Challenge Archives - Eatable Adventures

Eatex Food Innovation Hub launches its second call to promote technology transfer in the agri-food sector.

23/02/2023/in Challenge, Foodtech, Open Innovation, Partnership/by Eatable Adventures

The Hub has opened the application period for Exponential projects to participate in its innovation and technology transfer program.
The program promotes and finances collaborative R&D projects to develop innovative technological solutions that can be transferred from R&D centers to the agri-food industry.

Eatex Food Innovation Hub, the collaborative innovation hub for the transfer and implementation of technology in the agri-food industry has opened the deadline for receiving applications for exponential projects for the Innovation and Technology Transfer Development Program. The program is part of the main activities developed by the hub to promote and finance collaborative R&D&I projects for the development of innovative technological solutions that can be transferred from R&D centers to the agri-food industry.
Created a few months ago, Eatex Food Innovation Hub is a project driven by CNTA (National Center for Food Technology and Safety), with the support of the Government of Navarra and the collaboration of more than 10 R&D centers of the Navarra R&D&I System (SINAI), which promotes technology transfer in the agri-food sector to improve business competitiveness and find solutions to the industrial challenges of today and the future. This open and applied innovation ecosystem adopts a holistic approach, based on the implementation of agile and advanced research dynamics and models.
The program is addressed to companies and startups from any geographical location and SINAI R&D centers operating in the agri-food sector seeking collaborative projects based on consortia between companies and R&D centers. The companies are the promoters and are responsible for defining the technological challenge and the R&D centers are the main executors of the research activities.
In addition, the program contemplates two different modalities: Express projects, with fast execution (maximum duration of 6 months projects), and Exponential projects (with R&D&I activities that address complex problems with a variable execution period (from several months up to 2 years)). Pre-application for both modalities is open continuously from December 2022 and upon approval, the application phase will start. For Express projects the call will be open continuously, while for Exponential projects the call will remain open until May 22, 2023.

The projects will address new proposals and solutions in six key research areas for the agri-food industry: Promotion of the Agriculture and Livestock of the Future, Search for New Ingredients and Production Models, Development of New Food and Beverages for a Healthy Diet, and Implementation of the 4.0 Industry and Hyperconnected Processes.
According to Silvia García de la Torre, director of Eatex Food Innovation Hub, “The Program for the development of innovation and technology transfer is a unique opportunity for companies in the agri-food sector to solve their industrial challenges in an agile way, optimizing their resources and minimizing innovation risk.”
More information about Eatex Food Innovation Hub at www.eatexfoodinnovationhub.com

Areas for Change Challenge, the new opportunity for the food & beverage’s startups ecosystem in travel retail

12/01/2023/in Challenge, Open Innovation, Partnership/by Eatable Adventures

Areas challenges the international entrepreneurial community to find real solutions related to sustainability, gastronomy, and digitalization challenges within the industry of food & beverage and travel retail.

Areas, the global leader company that manages restaurants and convenience stores at airports, train stations, and motorway travel plazas and which operates in 10 countries, has launched Areas for Change Challenge, its first Startups Challenge, to identify specific and feasible solutions to respond their business and sectorial challenges within the industry of food & beverage and travel retail, especially in terms of sustainability and consumer experience.

The company has launched this new initiative in the framework of its ESG strategy ‘Areas for Change’, which focuses on three main pillars: People, Planet and Future. With this program, and in collaboration with Eatable Adventures, one of the leading global Foodtech accelerators, Areas is looking for startups delivering real solutions to the following challenges:

People: healthier products for breakfast and grab & go moments on the move
Planet: solutions for managing the waste generated in the Areas’ restaurants
Future: digital or robotic solutions to improve efficiency

The selected startups will have the opportunity to work with a leading company in the sector and access its international network: a 3-month pilot program in Areas’ locations at a global level; product placement expertise in Areas’ most relevant points of sale; support in go-to-market strategies with Areas professional team, consumer insights analysis by Areas expertise; investment for your project to take off and a potential future agreement to become a supplier.

According to Oscar Vela, CEO at Areas, “Areas promotes this challenge to find solutions that will reinvent the sector of travel retail and will help to promote a greater environmental commitment and experience for the travelers. We look for solutions that respond to the great challenges that we will face in the travel retail industry in the next years”.

