EIT Food Accelerator Network

Today on World Plant Milk Day, we celebrate our EIT Food Accelerator Network startups and alumni who offer plant-based alternatives to dairy milk. Their increasing presence in supermarkets and stores and their presumed potential to support a transformation towards more sustainable food systems underline the relevance of this food market segment. 🌱🥛 Cultivated Biosciences develops an emulsion from yeast, which brings creaminess to dairy-free products and cleans labels. 🌱🥛 Got Foods presents a kind, modern way to get the full dairy experience with a mix of yellow split peas and a caring and compassionate fermentation crafting process. 🌱🥛 The Good Pulse Company produces a functional and customisable mix of proteins, fibre and starch from yellow peas enhanced by unique physical processing to bring the best of each fraction to produce an overall healthier solution to plant-based cheese. 🌱🥛 Imagindairy is addressing the industry bottleneck by integrating deep tech with system biology to develop a commercial and viable animal-free protein-based dairy product. 🌱🥛 Time-travelling Milkman extracts natural fat droplets, called Oleosomes, from sunflower seeds, which have a similar functionality to that of milk fat droplets, allowing Oleocream to be positioned as a dairy cream equivalent for creamy and tasty products with almost no environmental impact. 🌱🥛 Updairy Inovações LTDA harnesses the power of microorganisms to produce animal-free dairy proteins, creating a sustainable product without giving away the taste and nutrition of real dairy. Year after year, more and more people around the world are choosing to try plant-based alternatives for several reasons, including the environment, health and animal welfare, as well as for its delicious taste and more compassionate choice. So why not join the millions of people across the globe who are choosing the kinder, more sustainable, and delicious option of plant-based milk alternatives? #foodsystemtransformation #agrifoodtechinnovation #startupacceleration 

The EIT Food community is enriched with amazing entrepreneurs and innovators. Today, on World Entrepreneurs Day, and every day, we celebrate our founders and recognise the role they play in driving AgriFoodTech innovation and its economic, environmental, societal, political, and health-related impact. 🔗 Whatever stage of their journey: launch, accelerate, or scale, our three hands-on programmes, EIT Food Seedbed Incubator, EIT Food Accelerator Network and EIT Food RisingFoodStars, offer entrepreneurs and startups the best chance to become tomorrow’s Unicorns of our Food Tech industry. From market validation, business acceleration, and tech validation to commercial upscaling, we give startups and entrepreneurs the best chance of success. 🚀 Our EIT Food Accelerator Network programme links those who need technology and innovations, those who are developing it, and those who might finance and scale it. 🌐 By joining the EIT Food Accelerator Network programme, startups get privileged access to the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community, corporates, cutting-edge facilities and equipment across Europe, and funding to accelerate and validate their technology. 📣 Turn your vision into reality and register your interest today: https://lnkd.in/ddX_3fP2

🚀 We are excited to announce that Solar Foods, an EIT Food Accelerator Network alumnus, was selected as the international category winner of NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's and CSA's Deep Space Food Challenge. This makes Solein® one of the most attractive food production solutions for feeding astronauts in space. 👩🚀 The Deep Space Food Challenge, launched in 2021 by NASA and its Canadian counterpart, CSA, and organised by the Methuselah Foundation, is an international competition that seeks innovations to feed astronauts on long space missions.    🌗 In space, the possibilities for preparing food are extremely limited. Solar Foods is solving this challenge by recreating the Solein bioprocess to fit smaller confines while drastically improving the water economy of our future spaceships. Solein makes it possible to prepare a huge variety of food products, including cereals, pancakes, ice creams, meatballs, steaks, etc., from carbon dioxide drawn from the air. 🌎   "Our mission is to solve the global food crisis, and of course, Solein is primarily meant to be enjoyed on Earth. But space is the ultimate stress test of a circular economy: It represents both an opportunity to advance the history of science and a chance to grow and diversify our business. We are beyond excited to help take humanity deeper into space while at the same time developing Solein production for extreme conditions here on Earth." - Arttu Luukanen, Senior Vice President of Space & Defence at Solar Foods 🎉 Congratulations to founders Pasi Vainikka, Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, Sami Holmström, Jero Ahola, Janne Mäkelä, Jari Tuovinen, and the entire Solar Foods team on this amazing achievement.   #foodsystemtransformation #agrifoodtechinnovation #startupacceleration #deespacefoodchallenge #exploration #foodoutofthinair #solein #solarfoods

Congratulations to EIT Food Accelerator Network alumnus Meala Foodtech for being selected by Empire State Development as one of the 20 finalists for the annual $3 million Grow-NY Global Business Competition! The Grow-NY competition is a powerful catalyst for science-based innovations that enhance the food economy while promoting climate sustainability. The key focus is strengthening the emerging food, beverage, and agriculture innovation cluster. The winning companies will be required to make a positive economic impact in the Grow-NY region. In total, 312 startups applied from 50 countries, 44% included a female founder, and 60% a founder from a culturally diverse group. Meala Foodtech develops the next-generation, naturally derived, texturising proteins that can create gelling, binding, and emulsion, helping food manufacturers maintain a clean ingredient list without compromising texture, juiciness, and nutritional value. The 20 finalists are now embarking on a 10-week business development phase before pitching their innovations at the 2024 Summit. Good luck to all the finalists!

