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Eatable Adventures presents the data of its annual report “The State of Open Innovation in the Agrifood Industry”

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Big companies are betting on open innovation to lead the transformation of the agrifood industry

  • 78% of the companies consulted already use external sources to innovate, and 100% have invested in innovation in the last two years.
  • According to the study, most innovation efforts are concentrated on the Product area (92%), followed by Technologies (57%), Processes (53%), and Business Models (46%).
  • 78% of companies identify the General Management as the main decision-maker, although the Innovation Departments with 57% and the Business Development and Marketing Departments with 28% in both cases are gaining more weight.
  • 93% of surveyed companies prefer collaborating with technology centers, while 71% prefer co-developing with external entities as open innovation tools.

 

 “Innovate or die” is the motto of almost every company today. Demographic and sustainability challenges, socioeconomic uncertainty and changing consumer trends are some of the key factors that have driven a major technological transformation in the agri-food sector. A transition that has become an opportunity to promote the competitiveness and progress of companies.

Eatable Adventures, one of the world’s leading accelerators, has today presented the data of its first study “The State of Open Innovation”, a report that dives into the need for companies in the food and beverage industry to innovate, as well as the keys to make this innovation as successful as possible.

When it comes to collaborating with external agents to create new products or services or transform existing ones, Mila Valcárcel, Managing Partner of Eatable Adventures, highlighted the change in mentality of companies. “We are in a changing and dynamic environment. Companies need to generate innovation at all levels to improve their competitiveness, but in many cases, they do not have the structure or capacity to do so efficiently internally. Collaborative environments with startups, R&D centers, or universities provide a great advantage, as they allow companies to innovate in a disruptive, agile, and efficient manner, with much more efficient risk management. From Eatable Adventures, we are witnessing how companies are adopting open innovation models more frequently, allowing them to take their productivity and efficiency to another level. The sector is undergoing a transformation process very similar to the one the technology industry went through.” This trend, according to the study, is being established among the Food and Beverage sector leaders in Spain such as Mahou, Pascual, or Europastry, but is also spreading in more emerging markets in the Latin America region, with companies that are leading the transformation of the sector, such as Sigma or Alianza Team.

 

Innovation is a strategic priority for companies

According to the study, 100% of the surveyed companies said they have invested in innovation in the last two years, during the analyzed period (2020- 2022). Positively, this indicates a great deal of maturity in this area, which makes it easier to establish win-win partnerships with external agents. This fact extends to all types of companies in the sector, regardless of their revenue volume and size, as well as their geographical area.

Among the areas of innovation that are prioritized, Products takes the lead (92%), followed by Technologies (57%), Processes (53%), and Business Models (46%).

 

Which department is responsible for the innovation decisions within your company?

78% of the surveyed companies identify General Management as the most responsible party when it comes to decision-making. However, 57% of surveyed companies cite the need for innovation and adaptation as the reason for creating Innovation Departments to handle these decisions. In terms of launching R&D projects, this is highly positive, since it confirms that organizations are changing their cultural mindsets. Finally, the Business Development and Marketing departments also have a very significant weight in establishing these decisions and coordinating innovation flows, making the correlation between innovation and the expansion potential of the companies evident.

 

2022, the year of open innovation

Open innovation is the process by which companies implement innovative opportunities to their existing business models through corporate partnerships with external agents, as well as the acquisition of social capital through investments. As the food sector faces enormous pressures and shoppers demand healthier, more functional, and more sustainably produced products, this sector presents a very favorable environment for the development of these valuable partnerships.

According to the survey, 89% of companies prioritize their internal resources for generating innovation. However, 78% of the surveyed companies state that they turn to external sources to transform their company, making collaboration a key way to generate synergies and new business opportunities.

 

From where does innovation in your company originate?

Respondent companies choose to collaborate with universities and technological centers (93%) first when it comes to choosing open innovation tools that meet their needs and level of innovation.