In words of Itziar Ortega, Senior VP of Global Operations at Eatable Adventures “We are very excited to launch this new challenge with a leading innovation company with an international presence such as Areas. The selected startups will have the great opportunity to scale and expand their business by working with a global leader in the travel retail sector, having access to all its know-how, infrastructure and network of points of sale. Thanks to the commitment of partners like Areas, we continue to accelerate the industry’s transition to a much more sustainable and efficient model.”

Those startups that are Interested in taking the market to the next level can register here: https://areasforchange.com/challenge/

Mahou San Miguel launches a new challenge addressed to the entrepreneurial community seeking to find the beverage of the future

30/06/2022/in Challenge, Ecosystem, Foodtech, Open Innovation/by Eatable Adventures

The brewery along with the accelerator Eatable Adventures, are calling for startups from all over the world to participate in a new innovation challenge for the beverage sector.
The selected entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to develop a product test together with Mahou San Miguel’s team of experts.

Mahou San Miguel, a 100% Spanish family-owned beverage company and leader in the beer sector in Spain, launches the Rethink Your Drink Challenge, a new challenge to discover the drink of the future. As part of its Barlab Ventures project, along with Eatable Adventures, one of the three leading global food technology accelerators, the brewery wants to offer an open innovation platform for the entire food and beverage sector.

From today until September 5, startups from around the world with a differential, sustainable and innovative proposal that generates a transformative impact on the traditional beverage industry can submit their applications through the website www.barlabventures.com.

In the words of Miguel Ángel Miguel, General Manager of Transformation at Mahou San Miguel, “BarLab Ventures allows us to unite two of our main commitments: to leverage the possibilities that technology offers in order to provide innovative solutions to new challenges of the beverage sector, as well as strengthening collaboration with other organizations to drive their transformation”. Miguel Ángel, also points out that “we are convinced that through this project we will be able to share with entrepreneurs a common perspective to make bars, restaurants, distributors and the rest of our value chain strengthen their collaboration towards generating wealth, based on aspects such as excellence, innovation, and sustainability”.

José Luis Cabañero, CEO and founder of Eatable Adventures, commented “we are delighted to launch this initiative hand in hand with Mahou San Miguel, a company that is clearly committed to innovation and entrepreneurship”. He also assures that “the beverage sector offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups who seek to offer alternatives and innovative solutions to consumers, responding to the current reality but, above all, to the challenges of the future”.

Supporting entrepreneurs

The startups will have to present their innovative solutions in one of the following categories: innovative non-alcoholic alternatives, low alcoholic beverages (4º-7º), traditional categories reinvented, and beverages of the future.

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.

Cereal, Europastry’s R&D centre, challenges the bakery world with Baking the Future accelerator

13/07/2021/in Challenge/by Eatable Adventures

baking the future

In an effort to further its relationship with startups in the baking world, Europastry reveals the accelerator program Baking the Future through its R & D center Cereal. This journey began with the Baking the Future Challenge launched with Eatable Adventures in June 2019, a competition to find a food-based start-up to help identify “the most innovative and disruptive solutions” to issues faced as an international baking manufacturer.

What is Baking the Future?

Baking the Future is an accelerator for startups in the bakery sector. The goal is to challenge the future of baking by helping startups around the world develop their products, test them in the marketplace and create new business models. With this open innovation model, Cereal focuses on the search for ingredients, raw materials, or processes that reduce or eliminate trans fats, sugars, or solve intolerances and allergies; technologies focused on the reuse of waste, and new business models to improve the consumer experience.

The selected startups will participate in the Baking the Future acceleration program for six months, during which they will receive mentoring, advice and business development.

Call for Projects

Projects can be received until September 5th 2021. The projects will be assessed by an Evaluation Committee, made up of a team appointed by Europastry.

Once a maximum of 5 projects have been selected, startups will be notified of their inclusion in the Baking the Future acceleration program, which will start on 26 September 2021 at CEREAL in Barcelona.

The Demo Day will take place six months later, in March 2022, enabling the startups to present their projects to a network of private investors and highly qualified experts.

What can you expect from the accelerator?