📢 We are proud to announce that EIT Food Accelerator Network alumnus Hooked Foods has expanded its product portfolio and revamped its packaging design. This was done to reflect the company’s commitment to local sourcing and sustainability and to help consumers easily make informed choices. The new offering entails: Veggie Bites Original: chicken-inspired, protein-packed bites. Veggie Filet Original: plant-based chicken filet alternative. Veggie Bites Sea Flavour: tuna-inspired plant-based bites. Veggie Bites Smoked: smoked salmon-inspired plant-based bites. From October 2024, these delicious vegan seafood and meat alternatives will be available in two of Sweden’s largest retail chains — ICA Gruppen and Coop Sverige. “The new products were created to meet the demand for specific plant-based products, following input from partner retailers and consumers. The market is constantly evolving, and it’s our job to keep up with those changes. By listening to our retail partners and our consumers, we’ve been able to create products that meet their needs and exceed their expectations. This launch is a testament to the importance of staying hungry, open-minded, and adaptable as a startup. " - Tom Johansson, CEO of Hooked Foods 🚀 Founded in 2019 by Tom Johansson and Emil Wasteson Wallén, Hooked Foods' products replicate traditional seafood and meat's taste, texture, and nutritional profile, helping customers switch to plant-based diets. Last year, the Swedish startup raised SEK6 million (€500,000) in a crowdfunding round to scale up production and expand to Germany through a partnership with ooha | impact food agency. In addition to the crowdfunding, Hooked Foods has raised over €5 million from a limited group of impact investors, including Brightly Ventures, Oyster Bay Management GmbH, Veg Capital, Katapult Ocean, ProVeg, Kale United, and local musician Danny Saucedo. “We’re excited to see how our new offerings will resonate with the market, and we’re confident that our agility will continue to be our greatest strength.” Tom Johansson, CEO of Hooked Foods Congratulations to Tom Johansson, Emil Wasteson Wallén and the entire Hooked Foods team for entering a new category and meeting consumer and retail demands. #foodsystemtransformation #agrifoodtechinnovation #startupacceleration

We are proud to announce that EIT Food Accelerator Network alumnus Adamo Foods has secured $2.5M. Adamo Foods is a UK startup making beef steak alternatives from fungi, using a proprietary fermentation process that replicates the muscle structure of meat by producing long, densely packed fibres of mycelium. The seed funding round was co-led by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) and Joyful VC. The money will be used to increase the production of its clean-label mycelium steak, to pilot, scale and expand its team, as well as to develop additional products, such as a chicken breast alternative. “This is a pivotal moment for Adamo Foods. We’re thrilled to have such experienced investors with deep food-tech expertise on board. This funding will allow us to scale our production to pilot-scale and bring our clean-label products closer to consumers.” Pierre Dupuis, Founder and CEO of Adamo Foods Adamo Foods has previously raised $620,000 in 2022, followed by another £1.5 million (about $1.92 million) last year and the startup was recently named one of “8 Great British Startups that are Going to Change the World” by The Grocer and “Top 10 European Food Tech Companies to Watch in 2024” by Tech.eu. The startup is preparing for its first product launch, which will involve a limited pilot in the UK followed by a broader European rollout. Congratulations to Pierre Dupuis, Gareth Payne, Nick Wood, Paul Brett PhD, Hannah Dallas and the entire Adamo Foods team, it is great to see you accelerate and disrupt the whole-cut meat alternatives market with authentic cleaner-label products, closing a significant consumer-market gap. "Adamo Foods joined EIT’s Food Accelerator Network to meet corporate partners in biotechnology and food distribution. We’ve completed our first product prototype and are looking to secure R&D and commercial collaborations to help us scale it up. It’s been fantastic to meet some World-leading biotechnology and food distribution companies, with whom we can plan our path to commercial-scale production. It’s also been great to meet other startups in person in Helsinki and share notes on the challenges we’re all dealing with." - Pierre Dupuis, Founder and CEO of Adamo Foods

We would like to thank all our amazing evaluators for their support in selecting our EIT Food Accelerator Network Tech Validation winners and their valuable feedback to the startups.   A special thank you goes to Oonagh Monahan, who joined our Tech Validation Hub events in Paris and Helsinki, for providing such wonderful feedback.   "Being involved in selecting our EIT Food Accelerator Network Tech Validation winners has been such a great experience - I’m always encouraged by the innovation, thought and imagination that applicants bring. The quality of applications was very high. Some clear trends emerged in the areas that I evaluated in relation to Food Bioprocessing and the Next Generation of Plant Sourced Solutions in particular, meeting clear and urgent needs." - Oonagh Monahan   The 15 startups winning €50,000, €30,000 and €20,000 will be announced at the EIT Food Next Bite event in Rome. Stay tuned!   To register your interest for the next cohort, please visit: https://lnkd.in/ddX_3fP2   #EITFANStartupEvaluation #startupacceleration #foodsystemtransformation #agrifoodtechinnovation

