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INNOVATION PROGRAM | SIGMA

Sigma operates in 18 countries throughout North and South America and Europe. With more than 65 plants and 184 distribution centers, the company produces, markets, and distributes quality foods including packaged meats, cheese, yogurt, and other refrigerated and frozen foods

Innovation Program: Tastech

Tastech is a program that aims to find the most innovative and disruptive startups and scaleups in the world to collaborate with Sigma. During the first edition of Tastech by Sigma, the finalist projects had access to financial support for the development of the pilots, the company’s infrastructure, and the knowledge of its specialists to develop their disruptive ideas, with the aim of improving process automation, developing new foods and ingredients, and identifying new business models in food production, distribution, and marketing. Sigma has launched the third edition of its Tastech by Sigma accelerator program. With its open innovation programs and its calls for projects, Sigma is committed to promoting the development of technological solutions, products, and services to generate impact and improve the customer experience

Tastech

 

The results

More than 900 startups from 41 countries have participated in Tastech, which has given place to investments, a distribution contract, and other collaboration agreements in the process. Since 2019, Tastetch has continued collaborating with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and promoting high-potential projects in the food industry.

 

“Through Tastech, Sigma opens its doors to entrepreneurs from around the world to share their knowledge, make pilot tests jointly, and implement new technologies and solutions that boost the future of the food industry. We are excited to find new ideas and support the talent of the most innovative and disruptive food startups”– Daniel Alanis, Chief Growth Officer at Sigma

 

 

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INCUBATION PROGRAM | PASCUAL

Founded in 1969, Pascual, a leader in the food sector, has a range of more than 200 products, 6 factories, 27 local offices, and more than 2,000 employees in the 63 countries in which it operates. Pascual advocated from the beginning for the creation of a branch of the company dedicated to Corporate Venturing: Pascual Innoventures.

Startup Program: Mylkcubator

In 2020, Pascual and Eatable Adventures launched a collaborative challenge dedicated to international startups active in the production of solutions for the plant-based dairy sector. In May 2021, Mylkcubator was launched, the first incubator in the world to specialize in the development of innovation projects for the dairy sector.

In 2022 the second edition was launched, and 2023 welcomed Mylkcubator’s third edition “More than Mylk” which accelerates cutting-edge startups focused on revolutionizing the food industry, spanning Alternative Dairy, Alt. Egg, Coffee, Lipids, Cocoa, Sodium & Sweetener Replacements, and Functional Ingredients. 4 early-stage startups from different continents are chosen for these programs, and the main Venture Capital of the sector gets together to gain access to the Mylkcubator deal flow.

 

Mylkcubator more than milk

The results

The Mylkcubator startup ecosystem (first and second cohorts) has generated a total value of over $107M. Mylkcubator startups have raised a total of $14.4M in investment since inception, reflecting the success of this incubation programme. The editions of Mylkcubator have been incredibly successful, positioning Pascual worldwide as an innovative and cutting-edge company.

 

“The quality of the startups selected in the first edition has been amazing and shows us that this is clearly the way to go. The visibility of these projects, as well as the investment rounds they are receiving, is a sign that the industry is prepared for this technological transition.”– Gabriel Pascual, director of Pascual Innoventures

 

 

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OPEN INNOVATION CHALLENGE | MAHOU SAN MIGUEL

Mahou San Miguel is a family beverage company, 100% Spanish, and a leader in the beer industry of our country. It produces 70% of Spanish beer that is consumed outside of Spain and is present in more than 70 countries. In 2022 it launched BarLab Ventures, its open innovation platform for entrepreneurial projects that boost the Food and Beverage sector.

Open Innovation Challenge launch: Rethink your Drink

Within the framework of its open innovation platform, the company launched in July 2022, in partnership with Eatable Adventures, “Rethink your Drink”, its first open innovation challenge to find answers to the great challenges of the sector. The call was open to startups from all over the world that have a differential, sustainable and innovative proposal and that generate a transformative and sustainable impact in the traditional beverage industry.

The results

More than 100 startups sign up, among which a first shortlist has already been selected. Mahou San Miguel will offer the opportunity to develop a product test with its team of experts to accelerate the success of the winning proposals. In addition, the brewery will make available to the startups its distribution network, support in managing their territorial licenses, as well as in the field of financing, among other services.

