Bold Growth Program

MBOLD’s “Bold Growth” mentorship program helps start-ups scale up with coaching by senior leaders from MBOLD member companies and our Minnesota-based network of corporate food and agriculture partners. 

Bold Growth mentors have provided tailored guidance to young businesses on topics including new product development, navigating the U.S. regulatory environment, national distribution through refrigerated and frozen food channels, brand development, manufacturing scale-up, marketing strategy, and more.  To date, leaders from Target, Cargill, General Mills, Compeer Financial, SunOpta, Schwan's Company, Ecolab, Hormel, McKinsey & Co., Bread & Butter Ventures, UnitedHealth Group and the University of Minnesota have served as Bold Growth advisors. 
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As part of MBOLD’s broader effort to drive innovation with plant-based and traditional proteins, Bold Growth now focuses on start-ups that have innovative solutions for plant-based proteins or animal feed and that want to launch or expand their presence in the U.S. market. 

Bold Growth provides a handpicked team of 3–4 industry mentors with the expertise most needed by chosen companies given the unique growth challenges that they want to address. We design additional educational opportunities to suit participating companies.

The MBOLD Coalition invites high-growth protein innovation companies to apply for our Bold Growth mentorship program’s next cohort in fall 2025. Participation is free with no equity taken. The 9-month confidential, tailored mentorship program is open to companies that are: scaling up technology, ingredient or product innovations in plant and alternative proteins and animal feed, have annual revenue of $5 million - $50 million and want to enter or expand their presence in the U.S. market with confidential coaching support from Minnesota’s corporate community.We are especially interested in companies focused on technology and product innovations related to: plant and alternative proteins including oats, dry beans, chickpeas and mycoproteins, alternative crops for inclusion in animal feed such as winter camelina, industrial hemp and alfalfa, as well as the production and use of insects in feed rations.We will also consider applicants engaged in other kinds of protein sustainability innovations. You can learn more about the program and our 2024 application process in our video below.

Bold Growth – Current and Past Participants