Through the support of Mercamadrid, a new innovation hub has emerged in Spain

Spain’s largest platform for the distribution, commercialization, transformation, and logistics of fresh food, launches its first challenge to the entrepreneurial community in collaboration with Eatable Adventures.

Mercamadrid, the largest fresh food distribution, commercialization, processing and logistics platform in Spain, looks forward to the future with a strong commitment to innovation, which will allow companies in this industry to provide innovative and effective solutions to current challenges. Mercamadrid is now the home of innovation, thanks to a new space serving as a base and meeting place for innovative companies.

As part of its efforts to improve the competitiveness and quality of the food sector, or to digitalize the companies in the sector, the Mercamadrid Innovation Hub already works with entities such as the National Center for Food Technology and Safety and Orange. The Innovation Hub is born with the aspiration of becoming a stable collaboration platform for companies, startups, and professionals in search of innovative solutions to the challenges of the food sector, allowing them to improve competitiveness and drive activity. In addition, they have a coworking area where projects, presentations, and collaboration on innovative solutions can be developed.

With this company’s strategic bet on innovation, special importance is placed on the first initiative driven in collaboration with the accelerator Eatable Adventures: Smart Food Future Innovation Challenge. The first call to innovation, launched from the food unit, will allow to offer innovative answers to real challenges, previously posed by Mercamadrid companies in three strategic areas such as logistics, packaging, and upcycling. In this way, Mercamadrid will challenge the international innovation ecosystem to find solutions aimed at optimizing transportation routes in terms of sustainability and cost, as well as identifying traceability systems that allow the tracking of goods. As part of the packaging area, proposals will be selected that improve food preservation and extend its shelf life, taking into account the concept of sustainability. Finally, the challenge also aims to revalue food waste and residuals through their transformation into new products, including reusable containers.

Startups that develop solutions in these areas and want to collaborate with an international leader in fresh food management will find this program a great opportunity.

Start-ups wishing to present their proposals for some of the challenges posed can do so from today at www.smartfoodfuture.com.

This is the beginning of Mercamadrid’s future, coinciding with the commemoration of its 40 years of success, with its sights set on future solutions that will allow it to continue moving towards the forefront of commercial distribution in the world.