Our Program
SKU is THE Market-Validated, Consumer Product Goods Accelerator
We educate and equip companies with market-validated products for growth into world-class brands.
SKU surrounds stellar startups with tailored mentor teams of rockstar entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts. Our 14 week intensive program provides exclusive insider access to industry leaders, key retailers, and the tools necessary to accelerate smarter, faster growth.
Alumni Companies
4 Tracks, 23 stellar start-ups, We love our companies!
Our alumni are currently turning heads across industries and becoming hot acquisition targets. Check them out!
The SKU Advantage
We love what we do and we do it and it shows!
The SKU Ecosystem
We educate and equip companies with market-validated products for growth into world-class brands.
SKU surrounds stellar startups with tailored mentor teams of rockstar entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts. Our 14 week intensive program provides exclusive insider access to industry leaders, key retailers, and the tools necessary to accelerate smarter, faster growth.
Testimonials
I have really enjoyed the opportunity to mentor and believe Sariel has benefitted from the group’s experience and counsel. She has really taken the feedback and improved every session. She works really hard, asks good questions, and takes feedback well.
The future is diverse, and SKU Elevate is contributing to this future by connecting accomplished mentors with the founders of tomorrow’s great brands.
For years I’ve admired SKU’s world-class accelerator yet I was still blown away by the unparalleled level of support and guidance throughout the process. From accomplished speakers to a highly focused learning curriculum, it has been a great privilege to grow WAJU during the Track alongside a diverse group of visionary founders.
The SKU M/O program helped me dive into different aspects of my business that I never got a chance to think about beyond the surface level. For example, it allowed me to step away from the production side of making ice cream and spend time thinking about the future of my business and how I can continue to use my story to inspire/impact people. Personally, it gave me a chance to be a student again except this time I was studying a subject that I was enthusiastic about! The fact that my cohort was made up of other founders that look like me motivated me even more. I’m in awe of how far we have all come and it’s a beautiful thing to grow together as we continue to improve our businesses.
The program has pushed my business forward in so many ways. As a new food startup, I’ve received valuable tools and knowledge that are true assets for an entrepreneur and will serve me greatly as I scale the business. The program mentors, who are experts in their fields, provided feedback, brilliant thoughts and insights that helped shape the vision and the strategy of my company. I will forever be grateful for being part of the program.
“I think that growing a successful CPG brand is a combination of art and science. You need to have the art of innovation and creativity, and the patience and persistence to follow the science. Using that analogy, I consider the SKU mentors as my museum curators and lab colleagues. In the past months the team sparked my imagination of what Waka Coffee can grow into, and guided me towards other examples and success stories. They also dived in with me to learn more about my company while bouncing countless ideas on how to execute our vision. Saying that SKU was worth the effort and time is an understatement. I consider SKU as a crucial phase in the growth and success of our company.”
“By participating in SKU I was able to round out my CPG knowledge and best practices. My mentor team went above and beyond my expectations and I could not be more grateful for having participated in SKU!”
“The curriculum and expertise within the SKU community brought me a new level of confidence as an entrepreneur. By the end of the program I felt like I had laser focused my brand message and established a solid growth strategy. I highly recommend SKU if you’re ready to take your business to the next level.”
“SKU came at the perfect time for us. Nearly every problem we were facing, there was a mentor to help support us through to finding the solution, all while being cheerleaders along the process. There’s a saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and for most entrepreneurs your business is your child — and SKU can be that village.”
“Foley & Lardner’s partnership with SKU has enabled our firm to partner with and guide emerging and new companies in the “better for you” CPG space. We have also met and connected with serial entrepreneurs, SKU accelerator Alumni, and current SKU cohort participants. SKU is at the forefront of the accelerator consumer products space, and Foley & Lardner is proud to support the organization.”
“Partnering with SKU has been instrumental in expanding our reach within the CPG industry and highlighting the critical issues surrounding trade promotion and deduction management that we address. SKU recognizes us not only as a valuable resource for their CPG brand partners but also as a trusted ally in educating their network on overcoming growth barriers. Our ongoing collaboration with SKU reflects our shared commitment to supporting emerging CPG brands as we grow together.”
“Being closely plugged in with SKU’s growing community and countless resources allows us to gain valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges facing emerging CPG brands, helping our practice stay ahead of the curve.”
“SKU has been a pivotal part of our company’s growth and success! Our team of mentors was a swiss-army knife of expertise and knowledge — helping us in every aspect of the business. Having both our mentor team and access to the larger SKU network has allowed us to take our company up so many levels during the program, and the best part is that these relationships don’t end at the end of the program. The SKU family is a guiding force throughout the entire journey!”
“Participating in SKU 9 was a game changer for me. I no longer feel so alone. I’m surrounded by a vast network of seasoned CPG and industry professionals and brand owners. It’s a unique, supportive network that’s passionate about building each other up and bringing best in class products to market. I’m proud to be a SKU alumni.”
“It’s been great. We have had a great group of mentors that help us focus on the business and now we are ready for the next stage.”
“The SKU experience has meant the world to me. It has introduced me to the world of CPG, entrepreneurs and given me a network or mentors and people I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. It’s been an incredible opportunity.”
“For me, the SKU experience has meant expanding my pool of resources for information.”
“SKU has been an amazing experience. It has helped me to mitigate a lot of mistakes that I would have made as a new maker in the CPG industry.”
“For me, SKU has meant meeting a wonderful group of talented inspiring people. It’s opened a lot of doors and I’ve learned an incredible amount in a very short time. In a nutshell, it has genuinely accelerated the business of El Norteño and we are poised to launch much faster and stronger than we were 14 weeks ago.”
“Incubation Station was an MBA in raising capital. The experience led us to a whole new world of possibility.”
Apply Now
SKU is for you if...
Your consumer product has some degree of traction in a local or regional market.
You recognize the need for savvy and connected partners to take your business to the next level.
You are interested in raising growth capital to scale your operation and to promote your brand.
You want to see your product in shopping carts and households across the country or globe!