In these universities, the research is generally carried out in scientific parks equipped with the technology necessary to scale these solutions.  Secondly, 71% of surveyed companies prefer to codevelop with external entities, which sometimes results in acceleration programs, industrial scaling, or venture building, among others entities , which often results in acceleration programs, industrial scaling, or venture building, among other results. Over 50% of companies conduct startup search programs such as showcases, scouting, and challenges to learn more about the ecosystem. With 25%, direct investment in startups comes in fourth place. Companies allocate certain amounts of financial resources to another company in order to capture value.

In these universities, the research is generally carried out in scientific parks equipped with the technology necessary to scale these solutions. Secondly, 71% of surveyed companies prefer to codevelop with external entities, which sometimes results in acceleration programs, industrial scaling, or venture building, among others entities , which often results in acceleration programs, industrial scaling, or venture building, among other results

 

Collaboration with startups and creation of specialized investment vehicles: the areas with the greatest growth projection

Nearly all surveyed companies (93%) state that they plan to invest in innovation in the next 3 upcoming years. When considering which tools would best suit their needs, collaboration with universities and technology centers (78%) emerges again, followed by the desire to conduct pilot tests (75%), as well as co-development with external entities (75%) and boosting the innovation culture within the companies (75%), which once again reinforces the priority of innovation in the growth strategy of the companies. Startup search and incubation tools are also capturing growing interest from companies, with 46% and 42% respectively. A projection that is also supported by the comparison between current and desired tools. In addition, the desire for growth in the tool of specialized investment vehicles is also highlighted.

 

What type of open innovation tools would best suit your company?

Regarding the self-perception of the degree of innovation of the company, the average score of these companies is 7.46 out of 10, still room for improvement, especially considering that companies award a 9.4 to the importance of innovation for the growth of their company.

The companies’ self-perception of innovation scored 7.46 out of 10, still room for improvement, especially since most companies assign a 9.4 rating to innovation’s importance to their growth.

Finally, when talking about the projected investment in innovation during the next year, companies are clear, with over 85% betting on increasing investment in this area.

As the study highlights, it is evident that open innovation is gaining more and more weight as a model for attracting talent, technology, and new business models since it has the power to transform organizations in an agile and efficient way

 

Download the full report here.

Investment in Spanish foodtech reaches 268 million euros by 2022

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  • Investment in Spanish foodtech reaches 268 million euros by 2022, a 9.38% increase since the previous year, not considering investment round reached by Glovo

Eatable Adventures, one of the world’s leading agrifood accelerators, has presented the data from its annual study “The State of Foodtech in Spain 2022”. A report gathering key information on the characterization and investment evolution of the Spanish Foodtech entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Broadly, 2022 has been a positive year for the sector in the country. Despite the macroeconomic context, the Spanish Startups have been supported by investors, companies and governments, which have taken a much more active role in the growth of the Spanish ecosystem.

In 2022, Spain remains in the global top 10 ranking in terms of number of foodtech startups, whose latest census, according to the report, totals 412 startups. As for the key areas of the Foodtech sector, once again this year, 4 major categories were identified, showing a fairly balance among them: Agritech (24%); Food Production and Transformation (34%); Logistics, Distribution and Retail (25%); and Restaurant Tech (16%).

Spanish startups are solvent at a technological level and have a solid level of development. The percentage of startups that decide to patent their solutions or generate utility models is growing: 32,9% of startups have patents, 56,6% have a trademark registration and 29% have a trade secret. There is significant growth in the use of artificial intelligence, with an increase of more than 12 points, compared to last year, as well as in machine learning and IoT, with an increase of 8,5 and 9,6 points, respectively. Regarding the degree of technological development (TRL) of the startups, more than 80% have market-ready solutions and 14% are still at an intermediate stage.

This year, the total investment figure stands at 268 million euros, an increase of 9,38% compared to the previous year, not considering the investment round achieved by Glovo (450 million euros). In addition, the increase in Series A rounds stands out, growing by nearly 20%, 5 points more than in 2021.

The largest investments have been in startups working in foodservice/retail, but the emergence of the protein alternative stands out among investments. The top 5 startups leading this ranking are Cover Manager (€52M), Heura (€20M), Good News (€11M), Nova Meat (€6M) and Cubiq (€6M).

