New Nonprofit Supports Black And Brown ‘CPG’ Entrepreneurs, Promotes Diversity In Natural Foods Industry

Breaking into the consumer packaged goods industry with a natural foods product isn’t easy for anyone. It’s always a challenge to attract investors, find the perfected copacker, refine your recipes and secure placement on retailers shelves. Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), who are vastly underrepresented in the industry, face additional hurdles, from a lack of mentors and networks to access to capital.

To remedy those deficiencies, a newly minted nonprofit, Project Potluck, aims to provide the support that minority entrepreneurs and professionals in the CPG/natural foods space need to thrive.

Kathleen Casanova, Project Potluck’s new executive director, is heading up day-to day operations at the nonprofit.“ If we’re going to tackle big issues like climate change and food insecurity, it’s really important to think about diversity and inclusion not just as nice-to-have but as need-to-have,” Casanova says. “Diversity is one of the leading indicators of innovation, and the natural products industry has a huge opportunity to be innovators and leaders.”

The founder of Project Potluck, Ibraheem Basir, already knows the drill: he’s the CEO of A Dozen Cousins, which makes healthy, ready-to-eat beans, rice and sauces with a global flair. He and fellow founding board members Ayeshah Abuelhiga, Founder and CEO of Mason Dixie Foods, and Arnulfo Ventura, CEO of Alter Eco, aim to give a leg up to other BIPOC entrepreneurs. In March, Project Potluck won the New Hope Network inaugural Justice Award for its efforts promoting justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the natural products industry.

Before he launched A Dozen Cousins, Basir already had years of CPG experience under his belt from working at General Foods, where his last role was leading new product innovation for the natural foods brand Annie’s.

“I was fortunate to have worked for several really great CPG brands before I set out on my own to start A Dozen Cousins, and even with that experience it has still been a herculean task to build a successful business,” he said in an email interview. “I know how helpful it has been to have mentors and industry colleagues to reach out to for advice and I want to try and extend some of that same network benefit to others.

To date, Project Potluck has about attracted about 700 members. “We focus on founders and entrepreneurs, but we are already committed to welcoming career professionals,” said Casanova. “The more successful our founders are, the more we can encourage diversity and more companies will hire people of color.”

One of the biggest challenges BIPOC entpreneurs face is finding venture capital. “There’s a dearth of VCs who themselves are people of color, said Casanova, “and the number of BIPOC founders who are funded abysmal.”

While VC funding is critical, particularly as startups scale up operations, these minority founders also face obstacles in getting bank loans and raising funds from friends and family.

Project Potluck is concentrating its initial efforts in three “buckets,” said Casanova. First and foremost the organization wants to help create “social capital “ by creating network of support for its members.A lot of magic can happen when people of color can ask for help and give help, Casanova explained. To help further that networking, Project Potluck is launching a directory of its membership later this year.

“We have people all across the spectrum from people with idea to well-established brands,” she said.

The second bucket is to facilitate learning and growth through a mentorship program as well as other education opportunities that focus on raising capital and other needs of BIPOC entrepreneurs.

And the last bucket: to develop the next generation of CPG leaders through mentorships, career coaching and a jobs board.

“ If Project Potluck had existed when I started A Dozen Cousins I think of would have benefited from even more people’s knowledge and insights,” said Basir. “More importantly, I think the early days of starting a business from scratch probably would have been a bit less lonely and stressful if I was part of a community of people on the same journey.”