Cox Business has announced Aha Pure Foods as the winner of Get Started Gainesville. More than 40 local businesses applied to pitch at the event. Five businesses were selected as finalists and presented their ideas and business plans to a panel of experts and in front of a live audience. The finalists were Qu Parking, Precision One Health, Aha Pure Foods, NiekAab Desal, and Palmetto and Pine. In the end, the judges named Aha Pure Foods the winner of over $27,000 in cash and prizes.
Aha Pure Foods is a plant-powered health food company spreading the philosophy that food is the ultimate medicine by replacing artificial ingredients, high levels of sodium, and added sugars with whole foods that are rich with vitamins and minerals. Aha Pure Foods satisfies the need for a conveniently prepared health food that is cooked, rather than ultra-processed.
“We simply can’t keep the product on the shelves, and if we can’t keep it on the shelves we can’t grow,” said Samantha Bove of Aha Pure Foods. “This helps us get to that next point to continue our expansion and offset some of those costs that come with starting up.”
“This was another year of outstanding applicants and ideas,” said Harbin Bolton, vice president of Cox Business in Florida and Georgia. “It’s always very encouraging to see the talent and entrepreneurial spirit coming out of the Central Florida area. I’d like to thank and wish best of luck to all of the businesses who participated this year, and congratulate Aha Pure Foods for rising to the top.”
