PepsiCo has announced the ten emerging food and beverage brands that will join its first collaborative accelerator program in North America. Each of the ten participating startups will receive $20,000 in grant funding and participate in a 6-month business optimization program. The Nutrition Greenhouse program is designed to accelerate the growth of these startups with personalized mentorship from experts at some of PepsiCos leading and emerging brands, including Quaker, Naked, KeVita, Stacys, Red Rock Deli and Off the Eaten Path.

The PepsiCo mentors will collaborate with the startups on areas ranging from marketing, distribution, manufacturing, supply chain, packaging, label claims, and fundraising, in addition to addressing other challenges related to growing their business.

At the end of the program, one company will receive an additional $100,000 in funding based on the companys progress, the level of collaboration and partnership with the PepsiCo mentors, and the effective use of the initial $20,000 grant. That company will also have the opportunity to continue partnering with PepsiCo.

The ten startups are:

+ Bohana (Boston, Massachusetts): Reinvented an ancient high-protein snack with popped water lily seed.

+ Hapi Drinks (Austin, Texas): Sugar-free kids drink founded with the mission to fight childhood obesity and type II diabetes.

+ IQ BAR (Boston, Massachusetts): A nutrition bar formulated for cognitive energy, function, and health.

+ Remedy Organics (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey): Plant-based functional beverages made with superfoods, ayurvedic herbs and botanicals as well as protein and probiotics.

+ Rule Breaker Snacks (Brooklyn, New York): Bean-based treats that are gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO and free from the top eight allergens.

+ Sophies Kitchen (Sebastopol, California) - Plant-based seafood alternatives which are 100% gluten free, 100% soy free, Non-GMO Project Verified, and Kosher.

+ Too FIT (Fort Worth, Texas) : A brand dedicated to crafting and delivering nutritional supplements.

+ Torii Labs (Calabasas, California): A health product company creating plant-based functional beverages.

+ Wildway (San Antonio, Texas): A better-for-you breakfast and snack food company.

+ YoFiit (Toronto, Canada): A plant-based company focusing on functional, clean and innovative meal solutions.

The finalists were seleced by an external and internal committee of PepsiCo leaders, and were chosen based on their product and brand qualities, focus on consumer nutrition, scalability of their business model and uniqueness in the market.

"Nutrition Greenhouse was created with the intent of supporting change-making startups of the future," said Daniel Grubbs, Managing Director, PepsiCo Ventures Group. "We are very excited to collaborate with, help grow, and learn from these incredible companies. Each finalist is unique in their own way, but one thing they all share is theyre mission-driven and purposeful, which is very much aligned with our own Performance with Purpose agenda."