“Spain is consolidating its position as a Foodtech Nation with a flourishing ecosystem and great technological and intellectual solvency, which has attracted the interest of global investors and corporates throughout the year. Proof of this are the investment rounds received by some of the startups of our Spain Foodtech portfolio, such as Cocuus, Innomy or Moa Foodtech.”, commented José Luis Cabañero, CEO and founder at Eatable Adventures.

New Call for Projects for Spain Foodtech, the national Foodtech acceleration program

Also, Eatable Adventures announced the opening of the new caLl for projects for the acceleration program Spain Foodtech Startups’ Program. This is a national program led by Eatable Adventures, in collaboration with ICEX Spain Export and Investment and CNTA (National Center for Food Technology and Safety) and supported by multiple agents of the food ecosystem.

This year, the program incorporates as partners the largest companies in the food industry that are driving open innovation in the agri-food sector: Mahou San Miguel, leading brewing company, Alianza Team, a Colombian-based corporate group, expert in lipids and fats and leader in the food sector, Pascual Innoventures, Pascual’s Corporate Venturing arm, and Sigma, leading multinational food company.

micelio

Mycelium: The super ingredient of the food industry

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One of the great wonders in nature is also one of the most unnoticed. Under the ground, regardless where you are there’s a large network of filaments that branch out and unify all the organic matter that surrounds them called mycelium. Its total length in the upper 10 cm of the ground has been estimated to be more than 450 quadrillion km.

What is the importance of mycelium?

Generally, it is in charge of decomposition and symbiosis. It absorbs organic matter avoiding its accumulation on the ground. Moreover, plants carry 70% of the carbon from the CO2 that photosynthesize underground where they exchange it for nutrients with the mycelium through their root system and this carbon is stored in the cell membranes of the fungi. This way it feeds the microbial community and all parts of the food chain like mites or nematodes that recycle nutrients through this food process. 

Fungi are key to stabilizing carbon in the soil hence it remains stored. 

Mycelium, apart from all its natural qualities, can grow rapidly in the ground and in a laboratory through a process that uses little electricity, is safe and, despite being light, is very resistant. Additionally, it is a temperature insulator, has absorbent properties, and is bio-compostable. 

Once mycelium is produced, is usually treated and dehydrated to improve its density, strength, elasticity, and texture.

Mycelium in the food industry 

innomy burgers

Focusing on the food tech industry, protein-based fungi, in other words, mycelium, seems to be reaching a popular plant and cell-based solution. The world’s first large-scale mycoprotein facility was announced in May 2020 and the food tech mushroom protein market is expected to grow 12% between 2019 and 2027 

Mycelium is nowadays normally used in protein-based alternatives, (plant-based) due to its high nutritional protein content and its fibrous appearance that characterizes meat. 

Using technologies such as fermentation, more specifically biomass fermentation due to the capacity of its microorganisms to multiply rapidly and efficiently, the mycelium grows to one of the highest levels, doubling its weight in just a few hours. 

Biomass fermentation takes advantage of rapid growth and high content in the protein of many microorganisms to efficiently produce a high amount of proteins. Biomass can be the principal ingredient of a food product or service as one of the main ingredients of a mixture. 

For example, the Spanish company Innomy uses mycelium combined with precision fermentation technology to create complex structures that reproduce the tender and fibrous consistency of meat. The company modifies shape, color, and flavor in the stringy structures of mycelial arrays to elaborate meat-flavored products. 

Furthermore, we have Libre Foods, a startup based in Barcelona whose mission is to liberate the food system through nutritious and sustainable products grown from mycelium. The first product o the company is a mycelium-based beef fillet followed by a line of red meats, poultry, and seafood. Libre Foods recently presented a mushroom-based bacon product created with fermentation (precision) technology. 

If you want to know about more disruptive projects on this topic, visit our article about 6 startups using mushrooms in food tech. 

Innomy raises €1.3 million in funding, thanks to its alternative proteins based on mushrooms

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The Spanish startup Innomy has raised 1,3 million euros in its Pre Series A funding round. The round was led by international investors as Corporación Cervino, Rockstart, Zubi Capital, Eatable Adventures and the National Center for Technology and Food Safety (CNTA), who have taken equity stakes in the company to scale the startup’s disruptive technology and promote a much more sustainable and healthier protein consumption alternative in other markets.

