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The 10-week program consists of business development classes at the grocery chain’s ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ headquarters, networking opportunities, $5,000 of equity-free funding and an in-store product trial at select Schnucks stores in 2025. It begins Wednesday.

Several other grocery companies, like Kroger and Whole Foods, have accelerator programs, but few are devoted to consumer packaged goods, said Adrian Moore, Schnucks’ senior director of merchandising enablement and supplier diversity.

“What makes ours rare is the shelf trial, giving our customers access to the cohort’s products for a limited time in limited stores,� she said. “Most accelerators that I’m aware of offer the education and funding, but few offer the benefit of an actual sales outlet.�

After announcing the Schnucks Springboard program earlier this year, the company received 110 applicants. The winners are Bella’s Pet Products, D.R.E.A.M. Pet Food, Hugo Coffee Roasters, Mickey’s Popcorn, MOTASTE, Phathead BBQ Sauce, Pop Pop Hurray, Sandwich Goat Seasonings, Show Me the World and YUJ Granola.

Co-founders of D.R.E.A.M. Pet Food, Jaime Cooper and Paul Paige, met through a mutual friend a decade ago. With a combined 12 years of experience in the pet food industry, the two launched their hip-hop inspired dog treats in 2018. Now, the brand can be found in stores around Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and, locally, in Fresh Thyme Markets.

Paige, who is based in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, said the duo are excited to participate in the Schnucks program as they want to “win in our backyards.â€�

“A mentor told us, the easiest part is getting there. The hardest part is staying in that location,� he said. “How do you become a mainstay? What does it take to win in that space?�

Through hip-hop-inspired images and branding (the logo is a dog in a track suit with a chain necklace and a bucket hat, a la Run-D.M.C.), Cooper said D.R.E.A.M Pet Food talks to a demographic that pet food companies have missed.

“They’re all talking to the same customer,� Cooper said. “You see commercials of people running in fields with dogs or in the kitchen, that’s not how we grew up with our dogs. We talk to customers as a whole in a different way.�

Moore, of Schnucks, said the program will include speakers, pitch classes and sessions on food safety, pricing and social media. Schnucks didn’t want to be an incubator that builds startups, so officials looked for businesses that were already established and had retail sales or had been in stores, she said.

“There’s a lot to be learned from diverse-owned businesses and the stages they’re in,� she said. “We want to support the local economy, and we want to support people who look like our diverse customer base with diverse suppliers because that’s how it should be.�

The Springboard companies were selected in partnership with Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council, based on their business stability, incremental sales opportunity, strategic vision and corporate responsibility, according to a statement.

“It’ll benefit us greatly and open our doors up so much more,� said Terry Payton, owner of Phatheads BBQ Sauce.

The Bethalto, Illinois-based sauce brand started after Payton and his brother hosted a taste test in Payton’s front yard. People wanted to buy their sauce and since then, the two have been working hard to create different flavors and grow.

Phatheads BBQ Sauce is used on food at Nubby’s Telegraph in south ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County and can be found on store shelves in western Illinois. Payton said they typically sell out at food festivals.

“Even if we don’t get the shelf space in Schnucks, we’ll leave the table with more than we came in with,� Payton said.

Makenzie Johnson, CEO of Bella’s Pet Products, said her acceptance into the accelerator comes at the perfect time, as her business has grown to the point where she no longer has the capacity to make all the all-natural dog treats by herself.

“Nowadays, customers really do care about who’s making the products that they’re buying and where they’re coming from, so I think that Schnucks is reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, we want to highlight women and we want to highlight the Black community and the LGBTQ community,’ and that’s what drew me in,� Johnson said.

She said she is looking forward to learning from the other business owners. Based out of Jackson, Missouri, 21-year-old Johnson is studying entrepreneurship and corporate innovation at Southeast Missouri State University. She hopes to have the confidence, funds and skills to pursue Bella’s Pet Products full-time after graduating.

Show Me the World began selling coffee about seven years ago. The company partners with a nonprofit of the same name and aims to expand the world view of local high school students through trips to Costa Rica.

Selling coffee helps sustain the program and acts as another education tool as high school students are involved with the business process, learn branding and marketing and develop workforce readiness skills. Show Me the World Project has been around for over a decade, said co-founder Sylvester Chisom, and sells its products online, at the Tower Grove farmers market and in local Fresh Thyme Markets.

The business is “over-the-moon excited to connect with diverse brands,â€� Chisom said. “It seems like a perfect fit. This is who we are, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½-based led by minority founders. ... We’re using a product but turning it into an impact on the community.â€�

Outside the new Schnucks Springboard program, companies wanting to get their products on Schnucks shelves can apply to be a product . Schnucks also has a supplier program that targets businesses owned by people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans and women. The chain declined to share what percentage of its inventory is made up of local products and how much revenue these items produce.