For the past 5 months, Venturepark Labs has been working with ten forward-thinking Canadian companies in the food and wellness categories. Through our accelerator program, we inspire entrepreneurs to push their potential, offering mentorship and strategies for business growth from our CPG experts. Discover Cohort 11's range of product offerings, from delicious healthy snacks to sustainable cosmetics, live at Demo Day, streaming September 9th, 2021 at 4pm EST.
In the meantime, let us introduce you to the businesses and the entrepreneurs behind them before the big day.
Elate Cosmetics (@elatecosmetics)
Founder(s): Melodie Reynolds
Location: Victoria, B.C
Elate Cosmetics creates safe, effective beauty products using cruelty-free ingredients, ethical marketing, and sustainable practices. CEO, Melodie Reynolds, joined the accelerator to gain tools and resources about the CPG industry to achieve her goal of making Elate Cosmetics an international brand. She was also intrigued by the ways in which the accelerator develops networking opportunities.
Barnyard Biscuits (@barnyardbiscuits)
Founder(s): Audrey Gilson
Location: Didsbury, Alberta
Barnyard Biscuits produces handmade, all-natural dog and horse biscuits made with a holistic approach. Its mission is to create snacks that motivates, enriches, and aids in bonding between the shopper and their pets. Audrey applied to the accelerator as she was searching for a group of peers and mentors to collaborate with in order scale her business.
Secret Foods (@secretfoods_)
Founder: Anna Jane
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Secret Foods wants to be more than just a secret: they want to share their premium, pure, and plant-based tahini and shake up the sauce category for the better. Anna Jane successfully launched her company before joining the accelerator, but longed for new learning opportunities. Since joining, she found that the accelerator program helped her to put more time and focus into her business.
Thrive Provisions (@thriveprovisions)
Founders: Jeff Ball and Lindsay Sali
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Thrive Provisions is Alberta's best Wagyu Beef snack. Made with clean ingredients from their Heritage Farm, their vision is to foster a community that empowers eating at your best, to feel your best. Co-founders Jeff Ball and Lindsay Sali joined the accelerator to expand their packaging and branding provided by the mentorship from our CPG experts.
Mintier (@shopmintier)
Founder(s): Rhaelyn Gillespie & Jessica Sheppard
Location: Burlington, Ontario
Proving themselves to be innovative entrepreneurs, co-founders Rhaelyn Gillespie and Jessica Sheppard developed Mintier, Canada's first oil-based breath mint. Before introducing this brand new product to the market, they joined the accelerator for peer support and guidance on setting their CPG product up for success.
Justo's Craft Dips (@justos.ca)
Founder(s): Justin Kopetzki
Location: Victoria, B.C
Justo's Craft Dips offers high-quality, great-tasting plant-based dips that leave a positive impact on the community, and minimal impact on the environment. Founder Justin Kopetzki felt inspired by the work that Arlene Dickinson does for early-staged entrepreneurs and wanted to join the program due to its emphasis on networking opportunities and collaboration.
Sacred Foods (@eatsacredfoods)
Founder(s): Anamika Gioia
Location: Vancouver, B.C
Sacred Foods offers popped lotus seed snacks that are handpicked, popped in small batches, and roasted to perfection using natural seasonings and olive oil. With a product that honours every ingredient, founder Anamika Gioia joined our accelerator to gain insights into the CPG industry to push Sacred Foods' potential even further.
More Granola (@moregranola_)
Founder(s): Sarah Davies
Location: Toronto, Ontario
More Granola is not your typical granola. With fresh, chunky, granola in delicious dessert-inspired flavours, Sarah was able to develop a product that is still packed with nutritious ingredients. Through the program, Sarah wanted to scale More Granola efficiently and effectively so it can become a national brand.
Sachili (@sa_chili)
Founder(s): Sachi Kittur
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Sachili offers a line of mouth-watering condiments formulated with a twist on the expected flavour of chili. Chief Flavor Officer, Sachi Kittur, wanted to learn how to minimize Sachili's growing pains as a startup and saw the accelerator program as a way to do so with our community of like-minded entrepreneurs
Aura Nutrition (@yourauranutrition)
Founder(s): Kate Marshall and Chris Ongkiko
Location: Coquitlam, B.C
Aura Nutrition is a holistic, community driven brand that provides essential supplements to help everyday females achieve all their wellness goals. Founders Kate Marshall and Chris Ongkiko heard about the ways the accelerator helped scale other brands within their community and felt empowered to join a program that had a focus on supporting female entrepreneurs.
Join us on Demo Day on September 9th, 2021 at 4:00 pm EST. Registration for the event opens on August 23rd at ventureparklabs.ca