The leading Argentinian team, composed by CEO and co-founder Juan Pablo de Giacomi, biotechnologist COO and co-founder Pablo Sánchez Rey, and mycologist CSO and Technology Partner Francisco Kuhar, has dedicated years of research to the properties of mushroom-based proteins and their benefits for the health of people and the planet.

Innomy is the third foodtech Spanish startup announcing its first funding round after successfully completing the acceleration program Spain Foodtech developed by Eatable Adventures, in collaboration with ICEX Spain Export and Investment and the National Center for Technology and Food Safety (CNTA) and the Rockstart AgriFood program. Disruptive startups Cocuus and Moa Foodtech were also selected in Spain Foodtech program.

Juan Pablo de Giacomi, CEO and founder of Innomy states “We were born as a platform to channel many years of research in the field of the properties of edible mushrooms. Our mission is to respond to consumers that demand good food products for their health but also for the planet’s wellbeing. We want to reach new markets and bring our product to thousands of people”.

Mycelium, a filamentous, protein-rich ingredient extracted from the root structure of mushrooms is considered to be one of the most promising sources of protein for the future. Its quality in terms of nutrition was recognized by scientists a long time ago, but its current production for human consumption is not yet widespread. Furthermore, the fact that fungi do not produce cholesterol or significant amounts of saturated fats has redirected the attention of the food industry towards them.

On the other hand, José Luis Cabañero, CEO and founder of Eatable Adventures notes “We are very proud to be part of this new milestone that consolidates the leadership of the Spanish foodtech ecosystem. In the last few months, we have managed to raise Funding rounds of an average of 1.8M for three of the startups that have been selected in our acceleration program. We continue to bet on disruptive technologies that impact the way food is produced and consumed, ensuring food safety for all”.

Mark Durno, Managing Partner AgriFood of Rockstart said: “At Rockstart, purpose driven and determined founders are central to our investment selection. In the case of Innomy, the founding team is composed of specialists in mycelium and have all shown amazing commercial insight and humble curiosity during the mentor sessions throughout our accelerator program. We are delighted to make our second investment in the company.”

“With the entry into the capital we formalize the collaboration we have maintained in recent years to develop Innomy’s proprietary technology. And now, with this financial injection, it will be possible to bring this technology to the market and continue contributing to transforming the future of food to make it healthier, more sustainable, safer and available to everyone,” said Héctor Barbarin, CEO of CNTA.

In the context of the current global environmental and demographic challenges, meat alternatives, such as mycelium, are an effective solution to reduce meat production effects, which are responsible for almost 60% of all greenhouse gasses generated by food production, according to FAO data.

Innomy has been awarded in the fourth edition of the ‘Ingenia Startup Awards’, promoted by the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries (FIAB), the Technology Platform Food for LifeSpain (PTF4LS) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA). In addition, it has been a finalist in the Foodtech Heroes 2022 in the F&A category and has been chosen as one of the top 15 foodtech startups according to El Referente.

Meet the Alumni: Le Room Service

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The impact of room service on hotels is a management problem since it affects the flow of food and beverage services in hotels that offer room service as well as the burden it places on staff and hotels that do not have kitchen facilities.

Le Room Service aims to improve the hotel offer and increase sales by making room service itself more attractive, adding value to the hotel sector. You’ll discover their secrets and learn about their experience in the Eatable Adventures Acceleration Program as you read on.

 

  1. How do you manage to add value to the hotel sector from Le Room Service? What are the services you offer?

 

Le Room Service is a company specialized in outsourcing the F&B service of hotel rooms, apart-hotels and tourist apartments.

We were born in 2017 with the aim of revolutionizing the hospitality sector by offering the cost-effective alternative to room service through operational innovation and specialization in gastronomic trends. As of today, we operate with more than 300 Hotel establishments among which stand out groups such as Meliá, NH, Vincci, Iberoestar, Turim or Barceló in Seville, Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon.

