EIT Food

🌍 As we wrap up Day 2 of Next Bite 2024, we're proud to celebrate #WorldFoodDay, a reminder of the importance of our shared mission. 🌱 Today, we announced important milestones, reflecting our commitment to building a better food future together: Cliona Howie del Río, Director Data Impact Systems at EIT Food, announced the launch of the International Alliance for Food Impact Data coordinated by EIT Food to help develop internationally adopted and accepted standards for the environmental scoring of food. The Alliance will work to ensure that companies and supply chains can apply one standard for compliance across multiple geographies. 🗺️ 🏆 Huge congratulations to our 18 startups that won the 2024 EIT Food Accelerator Network Tech Validation Awards: €50,000 prize: AgroGrIN Tech, Esencia Foods, NOOVI, Pack2Earth, and Primogene   €30,000 prize: Clean Food Group, Quest Meat, CinSOIL, Senoptica Technologies, and BOB FoodTech  €20,000 prize: New Wave Biotech, Elaniti, MarinaTex, Pacifico Biolabs and  Kokomodo, as well as our Brazilian Tech Validation Award winners Typcal, Vaca Roxa and Gran Moar. Today’s discussions centred around creating a sustainable, equitable, and nutritious food system for everyone. 🍏 Leave no one behind! Here’s a look at some of the highlights: 👇 We looked into consumer behaviour and its crucial role in shaping the future of food. With our #ConsumerObservatory leading the discussions, we’ve explored the balance between trust, sustainability, and innovation in food consumption. 🥩 Topics like #RegenerativeAgriculture and #CultivatedMeat show how consumer values are driving change. Transparency and ethical practices are key to building trust, while innovations offer sustainable choices for both people and the planet.    Plus, we were inspired by the passionate voices of youth, including the FutureFoodMakers who remind us of the power of fresh perspectives. 🌿 The event closed with a focus on how our community can contribute to a more sustainable future. Let’s carry this momentum forward beyond the event. 👉 How do you see innovation transforming the future of food in the next few years? Thank you to everyone who joined us and made these conversations so meaningful! 💡 🗓️ Mark your calendars for 15-16 October 2025 for the next edition of Next Bite —  see you in Brussels! #NextBite24 #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood

14 new #agrifood scaleups are joining our #RisingFoodStars network. 🤩 Welcome aboard! These innovators become part of our network of scaleups, all focused on tackling key challenges in #SustainableAgriculture and #FoodProduction. 🌟 The successful startups were chosen for their potential to scale solutions that address the long-term sustainability of food and agriculture in Europe, faced with global challenges such as the need to secure food self-sufficiency and reduce net emissions by 90% by 2040. 🌱 The personalised approach of the EIT Food RisingFoodStars programme is key to initiating transformative change within #FoodSystems, unlocking commercial opportunities, and facilitating rapid, sustainable growth for startups. Since 2018, our alumni have raised over $700 million! Recently, Infinite Roots® secured $58M to scale its mycelium fermentation platform, and Notpla raised over €25M to scale sustainable packaging solutions. 💡 Our newest cohort includes SeedForward GmbH, Notpla, FICOSTERRA, Carbone Farmers, Meala, MyEasyFarm, Neggst, Matr, evja, Those Vegan Cowboys , AgroLeague, NoPalm Ingredients, Bon Vivant, and Cultivated Biosciences. 🚀 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/d2jWsPVj #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood #SustainableFood

As we hit the halfway mark in this crucial decade for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, #entrepreneurship is key to creating a sustainable future for our food system. 🌍 In 2021, European AgriFoodTech startups raised an impressive €9.8 billion (according to DigitalFoodLab). But in the past two years, funding has dropped by over 50%, posing big challenges for food system innovation and mission-driven entrepreneurs. 🔍 With financial uncertainty ahead, it's more important than ever to support Europe’s boldest entrepreneurs in bringing their innovations to life. 💡 A promising result from an independent impact assessment of our three entrepreneurship programmes – EIT Food Seedbed Incubator, EIT Food Accelerator Network, and EIT Food RisingFoodStars – shows that for every €1 invested on 549 promising startups and scaleups since 2018, a wider economic benefit of €6 can be expected over 10 years, growing to €13 over 15 years. 🚀 This also provided key insights on how to maximise the impact of entrepreneurship in the #FoodSystem. Learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/ddihVP_2 #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood

