Small-business accelerator Seedlab Australia is set to receive a further $7 million in funding from Woolworths over the next three years to help more small businesses grow their brands on supermarket shelves across ANZ.
Seedlab Australia will help producers of food, beverage, home and personal care products start, scale and grow through training and support.
It comes as Seedlab commences the latest round of their free small business accelerator program with over 50 small ANZ businesses and opens its door for applications for the next round.
Woolworths’ chief commercial officer, Paul Harker, said partnering with Seedlab allows Woolworhts to give small businesses the support and investment needed to grow.
“So far, we’ve seen 400 businesses go through the Seedlab Accelerator Program, helping them become retail ready, with some now stocked on our shelves and available to our customers to enjoy,” said Harker.
“Investing in small businesses is crucial to a flourishing local food and manufacturing industry, and we’re excited to continue to work with small businesses like Spicecraft, and to see them thrive in our stores.”
Training and support will come from industry experts spanning business strategy, production, range, distribution and branding.
The program helps identify businesses with the potential to scale in high growth categories such as artisan foods, health and wellness, and more sustainable products.
Those ready for retail distribution will have the opportunity to pitch directly to the Woolworths buying team.
“This three-year commitment from Woolworths will be a game-changer for over 500 small business founders in Australia and New Zealand who will benefit from extra support to take their business to the next level,” said Seedlab Australia’s CEO and co-founder Dr Hazel MacTavish-West.
“Together we have deconstructed the processes for pitching to, supplying into and working with national supermarkets and specialty retailers for our participants. We have already seen over 100 small suppliers cumulatively invest $26 million into their businesses, expand their production by over 210 per cent, and create 140 new jobs.”
MacTavish-West leads a team of six business experts, who collectively have more than 185 years of commercial experience in food science, technology, retail, marketing, human resources and communications.
Woolworths has supported Seedlab since 2021, providing $6 million previously to support 400 small businesses to participate in Seedlab’s programs for free.
Out of the almost 400 businesses who have gone through the Seedlab small business accelerator programs, an increasing number are now ranged in national supermarkets across the country.
Woolworths also announced that Seedlab’s Business Support Programs will now also be open to small businesses already supplying Woolworths Supermarkets for the first time.
The intention is to help brands sustainably navigate the tricky growth phase involved in expanding their distribution.
Any small producers and manufacturers who are interested in participating in the Seedlab program can simply go to Seedlabaustralia.com.au.