Renewed Commitment to Open Innovation Using Dairy from Golden State
The
California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) announced the return of the
Real California Excelerator competition, created in partnership with innovation advisory
VentureFuel, for its fifth year.
As the largest global dairy accelerator, the program seeks anyone building any product made with at least
50 percent dairy, including, but not limited to foods, beverages, personal care products, packaging, material sciences, textiles, pet products, or anything else using dairy in an innovative way. This year’s competition offers a value of up to $500,000 in prize money and program value for products that introduce novel applications in any form and drive utilization of
Real California dairy.
Over the past 4 years, the Real California Milk Excelerator has worked with 45 startups across numerous categories including food, beverage, direct-to-consumer platforms, textiles, and personal care. Representing nearly 40 percent of states across the U.S., program alumni have gone from idea to distribution with organizations such as UNFI and KeHE; and many can now be found on the shelves of retailers like Walmart, Safeway, Kroger, Amazon, and Whole Foods.
“The program has grown and evolved over the last five years as we’ve had the pleasure of bringing some interesting, innovative, and delicious products to the market using milk from our California dairy families. What hasn’t changed is our focus on creating the future for dairy product innovation in whatever form that takes,” said John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB. “Real dairy continues to be an attractive tool for product developers, with functional and practical benefits hard to replicate. The business insight, contacts, and tools this program offers, along with the marketing power of the Real California Milk seal, makes this a golden opportunity for brands.”
Each of the eight participants selected for the 2023 cohort will have access to a group stipend and a robust network of resources to refine and scale their product and business. They will also participate in the CMAB/VentureFuel Mentorship Program, consisting of elite counsel from successful founders, investors, leading corporate executives, and experts across design, marketing, sales, manufacturing, distribution, farming, and processing industries. Past mentors have included venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs, and executives from organizations like Unilever, UNFI and Mondelez to name a few.
More details including competition rules, timeline and application are available at
realcamilkexcelerator.com. The deadline to apply is July 7, 2023.
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