Once the 5 startups are chosen as finalists, they will unlock a world of opportunities to help them develop their business with all necessary tools. These include tailor-made work sessions, available workspace at Cereals’s facilities in Barcelona, specialised mentoring sessions with experts in the bakery-related areas, access to Europastry’s R&D&i department and latest technologies and production on a pilot scale at the facilities.

In addition, expect Europastry’s smart capital in high-tech laboratory concept improvement, access to sensory testing, inspirational sessions and workshops, business plan design, pitch template and refinement, Demo Day preparatory sessions and a communication plan.Baking the Future is located in Barcelona, meaning you will be at the heart of one of the most dynamic foodtech centers in Europe.

You will feel the support from the very start of the program until your project is fully developed and ready to go to market.

Who is behind the program?

Europastry

Europastry is a global leading bakery company. Founded in 1987, it has established itself as one of the most expert and state-of-the-art bakery companies in the sector of frozen dough for bread, rolls, pastries and snacks. With 22 production plants and 26 sales offices around the world, Europastry is currently present in more than 70 countries. In 2020, Europastry reached 686 million euros in turnover and launched more than 400 new products to the market.

Cereal

Cereal is Europastry’s main R&D centre, founded in 2016 in Barcelona. At Cereal, bakers, confectioners, engineers, chemists and nutritionists join forces to cater to the demands and new trends that arise in the market. Europastry’s R&D team launches 400 new products a year and each year develops more than 1,100 projects.

Spain Foodtech Startups at Food4Future Bilbao

21/06/2021/in Challenge, Startups-article/by Eatable Adventures

Spain is a major power in the agri-food sector worldwide, a strategic sector in our economy (representing 9.2% of GDP and 11.9% of employment). The technology applied in this sector is creating a revolution, with more than 400 Foodtech startups. In this context Spain FoodTech Startups Program was created as an acceleration program promoted by Eatable Adventures, with the purpose of supporting the development of foodtech projects with a solid technological base. The program is supported by the National Center for Food Technology and Safety (CNTA) and ICEX Spain Export and Investment.

5 startups were selected and, for 6 months, had a personalized acceleration plan with the support from CNTA, focusing on achieving their technological development and consolidation.

The agri-food startups with disruptive technology selected for the program are:

COCUUS: presents its MimETHICA platform, designed for large-scale bio-printing of plant-based products analogous to traditional animal protein products. Winner of the Foodtech Startup Forum 2021, organized by Food4Future in Bilbao.

MOA: combines biotechnology and artificial intelligence to convert waste and by-products from the agri-food industry into a ”next generation protein” with high nutritional value and 100% sustainable.

INNOMY: has developed a range of animal protein substitute products based on the cultivation of mushroom mycelium.

H2HYDROPONICS: designs, operates and delivers at full capacity hydroponic vertical and indoor farming facilities in countries with extreme climates.

PROPPOS AI: applies artificial intelligence and computer vision to offer a cashierless solution in foodservice and supermarkets. Winners of the award given by the Basque Culinary Center at the Food4Future event.

Spain Foodtech is part of Eatable Adventures’ mission to build the food companies of the future. Mila Valcárcel, managing partner of Eatable Adventures, talks about the program: “We have five participants who have completed the program. The results are an absolute success. The value of the startups has multiplied by 6.3 during the program.”

Eatable Adventures is one of the world’s top three food tech accelerators, has a global community of over 25,000 members, an international network of partnerships with incubators, accelerators, foodtech and agritech events, academia, investors and governments.

Spain Foodtech Demo Day

The 5 finalists startups showcased their developments during the Spain Foodtech virtual demoday after an introduction about the Spanish ecosystem and the program results explained by Eatable Adventures CEO José Luis Cabañero.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soflhFuRoCQ

Pascual Innoventures launches Mylkcubator in partnership with Eatable Adventures

20/05/2021/in Challenge, Startups-article/by Eatable Adventures

Mylkcubator

Pascual Innoventures renews its collaboration with Eatable Adventures for the launch of Mylkcubator, the first global incubation program for technological advances in the fields of cell cultures and fermentation techniques for the dairy industry.

Mylkcubator is the first international incubator focused on the detection and development of highly innovative startups specialized in the application of new technologies for the dairy industry value chain.

The Mylkcubator challenge

According to the RethinkX report “Rethink Food and Agriculture 2020-2030”, by 2030 almost 90% of U.S. dairy protein demand will come from precision fermentation alternatives.

