As DoorDash continues to fight against perceptions that its model is harmful to local businesses, the company announced Monday (March 14) a new accelerator program, this time with the goal of supporting small consumer packaged goods (CPG) businesses owned by people from marginalized groups.
The program, titled the DoorDash Accelerator for Local Goods, promises financial support and educational initiatives for 50 entrepreneurs who are women, transgender, immigrants or people of color. It includes a six-week curriculum created in partnership with small business advisory firm Next Street, offering lessons on supply chain challenges, vendor relations, financial management and development in addition to a $5,000 grant and a guarantee to sell the producer’s goods on DashMart, the company’s digital convenience store.
“Local businesses generate a substantial amount of economic return for the communities they thrive within, while also creating notable job opportunities for residents,” Tasia Hawkins, the company’s social impact program lead, said in a statement. “By developing the DoorDash Accelerator for Local Goods, we are equipping aspiring entrepreneurs with the educational and financial capital to become wholesale-ready and create an even stronger relationship between local businesses and consumers residing in the community.”
Applications are open to small businesses in the New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. areas. The webpage for interested applicants notes that the accelerator is specifically geared towards creators of packaged sweets, baked goods, snacks, ice cream or non-alcoholic drinks and added that the program will be extended to additional locations in the future.
The accelerator is part of the company’s ongoing Main Street Strong effort, which has in the past included a rewards program for the company’s drivers, relief packages for restaurants and more.
Related news: DoorDash Partners With Payfare To Launch Banking Solution For Drivers
The news comes two weeks after Whole Foods Market announced the launch of its new accelerator to mentor emerging producers with a 10-week educational course and a yearlong membership program.
Read more: Whole Foods Launches Accelerator as Grocers Compete for Shoppers
Additionally, in May 2021, The Kroger Co., the largest pure-play grocer in the U.S., announced the launch of its “Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator,” offering shelf placement to one winner from each of five U.S. regions.
See also: Kroger Launches Supplier Accelerator Program
This is not DoorDash’s first accelerator as part of its Main Street Strong initiative. In the first quarter of 2021, the company announced one simply called the Main Street Strong Accelerator, promising grants and educational opportunities to 100 small restaurant owners and operators in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia or Atlanta who are women, immigrants or people of color. The company announced 17 more participants from the Boston area at the start of 2022.
Widespread circulation of news regarding the challenges that the aggregator model poses for restaurants, the struggles that small convenience retailers have had competing against eCommerce giants and the work conditions of gig economy delivery services has eroded consumer trust in aggregators.
About one in four consumers who do not use aggregators say that their decision to abstain is motivated in part by a lack of trust, reveals PYMNTS’ Restaurant Friction Index, created collaboration with Paytronix, which drew from the results of a survey of a census-balanced panel of over 2,100 U.S. adults.
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