Grupo Bimbo launched Bimbo Open Door, a food business accelerator in Latin America, to seek and invest in bakery startups and scale-ups. Ideas that stand out for their innovations, sustainable practices, and business models will be supported, Bimbo detailed in an announcement. Bimbo Open Door will reach more than 20 countries in the Latin America region, including Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina. Throughout the Bimbo Open Door program, Bimbo Ventures will partner with Blue Box, the largest network of incubators, accelerators, and corporate investment funds in Latin America.

Companies with a validated product and annual sales over USD 300,000 were eligible to participate. The startups also needed to meet one of the following criteria:

• Focus on nutritional diversity
• Focus on environmental care
• Making an impact on the community – e.g., portfolios with a purpose or social benefit program

The startups and scale-ups selected as finalists will be part of a 16-week hybrid program (face-to-face/digital), where they will receive mentoring from executives and managers from several areas of Grupo Bimbo. The final step of the program comprises a Demo Day, to present the results of the work to a forum of company executives, for collaboration through the development of a pilot, an investment, or a commercial alliance.

“We are a global company born in Mexico more than 76 years ago as a small company. This time has allowed us to learn and capitalize on many lessons we are excited to share with the youngest. With Bimbo Open Door, we want to become an engine for the entrepreneurial ecosystem, where we put into practice models of shared success that promote new talents and their great ideas. We are sure they will revolutionize the food industry,” said Raúl Obregón, Global Director of Information and Transformation of Grupo Bimbo.

Grupo Bimbo leads this initiative through Bimbo Ventures. This business area managed four acceleration cycles since 2017, through its BIMBO ELEVA and BIMBO BAKELAB platforms. Within these acceleration cycles, the company received more than a thousand project proposals, of which Grupo Bimbo has collaborated with more than 20 -through alliances of various types – and invested in seven.

Photo: Grupo Bimbo