Pladis, which owns biscuit brands including McVitie’s, Jacob’s and Ülker, has said that the scheme will aim to nurture early-stage companies in the UK and around the world operating in the fields of food tech, health and sustainability.
The programme will also have a focus on tackling consumer trends such as the ageing global population and the demand for sustainable food sourcing, and hopes to work with companies involved in personalised nutrition for the over 50s and younger generations, functional foods and future ingredients.
Start-ups involved in the programme will be given the opportunity to pilot projects or co-develop solutions with Pladis.
The application window opens on 18 March and closes at the end of May, with the final selections expected to be announced during the summer.
“We are excited to launch the Accelerator Programme as part of our continued to driving transformative change within food tech, health and sustainability,” said Jennifer Moss, chief R&D officer at Pladis.
“We are a young company ourselves and our leadership team has experience in scaling a global business and bringing to market innovative products. The people running this programme were the people who were integral in making our business what it is today. We want to share the insights we’ve learned to collaborate directly with visionary startups, powering the next era of breakthrough ideas.”
Through the programme, selected businesses will also have direct access to senior figures in the food-tech, retail tech and innovation ecosystem, including industry leaders, corporate partners and experienced venture professionals.
The scheme is being backed by Yildiz Ventures, the strategic growth arm of Pladis parent company Yildiz Holding.
The news comes amid a major shake-up at Pladis, after CEO Salman Amin stepped down out of the blue last month.
The firm’s chief financial officer Sridhar Ramamurthy and managing director for Europe and developing markets Tim Brett have assumed temporary oversight of operations, while Mete Buyurgan has been named as the new UK and Ireland managing director.
