PHOTOGRAPH PROVIDED BY PAKTLI
For nearly four years, Seena Chriti’s better-for-you line of snacks has been a standout among the bevvy of small-scale producers serving up distinct food and beverage products around town. Now, Paktli is gaining attention beyond the Queen City.
Chriti—whose main product is a recreation of her favorite childhood snack, alegria (a puffed amaranth that comes in honey or chocolate)—is one of eight small business owners recently named to PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator Program: Juntos Crecemos Edition, an effort to support emerging food and beverage businesses inspired by Hispanic flavors and culture. The collaborative program guarantees each recipient $20,000 with a shot at an additional $100,000.
Chriti says that she’s acquainted with last year’s winner through friends and when she saw a post about the grant on LinkedIn, she decided to apply. She learned of her selection while attending This Is Fab, an annual workshop event for women in the food and beverage industry. “It was such an uplifting conference, and then I received the email from PepsiCo telling me that I was chosen,” she says.
The Greenhouse Accelerator Program has teamed the business owner up with two mentors who work with her, in her words, “on my business, not only in my business,” to collaborate with her in bi-weekly meetings over the next five months. She’ll also attend conferences with experts as she learns more about the business side of the industry she’s operating within. In November, she and the other seven businesses in the accelerator program will present their learnings and resulting growth plans to program leaders, who will then decide which one of them gets the $100,000 grant.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SEENA CHRITI
“Just by receiving the $20,000 and by being chosen, I am a winner,” she says. “I’m so appreciative, but yes, of course, I’m going to work towards [winning the $100,000].”
Chriti, who launched her snack brand in late 2020, has expanded the presence of her artisanal sweet treats, selling direct to consumers at area farmers markets, online through the Paktli website, and through an ever-growing list of local independent retailers. But this fall, she has the chance to take her snack nationwide.
She has decided to transition away from the puck-shaped snack to a bite-sized version. Paktli Alegria Bites, which are organic, gluten-free and kosher certified, are set to launch in 400 Sprouts Farmers Market stores starting in October via a three-month trial in the company’s innovation center. It’ll be the brand’s primary product starting mid-2025.
Chriti notes that while winning the $100,000 would be great, she’s currently focused on her October Sprouts launch and ways the PepsiCo program can help with that.
“My two objectives are really to be able to fulfill the Sprouts order and make it a successful launch in terms of marketing, delivering, understanding the process and getting onboarding with the distributor and to understand my next phase of growth,” she says.
If completing an intensive accelerator program while simultaneously preparing for a potentially life-changing business opportunity sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. But Chriti is excited for both opportunities and recognizes the serendipitous timing of the PepsiCo program, explaining that the $20,000 grant funds will be put toward packaging and inventory for the Sprouts Farmers Market launch.
“It came to me in a very timely manner,” she says. “It’s a very challenging, rewarding time, and I hope to be up to par for all of it.”
Facebook Comments