EIT Food Accelerator Network would like to thank all our amazing evaluators for their support in selecting our Tech Validation winners and their valuable feedback to the startups. A special thanks goes to Artem Khlebnikov, who joined the Tech Validation events in Paris, Helsinki, and Haifa Hubs and provided us with such wonderful feedback. "The 2024 EIT Food Accelerator Network Tech Validation event was an incredibly enriching experience. The quality of the pitches and the selection of startups were outstanding, showcasing numerous innovative, high-potential ideas across various areas of food tech. It was a tremendous privilege to contribute to selecting the EIT Food Accelerator Network Tech Validation 2024 winners and to support the much-needed transformation of our food system. I was deeply humbled by the perseverance of the entrepreneurs in the cohort and thoroughly impressed by their dedication to driving impactful solutions forward in food bioprocessing, the next generation of plant-sourced solutions, and food as medicine. I am eager to see how the newly developed products will delight consumers, the novel ingredients that will create sustainable solutions, and the various platform technologies that will have an impact in multiple areas. I look forward to discovering the winners of the 2024 EIT Food Accelerator Network TVC edition and continuing to follow their progress in the months to come." - Artem Khlebnikov The 15 startups winning €50,000, €30,000 and €20,000 will be announced at the EIT Food Next Bite event in Rome. Stay tuned! To register your interest for our next cohort, please visit: https://lnkd.in/ddX_3fP2 #EITFANStartupEvaluation #startupacceleration #foodsystemtransformation #agrifoodtechinnovation

Brazil’s Typcal, a startup pioneering mycoprotein in Latin America and a 2024 EIT Food Accelerator Network programme participant, has been selected by the Paraná Anjo Inovador to receive R$250,000 in funding. State funding has been crucial in helping the startup navigate the challenging investment landscape and focus on technological development. The startup was founded in 2021 by bioprocess engineer Eduardo Bittencourt Sydney (CTO) and food industry entrepreneur Paulo Ibri (CEO) to leverage biomass fermentation to develop a mycoprotein ingredient for food applications. “We started Typcal to be the first in Latin America to develop mycelium fermentation with a circular process. The investment of the Government of Paraná greatly increases our competitiveness because it allows us to grow as an industry.” - Paulo Ibri, CEO Typcal uses a fungus strain with a history of human consumption in Brazil, simplifying regulatory approval and allowing it to bring its innovative products to market more quickly. The FoodTech World Cup finalist produces up to 100 kilos of fresh mycoproteins monthly, achieving product development in just 24 hours. The mycoprotein is high in protein and fibre, low in fat and calories, and neutral in flavour. This makes it ideal for vegan and vegetarian alternatives, as well as hybrid products. Typcal has a pilot facility in Curitiba, Brazil, with a 200-litre bioreactor. The company has raised around $3 million in seed funding from a mixture of AgTech and FoodTech investors and athletes and is looking to raise a series A round later this year. The startup aims to expand with a 5,000-liter bioreactor to a commercial scale and put the first products on the market in 2025, and then in 2026, expand again and reach around 60 tons a month for the local market with three 50,000-liter bioreactors. Typcal's production method is highly sustainable. It boasts 7,000 times higher productivity and 99% less water usage than traditional meat production. It also utilises agro-industrial by-products to reduce waste. #foodsystemtransformation #agrifoodtechinnovation #startupacceleration

Are you ready to join our groundbreaking EIT Food Accelerator Network startups and alumni in Rome on 15-16 October for the biggest EIT Food event of the year, Next Bite? 💚 🚀 This unparalleled gathering brings together the game-changers in food systems transformation and the world’s leading food innovators, thought leaders and pioneers at this not-to-be-miss event in the AgriFoodTech industry. 🤝 Why October? In aid of #WorldFoodDay, we want to come together to have conversations about the food sector and share thoughts about how we can continue to strive for nutritious, available, and accessible food for all. At EIT Food's largest event yet, #NextBite: Building the Future of Food Together, we'll tackle key issues like framework legislation, consumer behaviour and trust, #FoodSecurity, #FoodWaste, #ProteinDiversification, #RegenerativeAgriculture and #SoilHealth, as we explore the EU's food systems and the tools needed for improvement. Get insights into upcoming innovations, trends, policies, and leaders in agrifood tech and join the movement for a future-fit food system. 🧑🌾 🥣 📄 🌟 But that’s not all! There will be deep dives, startup pitches, the announcement of our EIT Food Accelerator Network Tech Validation winners and fascinating discussions, featuring many of our amazing startups and alumni. 🍏 For more information or to secure your tickets, visit ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eDr_iTyi  Will we see you there? #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood #SustainableFood #foodsystemtransformation #startupacceleration #agrifoodtechinnovation