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Food & Bev - Accelerator

Food & Beverage Accelerator

Our Food Accelerator program helps high growth food and beverage ventures through customized workshops, expert mentorship and peer-to-peer circles. The program will provide founders with the tools, skills and connections they need to scale and thrive in the consumer-packaged goods industry.

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What to expect

The Food and Beverage Accelerator is a five-month accelerator focused on supporting high-growth consumer packaged goods ventures in scaling up their operations and acquiring new distribution channels. 

It is key that the founding team stays committed to the program to get the most out of it. We believe that at the core of all successful ventures are its founders. As such our program is designed to provide critical knowledge needed in the complex CPG landscape to founders who are open and committed to learn.

2024 cohort profiles
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Community

Grow your network with CPG entrepreneurs, experts and advisors with weekly workshops.

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Leadership development

Challenge your thinking during weekly expert-led workshops and mentoring. Monthly CEO Fireside chats.

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Growth frameworks

Refine growth playbook with feedback from mentors, advisors and peers. Bi-weekly peer sessions for additional feedback.

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Milestone driven

Create tangible goals to ensure accountability with our Bi-weekly mentoring with industry experts and our advisors.

Timeline

Applications open

January 13, 2025

Applications closed

February 28, 2025

Selection

March 28, 2025

Program kick off day

May 2025

Showcase celebration

September 2025

Application process

Step: One

Please note applications are now closed. Join our waitlist for future programs!

If you have any questions about the application process, email us at yspace@yorku.ca

Join Waitlist

Step: Two

Short-listed candidates will be invited to interview in March.

Step: Three

Candidates are finalized and contacted in April.

Step: Four

Prepare for onboarding and program start in May.

Program eligibility

  • Product launched in market (minimum 10 points of sale)
  • Full-time founder(s) who can commit to 5-months YSpace programming
  • Venture active for over a year with Monthly Recurring Revenue of $5,000+ over the last 6 months or an Annual Recurring Revenue of $100,000+
  • If ventures are less than one-year, we will review the monthly recurring revenue and growth accordingly.
  • Focus on growth and scaling to achieve high impact
  • Driven, coachable, growth-oriented and collaborative leader(s)

Frequently asked

Points of sale can include independent stores (i.e., coffee shops, convenience stores, etc.), grocery, retail, online, etc.

The program will be conducted on-line with the exception of the showcase celebration which will be in-person.

The program is comprehensive and requires commitment of approximately 4-5 hours in terms of meeting time. The program includes weekly workshop, bi-weekly mentor connects, bi-weekly peer sessions, and monthly check-ins with a YSpace advisor. 

YSpace offers a Food Incubator to support food ventures who may not fit the Food Accelerator. We work with a number of different community partners to support you in various stages of your entrepreneurial journey. 

Please reach out to us for an Idea Consultation to find out more.

Join the waitlist

Please note applications are now closed. Join our waitlist for future programming!

Join the waitlist

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Contact us

For more information, please contact us at
yspace@yorku.ca
416-736-2100 ext. 44940