Chobani unveils third incubator class
The third and largest Chobani Incubator class to date, with nine food start-ups, is comprised of companies that are disrupting and improving high-potential food categories in the United States—from healthier energy drink and smoothie options to nutritional foods that can help kids learn to love vegetables.
Chobani has announced the members of its Spring 2018 class for the Chobani Incubator. The third and largest Chobani Incubator class to date, with nine food start-ups, is comprised of companies that are disrupting and improving high-potential food categories in the United States—from healthier energy drink and smoothie options to nutritional foods that can help kids learn to love vegetables.
The Chobani Incubator program provides equity-free investment and a strong focus on mentorship. The third Chobani Incubator class will run from April 2018 to July 2018, based out of a dedicated space designed for the Incubator at Chobani's sales and marketing offices in New York City.
“The past few years have proven the need, value, and strong desire for a food incubator that is solely focused on supporting entrepreneurs who want to challenge the food industry, improve broken systems, and bring better food to all people,” said Chobani Incubator Director Jackie Miller. “Through this program, we’ve seen companies double their distribution, expand their teams, and launch new products—and we’re just getting started. Hamdi, our founder, hand-picked this class—our largest yet—for their unique ability to transform traditional product categories in the United States and we couldn’t be more excited to get started with them.”
The Chobani Incubator’s third class is made up of the following nine companies:
- 88 Acres (Allston, Mass.): Nutritious snacks and seed butters made with simple ingredients. Seeds are the primary ingredients in all products, which are also free from the 11 most common food allergens.
- Fresh Bellies (White Plains, N.Y.): A line of organic baby food that doesn’t mask vegetables with fruit and uses herbs and spices to train baby palates from the very first bite.
- Masienda (Los Angeles): A clean-label tortilla company with unprecedented sourcing. From farm to tortilla, Masienda’s impact-based supply chain supports more than 2,000 smallholder farmers throughout Mexico whose corn is grown using regenerative practices across more than 30,000 acres.
- NOKA (Pacific Palisades, Calif.): Superfood smoothie packs that deliver balanced nutrition and delicious flavor from organic whole fruits and veggies, packaged to be refreshing anytime and anywhere.
- Nona Lim (Oakland, Calif.): Make simple and fresh foods more convenient for everyday living. The products such as the Asian-inspired soups, noodles, and broths have no additives, no preservatives, and are dairy-free.
- Puffworks (Portland, Ore.): Makes organic peanut butter puffs using simple ingredients to deliver a naturally nutritious crunch. Each snack is a powerhouse of plant-based protein intended to help promote healthier snacking.
- Remedy Organics (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.): A health and wellness platform that offers a line of plant-based beverages with purposeful function resulting from the use of superfoods, ayurvedic herbs, and botanicals, as well as protein and probiotics.
- teaRIOT (Venice, Calif.): Each tea has the natural caffeine equivalent of an espresso shot (or more) and is flavored by a blend of cold-pressed, organic fruits, botanicals, and veggies.
- Wildway (San Antonio): A better-for-you breakfast and snack food company offering grain-free granola, grain-free hot cereal, and smoothie bowl starter mixes.