We focus on bringing value to the hotel sector in 5 aspects: improved profitability, new customer experience, disruptive concept, standardization of processes and increased valuation, allowing hotels to focus on their core business.

 

  1. Why did you decide to join EA’s Acceleration Program?

 

At that time we were in a very early stage of the project, but we already had the first positive results that validated the viability of the business model.

We saw Eatable Adventures as a great opportunity to introduce my company to the startup ecosystem and exponentially accelerate its growth. Additionally, being able to rely on corporate mentors from Grupo Meliá and Banco Sabadell increased the chances of success.

 

  1. How has Eatable Adventures helped you achieve your goals?

 

Eatable Adventures helped us in different ways to professionalize our project.

Firstly, we had an initial mentoring phase where we drew up a medium-term plan, set goals and followed up on them. As part of this plan, Le Room Service aimed to obtain an investment round for national expansion, which later culminated in the opening of its second location (after Seville), Madrid.

Secondly, Eatable Adventures opened doors for us through its network of contacts. With partners like Meliá as well as with investment funds and angel investors. Thanks to all this, we got our first round of investment at the end of the program.

 

  1. What is the most valuable advice José Luis has given you during our Acceleration Program?

 

First of all, we would like to thank José Luis for his involvement and trust in the Le Room Service project. He has always followed our evolution very closely, offering, from his experience, the impulse and stimulus that the startup required in each phase.

More than a specific advice, we keep his mentality to think big, eliminating the barriers that we could have and transmitting the limitless scalability that our project has.

 

  1. How do you see Le Room Service in the medium/long term?

 

At the moment we are immersed and focused on our international expansion, we have just opened in Lisbon and we are working on future openings in Berlin and Paris. We have outlined an ambitious expansion plan and, in the next 3 years we want to be offering our services in the main European capitals.

In addition, we are also growing horizontally in services; we no longer only offer Room Service, but we are now a more comprehensive solution for Food & Beverage departments. We have the possibility to complete the hotel’s offer with breakfast, events or lobby services.

We are also rebranding to adapt to the new positioning that the business requires at this stage. Using our new exclusive packaging, we can operate without barriers in 5-star hotels and raise the brand’s perception.

There are many changes happening right now, and we are determined to successfully navigate them. Among other things, we owe our success to the experience and know-how acquired over the years and to the invaluable support provided by Eatable Adventures.

Get to know more of our Alumni here.

Meet the Alumni: Moon Water

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Moon DrinksNacho Alonso, CEO and Founder of Moon Drinks, was hooked on traditional soft drinks for years and, fed up with not finding a healthy alternative on the market, decided to become an entrepreneur and make healthy soft drinks a reality. “The best way to predict the future is… to invent it,” he says. That’s how he founded Moon Drinks SL., the organic and vegan soft drinks company he is running today.

Find out how Eatable Adventures Accelerator Program helped him scale his business, what advice he has retained, and where he sees Moon Water going in the future.

 

  1. When and for what purpose was Moonwater born?

The project was born at the end of 2017 and has evolved a lot over the years. Our purpose is to contribute to improving the quality of life of people and the planet by creating healthy and sustainable alternatives to traditional beverages.

 

Traditional soft drinks have not changed their formulas for decades nor adapting or incorporating industry advances and consumer demands. Traditional drinks still rule the market, but they have become obsolete. Consumers are unaware of the alternatives that may exist, and therefore need to be informed about them.

 

  1. How did you come up with the formula for your soft drinks, and how does it differ from other soft drinks?

It has been a very long and laborious process. The current formula wasn’t found until May 2021 (almost 4 of work). We have launched four versions of our product on the market, and it was consumers and customers who validated it. Because of this, you could say the product was not created by us, but by the consumer only two red lines: we do not compromise health nor sustainability, which are core values for us.

 

As opposed to traditional soft drinks, we use 100% natural and organic ingredients, with very little sugar and low-calories. Our bubbles are soft, pleasant to the taste, and our flavors are not the traditional ones, we offer innovative flavor combinations that are truly delicious. Our business is to provide new experiences for consumers. In addition, our products are packaged exclusively with aluminum, the most sustainable material for packaging now a days .

