss and wellness powders with maximum benefit and optimal convenience. Be on the look out for disruptions outside of sports nutrition as PODlife enters the United States market. http://pod.life

 

“We are extremely excited by the passion and ideas the Class III entrepreneurs bring to the AccelFoods portfolio, and the level of innovation they will deliver to consumers across a range of categories and geographies, both within the US and internationally,” says AccelFoods Co-founder and Managing Partner Lauren Jupiter.Following a successful international partnership in Class II, AccelFoods continues to broaden its reach and support food and beverage innovation across the globe, offering a U.S. launch partner to Australia-based Podlife.

About AccelFoods: AccelFoods is an early-stage investment platform committed to
creating outsized returns for founders and investors through an operating team, industry engagement and impact capital. For a full list of AccelFoods’ Mentors and Key Partners, and to keep track of its fourteen portfolio companies, visit the AccelFoods website at http://www.accelfoods.com.