“We are convinced that thanks to this project we can share a common perspective with entrepreneurs to make bars, restaurants, distributors and the rest of our value chain strengthen their collaboration to generate wealth based on aspects as excellence, innovation, and sustainability” – Miguel Ángel Miguel, general director of Transformation of Mahou San Miguel.

 

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INNOVATION ACCADEMY | ITALIA DEL GUSTO

Italia del Gusto is the first private consortium of companies operating in the Italian food and wine sector, whose members are selected for the quality of their products and the importance of their brands. Founded in 2006, the Consortium’s mission is to help member companies improve their competitive position in international markets, strengthening their image as producers of high-quality food products. To date, it includes thirty leading companies in their respective market segments.

Innovation Accademy by Eatable Adventures

Promoting a culture of innovation within a company is strategic for establishing the foundations of the transformation process and the adoption of new tools and processes aimed at promoting competitiveness and business excellence.

For this reason, the Consortium establishes a partnership with Eatable Adventures to create a high-level Innovation Academy aimed at executives and professionals in charge of the innovation and investment area of the companies.

Two seminars and a workshop were held, focusing on the challenges and trends in the agri-food sector, the most significant technological developments, the value of open innovation, and how to transfer the startup model to companies in the sector.

“Eatable Adventures specifically designed a three-day Innovation Academy for Italia del Gusto, which saw a wide and active participation of the consortium’s companies. We had the opportunity to appreciate their availability, expertise, and professionalism.” – Alberto Volpe Director at Italia del Gusto

 

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ACCELERATION PROGRAM | EUROPASTRY

Europastry is the world’s fifth-largest producer of frozen bread dough. They are currently present in more than 80 countries, with more than 4,000 bakers, 22 production plants, and 31 sales offices. Cereal, founded in 2016 and located in Barcelona, is Europastry’s principal research and development center. Europastry’s R&D team launches 400 new products a year and develops more than 1,100 projects each year, thanks to an investment of more than 60 million euros

Acceleration Program: Baking the future

Baking The Future was launched for the first time in 2019, in collaboration with Eatable Adventures, in the form of a Challenge to finding the most innovative Spanish startups in the bakery sector. In 2021 Europastry raises the challenge and turns Baking The Future into an international accelerator programme. Three international startups were selected. Among the three selected startups, the Danish startup Agrain, which develops flour produced from brewery waste and which quickly became a success story with a great reception in Europastry’s B2C e-commerce channel, stands out.

 

cereal

 

“Revolutionary ideas cannot remain just that; they have to be taken to the market. Baking the Future is a program that will last over time; it is fundamental for the sector to generate new concepts and rely on open innovation.”– Ana Thielen, R&D Marketing Manager Europastry

 

 

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OPEN INNOVATION PORTAL | ALIANZA TEAM

Alianza Team®, is a Colombian-origin company expert in lipids and fats and a leader in the food sector. With an operational presence in Colombia, Chile, and Mexico, the company develops high-tech food solutions. In 2019 it launched its albora® venture capital with the purpose of accelerating the capture of knowledge and allowing the organization to generate greater value for its business units and interest groups, through collaboration with startups and research centers.

Open Innovation Portal: Let’s Raise The Bar

The open innovation portal kicked off with the Let’s Raise The Bar challenge. It was the first challenge launched, to find the most disruptive startups in the soap industry, in all sectors, to obtain a sustainable raw material that offers a good quality product for its consumers and whose production is friendly to the planet. Entrepreneurs who participated in this challenge were able to partner with Alianza Team® for the development of new soap lines for future projects, or have the company’s collaboration for the design and manufacture of a specific product, optimizing costs and scaling through access to the company’s technology. They were also able to access other markets and obtain an investment plan.

 

raisethebar

The results

In 2020, Alianza Team® started collaborating with Eatable Adventures on open innovation projects such as the first “Hack the Food System” scout focused on finding the most disruptive startups in the lipid ecosystem. Since then, the company has continued to bet on promoting open innovation by Scouting and Challenge projects to efficiently and quickly solve the challenges of the sector.

 

“Innovation is part of the DNA of our company, being a pillar that we look to promote throughout the entire value chain. Our commitment to the Open Innovation Portal is to promote an innovative ecosystem that leverages the growth of all the actors that are part of it”.- Maria Paula Rios, Alianza Team VP of Innovation and digital transformation

 

 

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