What else can we say but WOW and THANK YOU! What an incredible two days at Next Bite 2024 in Rome. 🌟 We are thrilled to have welcomed almost 1,000 attendees, including experts, startups, innovators, our invaluable partners, and the EIT Food team, all united in exploring how we can build a more sustainable and resilient #FoodSystem. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to this milestone event (a special shoutout to our audience, technicians, and organising team!) — your energy and ideas made it truly special. 🙏 Throughout the event, we had the privilege of hearing from 80+ inspiring speakers and experts, including thought leaders like Reniera O'Donnell from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, who challenged us to disrupt the linear food system, and Begoña Pérez Villarreal, who highlighted the Southern region's transformation into an innovation hub. 💡 From discussions on healthy ageing to advancements in technology, the event was rich with ideas for reshaping our food systems. Klaus G. Grunert shared some crucial insights from the #ConsumerObservatory on consumer trust in the agrifood system, emphasising the role of farmers and the need for collaboration and transparency as we work towards healthier diets. 🌱 Our discussions ranged from the importance of the microbiome to the urgent need for sustainable practices, highlighting the critical role of diet in our health. Sara Roversi reminded us that food is not just about nourishment but also about culture, community, and sustainability, urging us to adapt traditional food practices through innovation. 🌍 We also explored the exciting innovations emerging from the Venture Track, showcasing startups that are paving the way for a sustainable future through alternative proteins, fermentation, precision agriculture, robotics, AI-driven solutions, and so much more. 🚀 Thank you once again to everyone who joined us and helped to make Next Bite such a success. Thank you for being at the forefront of driving change in the food systems — we look forward to what we can achieve together! 🌿 Mark your calendars for 15-16 October 2025 for the next edition of Next Bite — see you in Brussels! 🗓️ #NextBite24 #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood

💬 How do we go about rethinking our food system? Day 1 of Next Bite 2024 in Rome, our largest event yet, brought together an incredible mix of voices — experts, startups, innovators, decision makers, corporations and our partners — to explore how we can build a more sustainable and resilient food system. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from today: 👇 🗣️ Our CEO, Richard Zaltzman, emphasised the urgent need for innovation in our food systems. “There is hope for change when you give it space to grow”, he said, encouraging everyone to share stories, find inspiration, and build the connections needed for real progress. 🌱At the same time, Viktoria de Bourbon de Parme, Chief Partnership Officer, EIT Food, spoke passionately about the role we all play in transforming food systems. She highlighted the progress made by EIT Food startups — proof that when we collaborate, we can amplify our impact. 🚀 🌍 In her keynote, Reniera O'Donnell, Food Initiative Lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation shared a vision for a "Big Food Redesign", challenging us to rethink how we design food with nature at the centre. From upcycling wasted crops to embracing regenerative practices, she highlighted the potential to shift from a linear to a circular food system — where every decision can help nature thrive. 🌿 🔍 Discussions throughout the day covered a range of pressing topics, recognising the interdependence of human, animal, and ecosystem health, and the need for a more holistic view of microbiomes across the food system. 💡 The potential for systemic change was a key theme, from integrating research and farming networks to creating policy frameworks that support innovation and help bring protein diversification to the mainstream. The question of how to align food systems with healthy ageing populations was also explored, stressing the importance of building resilience throughout life. 🔬 Tony Hunter shared his vision for the future, centred on five key technologies driving change: #AlternativeProteins, cellular agriculture, genomics, the microbiome, and synthetic biology. He also highlighted the role of Generation Alpha in embracing new food tech. 🎙️ Meanwhile, the Food Fight Podcast booth with Matt Eastland kept the energy high, welcoming participants for lively discussions. With a fantastic atmosphere and plenty of great conversations, it’s been an inspiring start! 😊 A big thank you to all the participants who made today so impactful! Let’s keep the momentum going. 💪    #NextBite24 #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood 