Solid protein (casein and whey) account for just 3,3% of milk’s overall composition, the 87,75% is made up of water and the rest is sugar (mainly lactose), fats, vitamins and minerals.

The key to understanding the disruption of the dairy is that cellular agriculture only needs to disrupt 3,3% of the milk bottle, attributed to the key functional proteins.

The incubation program

mylkcubator

The program will be launched on an annual basis starting in 2021 and will feature “high-performance” content focused on building strong technology-based startups that provide answers to the challenges facing the dairy industry.

The first edition of Mylkcubator will last 6 months, from selection to the demo day. The goal is to enroll 10 startups, entrepreneurs or scientific projects, with innovative solutions in the cellular agriculture spectrum for the dairy industry within the following technologies: cell based, fermentation based and applied technologies. All the details about the program are available on the official website mylkcubator.com.

Pascual Innoventures team

The ones behind Pascual Innoventures are Gabriel Torres Pascual, third generation of the Pascual family and director of Pascual Innova; and Sejal Ravji, a biochemical engineer from University College of London and doctor in rheology, director of Pascual Innoventures. Both have impressive international backgrounds and have gained extensive work experience in different fields before joining this adventure.

“The entrepreneurial, innovative spirit is in our genes, it comes from the attitude that my grandfather instilled in us of being nonconformist, dreaming big and daring to take risks, not only with our heads but also with our hearts. This is how Pascual Innoventures was born with a long-term vision and the purpose of giving the best for the future of food. We will work hand in hand with startups that allow us to move into the future” says Gabriel Torres.

In 2020, Pascual Innoventures in collaboration with Eatable Adventures, launched another call for projects, the Plant-based Dairy Challenge, to search for the best startups in the plant based dairy ecosystem.

Visit the Mylkcubator website for more information: mylkcubator.com

Pascual launches its new Corporate Venturing Unit: Pascual Innoventures

29/04/2021/in Challenge, Partnership/by Eatable Adventures

pascual innoventures

The Pascual family created and launched today Pascual Innoventures, a different model of Corporate Venture Capital that aims to identify and develop new businesses that will give a better future to food. It’s an independent society from the company Pascual that looks to find new external opportunities, while maintaining the same value of ‘giving our best’ when looking for startups that are innovating the food tech sector.

Pascual Innoventures is based on 4 pillars: Explore, Invent, Invest and Accelerate.

What sets them apart is the addition of inventing and investing, since most investment programs are purely financial in the agrifood industry. Innoventures’ mission is to help startups in early stages to develop and grow, becoming an accelerator partner that will accompany the process from development to conception to the search for new investors.

This means that the selected startups to participate in the program will have a shared purpose and philosophy with the company, and will operate in all the territories where Pascual is present. Whether it is sustainability, circular economy, animal welfare, or health, it’s the similar values that will allow the creation of the future Pascual companies.

The ‘Invent’ side of it is the development of tools and necessary processes to create their startups through their own financing, society, talent and way of working.

Who is behind Pascual Innoventures

The ones behind this program are Gabriel Torres Pascual, third generation of the Pascual family and director of Pascual Innova; and Sejal Ravji, a biochemical engineer from University College of London and doctor in rheology, director of Pascual Innoventures. Both have impressive international backgrounds and have gained extensive work experience in different fields before joining this adventure.

Having grown up in the Pascual family, Gabriel Torres affirms that entrepreneurship and innovation are part of his genes passed on from his grandfather – also to not conform to the rules, dream big and take risks. With this making up his DNA and that of Pascual Innoventures’, they are looking towards the big picture and long-term to shape the future of food with innovative startups.

Innoventures and Venvitotech

Innoventures has recently closed a 5-year contract with Venvirotech, a startup in biotechnology that transforms organic residue in bioplastics through bacteria. Together, they will develop a project called “Magic Water” to transform untreated water generated by the company into biodegradable material – achieving a circular economy.

In addition to Venvirotech, Pascual Innoventures is working with several other strategic projects that will bring solutions to some of the most important challenges in the agrifood sector, such as food security, health & wellness and circular economy.

Eatable Adventures looks forward to accompanying closely the growth of Pascual Innoventures and witnessing all the progress they will achieve in the foodtech world.

