SKU Virtual Showcase | The CPG Accelerator

Welcome to the 2020 SKU’s Showcase! SKU is the nation’s first and leading consumer products accelerator, based in Austin, TX, and this year we are bringing our annual showcase to you virtually as part of the culmination of this year’s program. Our 8th track of emerging CPG brands have just completed 14 weeks of programming and mentorship, and we are excited to debut them to the world through this virtual pitch event. A special thank you to ePac Flexible Packaging for sponsoring this virtual event and to UPS for being a year-long sponsor for the event.

Hosted by SKU’s Executive Director, Kirstin Ross, and keynoted by one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country that has a global facing consumer brand, Kendra Scott, this year’s showcase is going introduce you to the next generation of great consumer brands and their founders and the products they are bringing to market. Produced and Directed by Lyn Graft, Founder of Storytelling for Entrepreneurs (and also an SKU Mentor), the show will bring up close with Kirstin and Kendra, the founders, their products, and their startups as well some of the mentors that advised the startups. You’ll also learn more about SKU, its mentors, and how the program works.

SKU’s mission is connection, so we encourage anyone interested in learning more about the brands you are seeing today to reach out to the founders directly, or to the SKU team at [email protected].
Below is a bit more about each of our cohort companies.

Ladybird Provisions – 08:45

Founder: Sarah Rioux
[email protected]
With strong backgrounds in nutrition and production, founders Sarah Lowell Rioux and Nicole Pinedo created a line of pre-made butter coffee bombs. While the current product line capitalizes on the Keto trend, Ladybird is positioned as a functional nutrition company with other product categories in development.

Paleo Powder Foods – 15:40
https://www.paleopowderseasoning.com/
Founder: Dustin Gersch
sales@paleopowderfoods
Paleo Powder, founded by Dustin Gersch, provides a line of diet-specific (paleo/AIP/FODMAP) seasoning blends and coatings to help make cooking with dietary restrictions easier and more delicious.

Aura Bora – 22:20
https://www.aurabora.com/
Founder: Paul Voge
[email protected]
Aura Bora is a sparkling water made with herbs, fruits, and flowers created by San Francisco founders Paul and Madeleine Voge. The products are made with real herbal extracts and delightful ingredients. Aura Bora’s five flavors – which include flavors as Lavender Cucumber, Lemongrass Coconut, Basil Berry and Peppermint Watermelon – set it apart in the category.

Blenders + Bowls – 27:52

Founders: Erin Thompson and Kara Jordan
[email protected]
[email protected]
Friends Erin Johnson and Kara Jordan started Blenders and Bowls as healthy mobile food truck specializing in acai bowls. The company, which has grown into a chain of five acai cafes, is launching a line of scoopable frozen-fruit bowls, hoping to take their concept into freezers everywhere.

Esker Beauty – 36:15
https://eskerbeauty.com/
Founder: Shannon Davenport
[email protected]
Founder Shannon Davenport – a trend forecaster -wondered why body care took a back seat to cosmetics and skincare. Capitalizing on the self-care trend, Esker is a premium body-care brand dedicated to providing women with clean, high-performance products.

Mushroom Revival – 43:11

Founder: Alex Dorr
[email protected]
Mushroom Revival was founded by Alex Dorr after discovering the benefits of functional mushrooms to combat his Lyme disease symptoms, the company sells a variety of tinctures and cooking pastes designed to improve people’s health through functional mushrooms.

Cheddies – 49:45
https://cheddiescrackers.com/
Founders: Tomas Pergola and Francisco Pergola
[email protected]
[email protected]
Brothers Francisco and Tomas Pergola created Cheddies to provide a healthy savory snack alternative. Cheddies is a high-protein, low-carb all-natural cheese chip whose main ingredient is real cheddar cheese (think healthy Cheez-it). It was created to provide a healthy savory snack alternative.

About SKU:
SKU is the nation’s first and leading consumer products accelerator, based in Austin, TX. This is our 8th cohort of companies to go through our 14-week accelerator program, which provides the programming, resources, and network emerging CPG brands need to take them from hot startups to household names. SKU accepts one cohort per year, and applications for our 9th cohort in 2021 will open October of 2020. Learn more about how to get involved as a startup, mentor, or partner at https://sku.is/

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