Announcing the Inaugural Built Consumer Product Accelerator Class

 

A couple months back, Built Oregon announced that we were opening applications for our Built Consumer Product Accelerator. To us — a collection of consumer product folks who have been working tirelessly to build community over the past few years—the announcement was something we worked hard to prepare for, but we were also a bit nervous around how it would be received.

  • Would companies from around the state see the value in what we are creating through, and around, this accelerator program?

  • How would having a minimum revenue threshold effect the application submission numbers?

  • Could we continue to grow the mentor pool or would we see a drop off in interest over time?

Well, that initial nervousness has turned into unabashed excitement as we reviewed 70 applications from incredible companies throughout the state, an increase in the number of strategic partners whom we can collaborate with through the program, and most humbling of all, our mentor pool has grown to more than 100 incredible people all willing to give back to some of the most promising consumer product companies in Oregon.

And now we’re excited to announce the 15 companies that will be a part of the inaugural class.

Some of the highlights from the class are:

  • 6 Food & Beverage, 5 Apparel & Outdoor, 3 Health & Beauty, and 1 Audio Equipment.

  • 8 of the companies are female founded and led

  • 2 of the companies are part of The Bridges network

  • The class includes companies from Bend, Hood River, Southern Oregon, and the Portland-Metro area.

Goodwell Co. is a Portland-based startup challenging the industry norms of the oral care industry. By offering well designed, innovative, and sustainable products, they believe in creating things that people want, experts recommend, while being friendly to the environment during the process. At Goodwell, sustainability is not a niche market; it is the way of the future.

TREW’s mission is to make the best technical apparel more approachable and easier to buy. The company designs, develops, and sells a line of branded apparel targeted at the recreational, backcountry skier, and snowboarder, and sells via its direct online marketplace.

At TEADORA, they share their Brazilian ancestral secrets in a plant-based skin and hair care collection crafted from wildly potent blends of sustainably harvested rainforest superfood actives that revitalize and replenish you, your skin and the rainforest. They offer High-Performance, Vegan, Cruelty-Free, Sustainably-Sourced, Synthetic Fragrance Free products that are good for you and the earth. TEADORA is B-Corp Certified. And as an environmental activist brand, their mission is to become the “Patagonia of the beauty industry” by helping to save and protect the Amazon rainforest.

At The Bitter Housewife, they believe in great taste, natural ingredients, and fun drinks. They offer a line of cocktail bitters are made in small batches with real botanicals and fruits for the best possible flavor. Be on the lookout late summer for a new product launch.

Sensi Graves Bikinis is the premiere swimwear line for active women. Made in the USA of recycled fabrics, they are on a mission to empower women in watersports by giving them the confidence they need and the swimwear they can rely on.

Spaceman creates otherworldly effects for guitar, bass, synthesizer and other curious instruments. Handcrafted on earth by master builders in Portland, Oregon, their effects pedals make it possible to explore regions of your own creativity that you never knew existed. Boasting infinite quality and hyper-limited quantities, Spaceman creations are highly sought after by all levels of artists, from icons to hermits. Be an explorer, discover a new sound.

After spending nearly seven years perfecting “The Best Macaroon You’ll Ever Have,” Roons is building a brand of delicious, better-quality, better-for-you treats to eat and gift. Their products are all naturally gluten-free, grain-free and certified kosher. Roons wants to be the household name brand of Macaroons in this country and produce artisanal products for every grocery store shelf, convenience store, vending machine and big box store; products you can count on for quality, integrity and taste!

Velomacchi is a mobile lifestyle brand currently focussed on redefining travel gear for the next generation of commuters, road warriors, and digital nomads.

Riff Cold Brewed is Paul Evers, co-founder of Crux Fermentation Project; Nate Armbrust, former head of product development and cold brew operations at Stumptown; Steve Barham, former senior director at LinkedIn; and Bobby Evers and Kevin Smyth, both with deep experience in craft beer branding and operations. And Riff is so much more — an enthusiastic and diverse tribe of investors, employees, and partners crafting some of the world’s most delicious and refreshing all-natural cold-brewed coffees and sparkling teas.

Ma Wovens creates handwoven goods that facilitate a more mindful lifestyle. Their first piece is The Ritual Rug, a handwoven yoga mat that is incredibly beautiful and offers the functionality of several mats rolled into one.

Bringing flavors made popular from their local restaurants to home cooks, Tan Tan Foods introduces the first vegan-certified and gluten-free certified Vietnamese sauces to the retail market. Currently our product line includes Vietnamese Hoisin Sauce, Peanut Sauce, “Fish” Sauce, and Mom’s Hot Chili Sauce. Proudly woman/minority/immigrant-owned, “Tan Tan” means “New Beginnings” and we are excited to embark on this adventure.

HEM Mills produces, designs, and sells specialty performance apparel. HEM, most recently, is launching a boxing hand wrap that is 100% antibacterial and provides better support for athletes. Ligament and joint support wraps are also a specialty of HEM and they are looking forward to the process of superior product development that people deserve.

With a delicious taste and satisfying texture, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky originates from a decades-old family recipe that’s been updated with new flavors and simple ingredients. Available in four flavors, Pan’s Mushroom Jerky is vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, high in fiber and vitamin D, and delicious.

Hempure CBD makes the world feel better by making products that nourish the root system of the human body and mind. They are a team of dedicated endocannabinoid experts that stay on top of the latest research on CBD and the endocannabinoid system and offer effective, high-quality hemp-derived phytocannabinoid-rich CBD oil that contains no solvents, no heavy metals, and no pesticides. Hempure third-party lab tests all batches for quality and customer assurance. Here’s to your health!

Deadstock Coffee is a sneaker-themed coffee shop in Chinatown, the heart of the sneaker community in the sneaker capital of the world, Portland, Oregon. Their goal is to use the coffee shop platform as physical place (in this quite digital world) for people interested in the sneaker industry to go and kick it. Pun intended.

 
Samantha Gee