AEB, JPG Resources collaboration supports early-stage brands

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AEB, JPG Resources collaboration supports early-stage brands

27 Feb 2026

Annie Hollon

Annie Hollon is a journalist, copywriter and social media strategist from the Dallas, Texas area. She found a love for magazine writing during her time at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in public relations and English. Beyond writing, you can find her expanding her library, attempting to teach herself the guitar and trying new hobbies.

KANSAS CITY, MO — Every brand has to start somewhere, and many organizations — including, but not limited to, Whole Foods Market, the US Highbush Blueberry Council and PepsiCo — offer resources to help these entrepreneurial ventures ascend to the next level via incubator and accelerator programs. These opportunities can take several forms, and one of the newest on the scene includes a long runway and a plethora of tools designed specifically for up-and-coming CPG companies wielding eggs in their product formulations.

The American Egg Board (AEB) teamed up with JPG Resources to debut its first-ever Founders Cohort, a virtual program with a business-school approach offering a carefully selected collective of food and beverage brands that use eggs. The six-month program includes bi-weekly expert-led sessions covering crucial topics founders need to master to take their CPG food businesses to new heights.

“I’ve worked with a lot of accelerators and incubation programs out there, and one of the things we notice is that they’re broad by design,” said Nelson Serrano-Bahri, AEB director of innovation. “That can be helpful, but often, it means founders walk away with advice that’s pretty generic. This is different because it is built specifically for egg-centric, early-stage CPG brands, and it’s designed to be founder-first and immediately usable.”

Meet the participating bakers

Of the 11 companies in the inaugural cohort, two fall under the baking segment of the food and beverage industry: Warmly, Cookies, a cookie brand delivering straight to consumers’ doorsteps, and Ruani, a dessert brand creating gut-healthy, clean-label brownies. Each budding business seeks different tools to help it take the next step.

Anirudh Mamtora, founder of Ruani, already has a background in high-end pastry, but is interested in gaining more knowledge on the business side of the CPG world.

“I was inspired to apply because this Founders Cohort specifically addresses the gap between having a great product and building a scalable company,” he said. “The mentorship aspect appeals to me most: I want to be challenged by experts who have navigated the transition from ‘founder-led kitchen’ to ‘national brand.’ I’m not just looking for funding; I’m looking for the rigorous operational and strategic framework that this program offers to help Ruani capture the health-conscious Gen Z and millennial market.”

For Cody Miller, founder of Warmly, Cookies, the program stood out due to the like-minded community, depth of professionals and accountability within the program.

“The group of professionals JPG has put together, alongside the American Egg Board’s community, presented an incredible network of CPG-minded individuals,” Miller said. “My goal in the program is to learn from those professionals and build a business with the information they’re sharing and presenting.”

What the Founders Cohort offers

As partners, JPG Resources supplies the program’s participants with tangible knowledge on disciplines such as scaling up, marketing, branding and R&D, while the AEB helps ensure the content is more egg-specific and rooted in real-world scenarios.

“We really help shape the program lead and select the moments that focus on egg innovation and category expertise, bringing that technical, culinary and market insights that the founders can apply directly to the formulation and decisions that are going to make these products do well in the market,” Serrano-Bahri said.

Miller noted that, as small businesses, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to help companies grow. Having a tailored program aligned with the specific needs of those in specialized areas, such as CPG food, makes the time investment worthwhile.

“Having access to resources and conversations specifically catered to situations I might encounter with a CPG food product will prove invaluable support along my journey,” he said.

As both on-the-rise companies look to connect with capital, experienced investors and ways to grow via distribution and market fit, participating in programs such as AEB’s Founders Cohort gives them the stepping stones needed to further their operations.

“I’ve always said that entrepreneurs are jacks of all trades when it comes to growing their businesses because they’re doing it all themselves,” Serrano-Bahri said. “[This program] provides targeted help in the area where they fail most of the time, which is scaling up formulation and commercialization of their food product and creating that network to support the growth that they need to get the product out there.”

In addition to the program’s resources, the connections made among the entrepreneurs involved are invaluable.

“One of the biggest outcomes we’re driving is community,” Serrano-Bahri concluded. “At the end of the day, it’s founders learning from founders, building relationships and growing faster because they’re not doing it alone.”

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