🚀 Excitement is building! 🎉 Tomorrow, we gather in Rome for Next Bite 2024, where the future of food meets innovation! 🌍✨ Let’s make the most of our time together — connecting, sharing, and collaborating to explore impactful ideas that will shape a healthier, more sustainable world. By bringing together diverse voices, we can drive more meaningful and lasting change for our food systems. 🌱 This is our chance to have real conversations about what’s next — whether it’s innovation, sustainability, or the challenges we can tackle. Let’s make a difference! 💡 💬 What’s one big challenge in the food system you believe we can solve together? Share your thoughts with us using #NextBite24. #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood 

Is there hope for our food systems? How can we transform extractive value chains into sustainable ones that support people and planet? 🌱🌍 We were proud to join key conversations at the #Concordia24 Annual Summit during #ClimateWeekNYC as a core programming partner, where our CEO Richard Zaltzman participated in a fireside chat titled ‘Reimagining Food Systems: Scaling Regenerative Agriculture Through Re-engineering Supply Chains’. Together with Sonya Hoo from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), we explored some critical points: 🔹 Rethinking value chains: We must move from ‘business as usual’ to innovative sourcing models prioritising sustainability and resilience. 🔹 Farmers at the centre: Regenerative agriculture must empower farmers as change-makers, giving them the tools and support to lead this shift. 🔹 Cross-value chain collaboration: Transforming food systems is not a solo effort. It demands cooperation between stakeholders across the whole supply chain. 🔹 Scaling through landscape interventions: The initiatives we’re developing in Europe show that multi-stakeholder approaches can work — now we need to see how they can be scaled to new regions. Now, how do we turn these insights into tangible action? What’s holding us back from scaling regenerative agriculture? How do you see different actors coming together in your region to make this happen? We’d love to hear your thoughts 💬👇 #RegenerativeAgriculture #FoodSystems #ClimateAction #ImprovingFoodTogether

“We need to reconnect with how food reaches our plate. The origin is NOT the supermarket,” says Lukas Visek from the European Commission. 🍽️ 🥗 Several labelling initiatives and instruments aim to help consumers make more informed choices on what they put on the menu, and policies are key for providing guidelines. 📝 The nutrition and labelling guidelines should be easy and accessible, meet individuals’ needs and include the environmental impact of food products. With the European Commission working on sustainability labelling and harmonising the use of front-of-pack nutrition labels, how will this impact the #FoodIndustry and what do we need to consider to achieve healthier and more sustainable European diets? 🤷♀️🤷♂️ We can't wait to delve into these key conversations with game-changers in food systems transformation at #NextBite24 next week - It’s our biggest event to date! 👉 https://lnkd.in/d6YcWZNP #FoodSecurity #SustainableFood #NutritionLabels #EcoLabels #ImprovingFoodTogether

Who bears the costs of transforming our food systems? 🌱 Are current policies effectively supporting ecosystems, producers, and consumers? Are we giving youth the role they deserve in shaping the future? The journey toward fair, resilient, and sustainable food systems is long, and collaboration is the key. 🌍 At #NextBite24, our biggest event to date, we’ll dive into the critical intersection of food and planet. Expect to hear from game-changers in food systems transformation and connect with global innovators, thought leaders, and pioneers driving the future of food. 🌟 👉 https://lnkd.in/eqd8zijv How can Europe maintain its global competitiveness during these transformative times? Share your thoughts 💬 #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood

The demand for vegan and vegetarian food products has surged across Europe, with producers and consumers alike searching for the best alternatives to meat, milk, and eggs. 🥩🌱 Product variety has come a long way in recent years. While vegetarian and vegan specialty products used to be the exception, they are now more popular than ever. 🍽️ Approximately 75 million European consumers purchase vegan or vegetarian foods, and the trend is rising. One in five European consumers deliberately aims to reduce their consumption of animal products, and this number is growing rapidly (Veganz study). 📊 As demand has increased, supermarkets have adapted, offering an ever-growing selection of plant-based options in their aisles. 🛒🥦 In this process, plant-based meat and dairy alternatives have emerged as the most sought-after product groups. But even though such products are gaining acceptance, plant-based and vegan alternatives are far from being the norm, and many consumers still approach them with caution. Are we heading into a plant-based future? Share your thoughts! 🤔🌱 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dz9mbES9 #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood #SustainableLiving #FoodInnovation #WorldVegetarianDay