Chobani Announces Food Incubator Participants

September 19, 2018
Written by Admin TOA
Published in Professionals

Tea, hummus and allergen-free baking ingredients are among the products developed by the startups chosen to be part of the fall Chobani Incubator program for food and beverage entrepreneurs. The company also will mentor two food tech companies in its inaugural tech residency program. Since 2016, the Chobani Incubator program has helped entrepreneurs that are “disrupting and improving high-potential food categories,” the company said in a statement. Alumni have also launched over 30 new SKUs and several have achieved successful rebrands, the company said.

Joining the fourth incubator class this fall will be:

    MatchaBar, a matcha (ground green tea) company based in Brooklyn, New York that distributes a shelf-stable bottled and operates retail cafes in New York and Los Angeles
    TeaSquares a naturally-caffeinated snacks company that helps train youth in entrepreneurship within underserved communities like the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago
    Ithaca Cold-Crafted, a hummus company that uses a cold process that protects flavors and nutrients throughout a 100-day shelf life
    Haven’s Kitchen Sauces, which produces refrigerated, globally-inspired packaged in lightweight, easy-to-use pouches
    Partake Foods, a line of allergy friendly kids’ food that is free from the top 14 allergens, non-GMO project verified, kosher, vegan and gluten free.
    Supernatural, which makes clean, allergy-friendly baking ingredients like plant-based food colors and soy-free sprinkles

The tech residency companies are Skyven Technologies sources thermal energy from the sun and supplements industrial boilers with zero-fuel heat; and CinderBio, which uses extreme microbes to make cleaning solutions for the dairy processing industry that are sustainable and biodegradable and use fewer chemicals, fewer steps, less water, and reduce hazardous waste.

Chobani announced the tech residency in June, saying it was looking for technology startups passionate about solving challenges in the food and agriculture arena. The tech companies will have access to all Chobani Incubator programming, including factory visits, mentorships, opportunities to pilot new products, and a chance to pitch for funding.

The program begins in October and will culminate with a demo day in early 2019. The incubator and tech residency take place at Chobani's offices in New York and at Chobani manufacturing plants in Twin Falls, Idaho and New Berlin, New York.
By Anne Stych is a freelance writer in Charlotte, North Carolina. - www.bizjournals.com