 

  1. How did the Eatable Adventures Accelerator Program help you scale your project?

The experience was truly BRUTAL, completely changing the way we viewed the industry, better understanding the global market, and providing us with the tools we needed to reach our goals. And I can’t forget the most important thing, an amazing team on a professional and personal level.

 

  1. How do you see the future of Moonwater?

Our company is called Moon Water, we started this “revolution” with the soft drink category by launching Moonwater, but we are developing new products. We have already created an organic energy drink that is a healthy alternative to energy drinks that we plan to launch this year.

 

While we continue to work on new products and trends, we will also strive to improve existing products, incorporating all the new technologies, both at the production level and in packaging, and improving the entire value chain.

 

We are very happy with the evolution, we can’t believe it. The company is growing fast in Spain but also abroad, with a strong presence in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Qatar, etc. Our goal is to bring Moonwater to every corner of the world.

 

  1. What is the most valuable advice José Luis has given you during our Acceleration Program?

That the product had to be at the peak of our project, which is why we will never be completely satisfied with our products, because we are firm believers that everything can be improved, no matter how good it is.

Cocuus

Spanish startup Cocuus raises €2,5M in Funding to scale its 3D bioprinting technology for the production of alternative proteins

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This round was led by Big Idea Ventures, Cargill Ventures, Eatable Adventures and Tech Transfer Agrifood.

The Spanish startup Cocuus has raised 2,5 million euros in its Pre Series A funding round for its innovative process for producing plant or cell- based animal protein food analogs. The company achieved this round after completing Eatable Adventures acceleration program, one of the top three globalaccelerators for foodtech startups.

The round was led by Big Idea Ventures, the global alternative protein fund, the U.S. multinational Cargill Ventures, the Spanish accelerator Eatable Adventures and Tech Transfer Agrifood. With a capital injection of this size, the startup can scale its business model and expand into other international markets, enabling them to utilize their disruptive 3D bioprinting and robotics technologies to create more sustainable and nutritious food products.

Patxi Larumbe, CEO and founder of Cocuus states “We are very proud to have attracted the interest of international investors with this round of financing. Thanks to this capital injection we will be able to bring our technology within reach of corporations that want to print proteins on an industrial scale”. In addition, the Founder and Managing General Partner of Big Idea Ventures, Andrew D Ive, also highlights “At Big Idea Ventures, we invest in technology which impacts the alternative protein industry’s entire value chain. Cocuus’ technology addresses a major pain point of structured plant- and cell-based meat production methods scalability. We are thrilled to support this innovative team and we look forward to
seeing their scalable food technology making an impact across the world.”

On the other hand, José Luis Cabañero, CEO and founder of Eatable Adventures notes, “The Spanish foodtech startups’ ecosystem is consolidating very quickly, attracting major investors and international corporations. Through Eatable Adventures, we offer our services to startups and corporations around the globe to accelerate the process of transformation and innovation in the food value chain”.

As Cabañero points out, this current environmental and world population scenario calls for a rethinking of production methods to achieve a much more sustainable and efficient food system. According to FAO data, in 2050, in order to feed a population of 9.1 billion, food production will have to increase by 70% and meat production by more than 200 million tons.

Cocuus, along with MOA Foodtech, Proppos, H2hydroponics, and Innomy have been selected as finalists for the first edition of Spain Foodtech, the acceleration program of Eatable Adventures supported by the National Center for Technology and Food Safety (CNTA) and ICEX Spain Export and Investment.

Cocuus has been awarded by the international Quality Innovation Award (QIA) in the category of Innovation in Microenterprises and Startups, after winning the 2021 national award.

Meet the Alumni: Proppos

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Artificial intelligence has become a fundamental pillar of the food industry these days. This new technology has a purpose throughout the entire agri-food chain, innovating, streamlining, and improving processes within the sector allowing it to offer a better service, quality, and product to consumers. 

Proppos

We had the opportunity to interview Nil Salomó Bellavista, CEO and Co-Founder of Proppos, an artificial intelligence company specializing in food recognition, which together with its partners, offers first-class A.I. payment solutions to the Food and Retail industries. Proppos’ mission is to transform the payment experience through an accurate, autonomous, and accessible computer vision solution. 

