Plant-based functional snack maker Gwell has been named the recipient of The Pop Up Grocer Fund, which includes $9,000 in cash, packaging design from Sharon M Taylor, photography and animation services from Hungry Boy, a graphic design package from Here & Now Creative, and participation in a 2021 Pop Up Grocer location.
Gwell founder Fawziyya Sugai left a career of more than 15 years in fashion to pursue her passion of making healthier options available to everyone. Gwell makes energy bites and superfood cookies, in Harlem, where food deserts are common. In addition, Sugai has used the business to support local organizations that expand access to education and work to improve food equity.
“We established The Pop Up Grocer Fund this past summer, and put a call out for submissions in September,” Pop Up Grocer founder Emily Schildt told SFA News Daily. “From a pool of over 200 applicants, we narrowed our selection to early-stage brands with non-white founders, making consumer products we would be excited to put on our shelves. We felt that Gwell's products would not only delight our visitors, but also that it was best-suited to benefit from our specific package of cash and services.”
Schildt continued, “The mission of The Fund is to support the growth of founders for whom opportunities and resources are not equal. For example, 89 percent of new women-owned businesses started every day are founded by women of color. Yet, they only receive less than 1 percent of venture funding. We might be small potatoes today, but that isn't going to stop us from doing what we can to contribute to a solution to this problem.”
Related: Pop Up Grocer Creates Fund for Emerging Brands; Whole Cities Foundation Awards Funds to Nonprofits.
Image: Pop Up Grocer
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