PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator programme is run in multiple regions including the Middle East and Africa, with Asia Pacific seeing its second edition in 2024.
The firm crowned Vietnam-based Alterno as this year’s champion, presenting it with a US$100,000 grant to help with further development and scaling up of its sand-based battery and hinting at further collaborations moving forward.
“PepsiCo is proud to support visionary entrepreneurs who are helping to build a future where businesses and the planet can thrive,” PepsiCo APAC CEO and CCO Wern-Yuen Tan said.
“The Greenhouse Accelerator Programme is designed to be a launchpad for startups that are reimagining the future of business through sustainability, and aims to inspire change in the F&B industry through collaboration and innovation.
“Alterno demonstrated its low-cost thermal energy storage solution via a pilot at the PepsiCo food plant in Vietnam, completing a pellet drying project. [There] is a view to trial heating oil with this next.”
This heating of oil with thermal energy would be an instrumental addition to PepsiCo’s portfolio of tools, given the firm makes many products that require frying with oil - including a variety of well-known snack brands such as Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos and more.
Although a partnership has not yet been formally announced, PepsiCo has already supported and partnered with many of the finallists and winners from the 2024 GreenHouse Accelerator programme.
These include 2023 champion Powered Carbon which makes low-carbon bio-fertiliser, which has been used in many PepsiCo potato fields in China across Guangdong, Shandong, Gansu and Inner Mongolia; as well as finallist TURN which partnered with PepsiCo brand Gatorade to launch the Gatorade x TURN reusable cup in Australia.
Alterno itself is optimistic that further collaboration with PepsiCo is on the way.
“PepsiCo’s mentorship and resources have helped us sharpen our strategy and accelerate our growth,” the firm’s Co-Founder and COO Hai Ho said.
“This win is a pivotal moment for us, and we look forward to further collaboration with PepsiCo to expand the reach of our solution and contribute to a more sustainable future.”
More to come
To date, startups across the previous 11 editions of the Greenhouse Accelerator programmes worldwide have generated a total of USD200mn in annual revenue.
“This showcases the programme’s ability to fuel growth and support the launch of sustainable solutions,” PepsiCo added via a formal statement.
“By supporting entrepreneurs who focus on reducing waste, improving food security, and addressing climate change, PepsiCo is reinforcing our efforts towards a sustainable food system that benefits both people and the planet.”
The programme is part of the firm’s overarching sustainability strategy pep+. A third APAC edition of the programme is set to be launched in 2025.
