In the XLRadar Consumer Goods program, the Innovation Capital investment fund focused on business models for technological solutions for trade-in fast-moving goods, as well as for the development of food (fresh products, organic food, confectionery), beverages, and cosmetics.
More than 100 startups with business ideas in the field of FMCG applied, 19 of which were approved to join the acceleration, 8 reached the final of the program, which took place last week in the coworking bar Koncept Space .
During the accelerator, the teams had access to the FMCG Hub, specially prepared with infrastructure for production and distribution of start-up brands, as well as the opportunity to discuss their ideas with mentors with real experience as successful entrepreneurs in FMCG to get guidance for the future. its development.
The finalists presented their ideas to a jury of representatives of venture capital funds, as well as some of the mentors in the program: Impetus Capital, Neo Gravity, Vitosha Venture Partners, and others.
The five companies that are expected to receive an investment of 25,000 euros are:
- Leckar – products without added sugar, suitable for diabetics with a product portfolio of over 20 product groups.
- Zoya Kitchen Ltd. – producer of organic iced tea under the brand Tea-Go and 100% natural broth under the brand Zoya`s Kitchen.
- SHIMANI Smart Skincare – a new generation of anti-aging cosmetics and the development of a new series of anti-acne products Shoot the pimple.
- Organic Ferments – Fermented organic products, from the creators of the restaurant “BAGRI” , through carefully crafted and assembled recipes based on fermentation techniques.
- Rent’a’Farm – a platform for renting fruit trees and farm animals, from which the end user receives fresh or processed Bulgarian agricultural products.
So far, Innovation Capital has invested in more than 60 companies, with a total financing value of nearly 8m euros. The total number of employees in these companies is over 120 people.
XLRadar Consumer Goods provides an opportunity for startups with creative ideas to develop in the FMCG markets in Bulgaria and the EU, with the help of mentors in the field of FMCG, marketing, finance and accounting. The 30-day program aims to provide individual help and advice to each team and to ensure the acceleration of project development. On the Investment Day, the finalists present their innovative ideas to a jury, which determines by voting which companies receive an investment of 25,000 euros, and the most successful three of them will be able to receive an additional investment of up to 100,000 euros in the next 12 months.
Innovation Capital AD is a venture capital fund in the amount of EUR 21.1 million with a mandate to provide access to equity and quasi-equity financing of start-up companies for over 200 companies. He was selected as a fund manager by the Fund of Funds (FMFIB EAD) to manage a resource of EUR 19.5 million under the Operational Program “Innovation and Competitiveness”, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and additional private capital of EUR 1.6 million.
Innovation Capital AD is the management company of the Innovation Capital Fund KDA.