Read on to learn firsthand how the idea for the company came about, future goals, his views on how artificial intelligence will change the world, and more.

 

How did the idea of starting Proppos come up?

While working in the food sector, specifically in a catering company within the IT team, we observed the need to speed up the queues in the food service business, yet without increasing costs. The most feasible and optimal solution was to automate the payment system using artificial intelligence and computer vision technology.  The products we were selling consisted of natural products, with no barcode, making AI the technology of choice for this project. From this idea, we started to conceptualize the Proppos concept in 2019. 

What stage of the project were you in when you entered the Eatable Adventures Accelerator Program and how do you consider you have come out? 

We entered the Eatable Adventures Accelerator Program in the very early stages of the project, but already had a validated MVP and some market traction.

Throughout the program, our ideas were maturing and becoming more formalized. Our project was much clearer at the end of the program, both in terms of funding, processes, and relationships with companies. 

Do you have new innovations in mind for Proppos? 

Absolutely! Our goal is to diversify our customers as much as possible within the food service sector. 

At the very beginning of our project, we were faced with the challenges of the global pandemic, in which the whole catering sector was forced to close to the public. Having a new and innovative project focused on the food service sector slowed down the integration process as we had to explain and show our customers what Proppos was all about. Like everything else, the sector had to innovate, and with this new opportunities appeared for us for implementing our technology in the food sector, from order tracking in the fast-food sector, to monitoring food safety in clinics and hospitals.

In what ways do you think artificial intelligence is going to reshape the world? 

It certainly has already been doing so. Gradually, before we know it, we will be involving artificial intelligence in our day-to-day lives. The first step will be to use tools like ours to automate monotonous and simple task processes, streamlining human daily life, saving time, and allowing workers to focus on more value-added reasoning tasks.  

What has been the best advice Jose Luis has given you?

He has helped and advised us in many different areas, but especially in terms of investment and how to focus when it comes to seeking investment rounds. Thanks to him we understood the importance of expanding and searching for investment at an international level to be able to scale the company and generate money in a sustainable way.

 

Learn more about Eatable Adventures’ alumni by visiting more interviews in our blog.

Meet the EAA Alumni: MOA Foodtech

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MOA Foodtech is a Spanish startup that combines biotechnology and artificial intelligence to transform waste and by-products from the agri-food industry into a 100% sustainable ‘‘new generation protein” of high nutritional value.  Their goal is to implement new technologies that promote a fairer, more compassionate, and more sustainable food system while still being appealing to consumers.

We had the opportunity to interview Bosco Emparanza García, CEO and founder of MOA Foodtech, one year after going through our Accelerator Program. Discover what this meant to them, the advice he still retains, and how he sees MOA Foodtech in the future.

 

How did the idea of founding a company as MOA Foodtech arise? What is the main goal of the company?

The world is currently in a critical environmental situation. By 2050, agriculture will need to feed 40% more people, produce 70% more food, using only 10% more land.
The whole MOA team was concerned about the situation and the huge impact the agri-food industry has. For this reason, the three founding partners, Susana, José María, and I, made this decision to leave our jobs as scientific directors in a biopharmaceutical, M&A, and commercial company, respectively. As a step towards developing a sustainable agriculture-food model, we set out to investigate the following: Can we use waste and by-products from the agri-food industry to produce high-value food using biotechnology?

 

What were the benefits of working with Eatable Adventures in your first steps until the business was consolidated?

The beginning of our journey was a time of uncertainty. That same year was the confinement, and we found ourselves leaving our jobs. At that point, the Eatable Adventures team came on board; they believed in the project and shared our ambition. The solution we wanted had to be global, and thanks to Eatable’s way of working and networking, we were able to start a global project. As time passed, the most rewarding and intense hours of the week were our meetings with Mila and José Luis, when we wrote down our plans to overcome the next hurdle, and we did.

 

What is the most valuable piece of advice José Luis has given you in our Acceleration Program?

Having spent so many hours working together, it is impossible to choose just one. But without a doubt, there have been two in particular that made us change our approach and begin to see things more clearly.

