Press release
PepsiCo Awards $100,000 to ¡Ya Oaxaca!, Winner of 2024 Greenhouse Accelerator: Juntos Crecemos Edition
Chef-founded Mexican food brand specializing in salsas and mole sauces awarded grand prize following extensive five-month mentorship program PURCHASE, N.Y.,
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[{"type":"text","content":"Chef-founded Mexican food brand specializing in salsas and mole sauces awarded grand prize following extensive five-month mentorship program\nPURCHASE, N.Y., Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) announced ¡Ya Oaxaca!, a food company that crafts artisanal Mexican mole sauces, adobos, and salsas, as the winner of the ninth class of the Greenhouse Accelerator. This year marks the second year of the Greenhouse Accelerator Program: Juntos Crecemos (Together We Grow) Edition, which aims to elevate emerging high-potential consumer packaged food and beverage companies inspired by Hispanic flavors and culture that are better for people and the planet. ¡Ya Oaxaca! products, with ingredients sourced and produced in Mexico, capture the bold and diverse flavors of Oaxaca, making it easy to prepare authentic, chef-crafted and all-natural Mexican meals for any occasion. ¡Ya Oaxaca! will receive a $100,000 grant and other resources to scale their operations and grow their business.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nThe announcement comes after a competitive judging process and a five-month PepsiCo mentorship program. Founded by Chef Susana Trilling and her sons Kaelin Ulrich, Jesse Ulrich-Trilling and Azul Couzens, ¡Ya Oaxaca! was selected from eight promising finalists by the PepsiCo Selection Committee for applying the mentorship learnings to grow its revenue by 350%, expand retail distribution by 200%, and enhance operational efficiencies to improve gross product margins. Throughout the accelerator, each finalist received a $20,000 grant and hands-on coaching from PepsiCo experts across R&D, Supply Chain, Design, and other key areas. This support was tailored to help finalists tackle specific business challenges, including building brand awareness, go-to-market strategies, supply chain issues, and other specialized needs.\n\"It inspires me to see how all eight finalists leveraged the resources and PepsiCo mentorship to elevate their businesses to impressive heights - from growing revenue to innovating into new categories within food and beverages and more,\" said Antonio Escalona, Senior Vice President of Emerging Business for PepsiCo Foods North America. \"¡Ya Oaxaca! stood out for its commitment to transforming grocery store aisles with bold flavors and new product variations. The company's outstanding results show great poten...