Lemonade company selected for Kraft Heinz Springboard Incubator Program

Company is the only one with a female owner chosen for the program

Poppilu, a Chicago-based maker of antioxidant lemonades, has been selected for Kraft Heinz's first Springboard Incubator program. Poppilu founder Melanie Kahn is the only female business owner chosen for the program.

The Springboard Incubator is an initiative launched by Kraft Heinz to offer learning, funding, infrastructure access and mentorship over a 16-week program. The program focuses on startups that are working in what Kraft Heinz has identified as the four pillars of future growth in food and beverage: Natural & Organic, Specialty & Craft, Health & Performance and Experiential.

Poppilu is one of five companies selected for the first program. The company makes an antioxidant lemonade made with aronia berries, a fruit that is high in antioxidants and is the only superfruit native to the Midwest. Before founding Poppilu, Kahn was in the consumer packaged goods industry, including developing and launching fairlife milk.

The other companies chosen for the initial Springboard Incubator initiative are: Meat snacks producer Ayoba-Yo; fermented foods manufacturer Cleveland Kraut; sauce maker Kumana; and snack producer Quevos.

For more information on the Springboard Incubator program, visit www.springboardbrands.com.

Casey Laughman is the former Editor in Chief of Food Engineering magazine. He has almost two decades’ experience as a writer and editor for mainstream and trade publications. He spent several years as a writer and editor for two news services before becoming the editor of a legal publication and managing editor of a trade magazine that covered the commercial facilities market.