The first, and undoubtedly essential, was that we had to seek international investment. This was the best way to position ourselves as a credible project and thus begin to grow.
And the second was to consider what we really were. Instead of thinking, we were just a protein manufacturer, we had to think of ourselves as a platform.

 

What is in the near future for MOA Foodtech and where do you aspire to go in the long term?

Our goal is to be a global project, so we are scaling the technology to an industrial level and developing solutions focusing on the Asian (where protein consumption will grow the most), European and American markets. In addition, we are working on applications not only in meat analogs but also in snacks and dairy analogs. We are also developing new processes utilizing by-products and residues, and perhaps most importantly, we’ve developed an artificial intelligence tool that helps us develop all of the above more efficiently and quickly.

Check out our other Alumni Interviews here.

Meet the EAA Alumni: Ekonoke

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Ekonoke is a Madrid-based company with a disruptive business model. It produces hops of the highest quality, ensuring sustainability and reliability of supply, and developing climate-resilient agricultural solutions with the least use of resources.

We had the opportunity to talk with Inés Sagrario, CEO and Co-founder of Ekonoke, which participated in our Eatable Adventures Acceleration Program (EAA) in 2019. Read on to learn more about Ekonoke’s experience as part of the acceleration program.

Could you narrate Ekonoke’s journey since you’ve been part of our accelerator program?

Ekonoke joined the Eatable Adventures Accelerator Program in September 2018. Our original project had nothing to do with what we are now. Even the partners at the beginning told us the project wasn’t quite right, but that they were confident in our team. We made fundamental decisions together to put the project on a better track, becoming who we are now.

In the first place, we suffered some confluence of our work with the Eatable Adventures team and the alterations of climate change we had to face. In March 2019 there was a beastly heatwave in Madrid, passing 40 degrees in the greenhouse, which was not prepared for it. This led to a drop in production, making us unable to get to serve customers we already committed with.
During this time we realized we couldn’t continue working in a greenhouse, and we had to switch to indoor cultivation.

With support from Eatable Adventures, we also realized that our vertical garden model focused on Horeca was not a scalable project, but rather an artisanal one. Responding to what our restaurant clients requested, we made our first change by offering ready-for-harvest live mini-gardens. Through Eatable, we were introduced to a variety of events, and in one of them, we met our partners Tallos microgreens. In combining the two projects, the brand Ekonoke was born.
Simultaneously, we continued testing with crops that did not have climate risk, one of them being hops, which has led us to what we are today.

  

Walk us through your rebranding process decision, why did you decide to focus only on one type of crop, as well as only selling your products at a B2B level?

We put together the situation Ekonoke was in at the time. On the one hand, our mini-gardens were not being profitable. Despite receiving very positive feedback from customers, we didn’t have the level of repetition that we had envisioned in our pre-covid business model.

On the other hand, having already been working with hops and being in contact with breweries, we realized that the brewing industry faced an important challenge of supplying their raw material sustainably and reliably.

Putting these two situations together, the answer was clear. One of the strongest supporters of our decision to completely change our business model has been Jose Luis Cabañero, CEO of Eatable Adventures.  

 

What is the most valuable piece of advice you have received from Jose Luis in our Accelerator Program?

First of all, I would like to emphasize that the greatest advice I have received from Jose  Luis was not really during the Acceleration Program period. Once you are part of the program, you create bonds, connections, and relationships that last a lifetime. It is very valuable to have a team behind your project with a vision and the ability to guide and support you as you make future decisions.

Having said that, the biggest piece of advice he told us was to decide to focus on growing hops. It was hard to accept and put aside our mini-garden project, but after long conversations with Jose Luis, he made us understand that the future of Ekonoke was in being a hops company.

 

Where do you envision Ekonoke in the short and long-term future?

In the short term, we are already working to have our first commercial-scale hop growing facility in Galicia. We want to show the world that different types of crops can be grown in different ways, starting with hops, so that food and ingredients do not have to travel thousands of miles, but rather the knowledge and technology will do.

In ideally 4-5 years, we will have our indoor hop growing facilities available worldwide, being the leading company that has completely revolutionized the hop industry.

 

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