Heura, an interview with co-founder and CEO Marc Coloma

19/04/2021/in Challenge, Startups-article/by Eatable Adventures

marc coloma

We know that behind every startup there is a mission to accomplish. We would like to know more about what’s behind Heura Foods.

In an interview with Marc Coloma, we began the conversation with where Heura came from and its biggest milestones achieved so far, most of it he attributed to the amazing community they built through social media. We then proceeded to talk about the challenges Heura faced and how they overcame them; the state of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Spain, opportunities that could arise and what has changed in the past years.

When asked what Agri Food Tech means to him, Coloma defines it as “The industry that solves the challenges that the current food system faces through technology.”

We closed the interview with his thoughts on the development of the Agri Food Tech sector will impact the food industry in Spain and what fundamental investments will be needed to make it happen.

Read the full interview in Spanish here: https://www.eatableadventures.com/heura-marc-coloma-entrevista/?lang=es

We are partners at Tastech by Sigma

24/03/2021/in Challenge, Partnership/by Eatable Adventures

tastech by sigma

Eatable Adventures and Sigma joined forces in the search for entrepreneurs to promote high-impact projects in the food sector worldwide.

The multinational food company presents the second edition of Tastech by Sigma, the startup acceleration program that aims to revolutionize the food industry. The project submission will be open until April 26th and the selection of the finalists will take place on May 13th.

The first edition of Tastech by Sigma registered 123 startups applications from 19 countries, of which seven developed a pilot program and four will formalize a long-term relationship with Sigma.

Tastech by Sigma

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.

A total of 123 startups from 19 countries applied to the first edition of Tastech by Sigma, of which seven were selected to develop pilot tests in Mexico, Ecuador, Portugal and Spain, and four are in the process of formalizing a long-term relationship with Sigma.

This year Tastech by Sigma seeks the participation of startups and scaleups that propose innovative solutions to the following challenges:

Future Food – foods and ingredients that incorporate animal and/or vegetable proteins, as well as solutions that increase the nutritional value of culinary experiences and allow for reduced sodium, sugar and fat content.
Green Tech – Sustainable processes that enable the use of by-products in the industry’s value chain, reduce the carbon footprint of packaging, and improve efficiency in transportation, especially refrigerated transport.
Power Connections – New business models and consumer outreach through the analysis of consumer trends and the development of new shopping experiences.

Eatable Adventures renews its collaboration with Sigma developing the future food vertical, promoting on a global scale this great opportunity to innovate within a leading group in the agri-food sector that has 70 plants and operations in 18 countries in four regions: Mexico, Europe, the U.S. and Latin America.

“We want Tastech by Sigma to become a benchmark in the industry and that more and more entrepreneurs seek to present and develop their ideas with us. We are convinced that innovation in the food sector is a collaborative task and this program is our contribution so that young talent can revolutionize what we eat and the way we produce it,” said Daniel Alanís, Development Director at Sigma.

Tastech21 milestones

tastetech sigma

The submission of projects for the new edition will be open until April 26th and those interested can apply through the website tastech.eatableadventures.com.

After a pre-selection, a competition among the finalists will be held on May 13 before Sigma’s steering committee.

Pre-selected startups and scale-ups will be invited by May 13th to a selection event, with the aim for each of the participants to pitch their initiative in front of the Sigma committee.

The participants selected will participate in a 18 week program, focused on the implementation of a pilot test within Sigma, with the aim of validating their proposed solution.

The acceleration program will end in October with a demo day where all the selected participants will make a final pitch to the senior team of the company presenting obtained results from the pilot test, as well as technical and commercial advances.

Don’t lose this incredible opportunity, sign up and apply to the second generation Tastech by Sigma program.

Eatex Food Innovation Hub launches its second call to promote technology transfer in the agri-food sector.

The Hub has opened the application period for Exponential projects to participate in its innovation and technology transfer program.

The program promotes and finances collaborative R&D projects to develop innovative technological solutions that can be transferred from R&D centers to the agri-food industry.

Areas for Change Challenge, the new opportunity for the food & beverage’s startups ecosystem in travel retail

Areas challenges the international entrepreneurial community to find real solutions related to sustainability, gastronomy, and digitalization challenges within the industry of food & beverage and travel retail.