AB InBev is now accepting applications for startup incubator 100+ Accelerator. The beer mogul, already laser-focused on significantly reducing water consumption and eventually sourcing 100% of their energy from renewables, is launching the incubator to help fund movers and shakers in the sustainability movement.
100+ Accelerator
The 100+ Accelerator invites folks of all walks of life — academics, entrepreneurs, scientists, and technologists — to apply for the opportunity to work with one of the most successful businesses in the beverage industry.
Startups funded through the 100+ Accelerator will be “partners who can deliver breakthrough advancements in a range of areas including water stewardship, farmer productivity, product upcycling, responsible sourcing, and green logistics.” Small businesses accepted to the program will receive access to AB InBev’s a professional network, funding, and mentorship.
Each year, the 100+ Accelerator will lay out a set of pressing challenges facing our world today and will choose startups working towards solving them. In 2018-2019, the challenges are:
- Every Single Drop — water scarcity
- Farm X — hop farming sustainability
- Close the Loop — responsible beer packaging
- The Future of Brewing — brewing sustainability
- Carbon Action — renewable energy affordability and availability
- Safer & Greener Logistics — cleaner transportation
- Responsible Sourcing — supply chain ethics
- Empowering Small Businesses — business literacy
- Waste to Wellbeing — repurposed brewing co-products
- All Hands — sustainable practice adoption for businesses
Why incubate?
Unlike other startup incubators, 100+ wasn’t founded to help diversify a product portfolio. Instead, the incubator is a part of a growing strategy for the beer giant to reach its 2025’s Sustainability Goals. The goals are designed to build “a healthy natural environment and thriving communities so we can brew beers that bring people together for the next 100+ years” — hence the name of the incubator.
Reaching lofty sustainability goals don’t just benefit the planet, but profits, too. Since the battle between craft and “big” beer has heated up in the past decade, the beverage giant has been prioritizing building consumer trust to win back the taste buds of beer drinkers around the world. Part of the company’s growth initiative includes dedication to sustainability to align with the public’s growing concern about environmental issues.
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Big food has been making the headlines with their innovative startup incubators. Read more in these articles:
- PepsiCo Aims to Diversify Product Portfolio with Startup Incubator “The Hive”
- Big Food Investing in Food Startup Incubators
- Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator, Funded by Cargill and Ecolab, Welcomes 9 Food Industry Startups to the 2018 Class
