--- title: THE HARVEST BLOG-HOW DO I TAKE MY FOOD BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL? description: Concordia is a nonprofit organization that enables public-private partnerships to create a more prosperous and sustainable future. As equal parts convener, campaigner, and idea incubator, Concordia is creating a new model for how a nonpartisan, nonprofit can have a global impact. The Concordia team image: https://foodfuture.co/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Partnership%20Highlight%20Banner%20Photo.jpg --- ###### FoodFutureCo is now TheFutureCo! Explore our new website **[here](http://nowisthefuture.co)**. [![FFC](https://foodfuture.co/hs-fs/hubfs/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/Images/logo.png?width=186&height=125&name=logo.png "FFC")](https://foodfuture.co) - [Home](https://foodfuture.co) - [Program](https://foodfuture.co/apply-to-cohort-13) - [Community](https://foodfuture.co/community) - [Portfolio](https://foodfuture.co/portfolio) - [News](https://foodfuture.co/news) - [The Harvest Blog](https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog) - [Newsletter](https://foodfuture.co/newsletter) - [Get Involved](https://foodfuture.co/getinvolved) - [TheFutureCo](https://www.nowisthefuture.co/) # Accelerating the Future of Food with Concordia June 22, 2017 *by* [Food Future](https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/author/food-future) [*Concordia*](http://www.concordia.net/) *is a nonprofit organization that enables public-private partnerships to create a more prosperous and sustainable future. As equal parts convener, campaigner, and idea incubator, Concordia is creating a new model for how a nonpartisan nonprofit can have a global impact. The Concordia team recently connected with FoodFutureCo's 2017 cohort companies and shared the learnings from these conversations on their blog (excerpted below).* In an ever-growing pool of startup accelerators geared towards positive social impact, one stands out among the rest (and it’s not just because its founder Shen Tong was a social activist in the Tiananmen Square protests). [FoodFutureCo](https://www.foodfuture.co/) is the world’s first scale-up accelerator for food businesses. But not just your average food businesses. These are mission-driven companies that are disrupting the traditional food industry and creating a fresh generation of sustainable food companies. ![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57685138d1758ea78686a829/1497999433339-FJETON349408EMLM32JN/image-asset.png) While traditional food accelerators focus on early stage growth, FoodFutureCo supports established companies that are generating revenue, but finding it difficult to progress further. [50% of all startups fail](https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/11/startup-statistics-small-business.html) in the first four years, and more than 50% that grow in their third year [also experience setbacks](https://www.fastcompany.com/3050347/the-bumpy-truth-of-startup-growth) in the fourth and fifth year, making it particularly important to focus on early stage development. Leading [reasons for failures](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288769) include a lack of managerial skills and inadequate mentoring. [Startups that have helpful mentors,](http://startupgeist.com/why-startups-succeed/)track metrics effectively, and learn from thought leaders raise seven times more money and have 3.5 times better user growth. As an accelerator with a cohort-based structure, FoodFutureCo helps its entrepreneurs develop operations and growth strategies, provides its companies with mentorship, a network, and $100,000 worth of in-kind guidance. ![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57685138d1758ea78686a829/1497999404703-UEN59PMNVWM4MXI3ASSU/image-asset.png) Recently, Concordia staff visited FoodFutureCo to meet their 2017 cohort and conduct interviews with four member organizations — [Seal the Seasons](https://www.sealtheseasons.com/), [Unify Water,](https://www.unifywater.com/) [Generation Fresh,](http://www.generationfresh.org/)and [Ozuké](http://ozuke.com/) — to discuss the role of partnerships in food sustainability as part of its Campaign for a Sustainable Global Food Supply. The interviews had four areas of primary focus: identifying the populations for whom the businesses are [building solutions](https://youtu.be/ppfMUU2XlFw), determining the strength and role of [partnerships,](https://youtu.be/0EuyHsMz7Z0)recognizing [challenges](https://youtu.be/APTkC_BSQh0) the organizations have faced, and highlighting the [opportunities FoodFutureCo has provided](https://youtu.be/P1UtTdwk95w) for the cohort.  [CONTINUE TO FULL ARTICLE](https://medium.com/@ConcordiaSummit/partnership-highlight-foodfutureco-accelerating-food-sustainability-5704102c11f9) Share [Tweet](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/2017/6/20/partnership-highlight-accelerating-the-future-of-food&text=Accelerating%20the%20Future%20of%20Food%20with%20Concordia) [![submit to reddit](https://foodfuture.co/hubfs/raw_assets/public/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/images/spreddit7.gif)](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/2017/6/20/partnership-highlight-accelerating-the-future-of-food) [![](https://foodfuture.co/hubfs/raw_assets/public/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/images/PinExt.png "Pin It")](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button?url=https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/2017/6/20/partnership-highlight-accelerating-the-future-of-food&https://40105424.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/40105424/Imported_Blog_Media/Partnership%20Highlight%20Banner%20Photo.jpg) [Share on Tumblr](https://tumblr.com/share/link?url=https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/2017/6/20/partnership-highlight-accelerating-the-future-of-food&name=Accelerating%20the%20Future%20of%20Food%20with%20Concordia) [Newer](https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/2017/7/6/it-takes-guts-to-be-healthy) [Older](https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/2017/5/14/uprooting-normal-how-food-hubs-are-reshaping-the-food-system) **Get connected!** **Signup to receive curated FoodFutureCo news and industry trends**  [![email](https://foodfuture.co/hs-fs/hubfs/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/Images/email1.png?width=256&name=email1.png "email")](mailto:info@foodfuture.co) [![twitter](https://foodfuture.co/hs-fs/hubfs/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/Images/twitter1.png?width=256&name=twitter1.png "twitter")](https://twitter.com/FoodFutureCo) [![linkedin](https://foodfuture.co/hs-fs/hubfs/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/Images/linkedin1.png?width=256&name=linkedin1.png "linkedin")](https://www.linkedin.com/company/foodfutureco) [![facebook](https://foodfuture.co/hs-fs/hubfs/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/Images/facebook1.png?width=256&name=facebook1.png "facebook")](https://www.facebook.com/FoodFutureCo/) [![instagram1](https://foodfuture.co/hs-fs/hubfs/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/Images/instagram1.png?width=256&name=instagram1.png "instagram1")](https://www.instagram.com/foodfutureco/) [Privacy Policy](https://foodfuture.co/privacy-policy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Food Future", "url" : "https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/author/food-future" }, "dateModified" : "2023-08-01T22:35:27.179Z", "datePublished" : "2017-06-22T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "THE HARVEST BLOG-HOW DO I TAKE MY FOOD BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL?", "image" : [ "https://foodfuture.co/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Partnership%20Highlight%20Banner%20Photo.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://foodfuture.co/harvestblog/2017/6/20/partnership-highlight-accelerating-the-future-of-food", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://foodfuture.co/hubfs/FoodFutureCo_August_2023/Images/FFC_Logo.png" }, "name" : "FoodFutureCo" } } ```