Japanese confectionary giant Morinaga to launch startup accelerator

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See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based incubator 01Booster announced today that it would launch a startup acceleration program called Morinaga Accelerator in partnership with Japanese confectionery giant Morinaga & Company (TSE:2201).

This is part of the Okashinnovation project, an innovation initiative launched by the confectionery company last April, that aims to stimulate people’s interest and creativity by leveraging the attraction of confections. The program will bring Morinaga, entrepreneurs, and SMEs together to complement each other in order to make innovation happen.

While we have not seen many incubation initiatives by the food industry, companies like Samuel Adams, Procter & Gamble, and Coca Cola have their own investment or incubation arm. Morinaga Accelerator will begin receiving applications from entrepreneurs in January 2015, followed by a launch of the first batch in April 2015.

01Booster announced the launch of Gakken Accelerator in partnership with Japanese leading education service company Gakken (TSE:9470) in October. 01Booster expects to increase partnerships with more established companies and accelerate Open Innovation initiatives in the startup community.