EIT Food announces new cohort of agri-food start-ups

EIT Food, the world’s largest food innovation community, has chosen 63 start-ups out of over 1 000 applicants from across Europe for its prestigious entrepreneurship programmes: the EIT Food Accelerator Network (FAN) and RisingFoodStars.

They will receive access to world-class mentorship, leadership development and tech validation. Their products and services range from boosting the natural immunity of bees to creating sustainable palm oil alternatives.

The successful start-ups were chosen for their potential to accelerate innovation to create positive change in the food system, ranging from achieving carbon zero farming to protein diversification.

Start-ups play a fundamental role in building a food system that is strong enough to withstand cycles of global turbulences. At EIT Food, we bring key industry players together and create a shared vision and a common agenda to transform the way food is produced, distributed and consumed.

Dr Andy Zynga, CEO of EIT Food

Each start-up will receive access to the world’s largest and most dynamic agri-food community of industry experts, research institutions, corporate partners and investors. They will also be able to benefit from world-class mentorship, leadership development, tech validation, business support, and training, all designed to accelerate their growth, impact, and market-readiness.

Check out the chosen start-ups from across Europe, North Africa and Israel below!

EIT Food Accelerator Network (50 startups):

Achieving carbon-zero farming, Bilbao Hub:

• Oligofeed (France), which developed a scientifically proven supplement that boosts bees’ natural immunity. 
• SpaceCrop Technologies (Hungary), an agricultural software company that helps farms manage irrigation using satellite data and artificial intelligence.

• Ani Biome™ (Croatia) harnesses the power of fermentation science to create personalised AgeBiotics™ for elevated gut health and vitality.
• WeZoop (Lithuania), a start-up venture developing a food that promotes healthier ageing.

Scaling the alternative protein revolution, Helsinki Hub:

• Adamo Foods (UK) is a food technology company, launching the world’s first sustainable (and delicious) steak entirely made from fungi.
• Cultivated Biosciences (Switzerland), which is developing an alternative fat ingredient from oleaginous yeast, which offers the creaminess needed for plant-based dairy. 
• Yeastime (Italy), a start-up that uses sensors and mechanical stimulation to reduce the time, consumption, and energy costs of the fermentation process.
• Nutropy (France), which produces real milk ingredients identical to those produced by cows to enable the development of cheese alternatives that are more sustainable, healthier, and better for the animals.

Accelerating the tech revolution in agriculture, Munich Hub:

• Agrodit (Sweden), which provides real-time data directly from crops, enabling growers to respond to sub-optimal environmental and soil conditions before visual symptoms appear.
• Seabex (Tunisia), which builds intelligent solutions to help farmers better manage their operations for a better yield production. 
• Ant Robotics (Germany) has created VALERA, a product that supports workers during the harvest of fruits and vegetables, reducing non-productive time spent on transporting crates.

Novel ingredients and processes, Paris Hub:

• Revive Eco (UK), which produces a sustainable palm oil alternative made from local coffee waste.
• Got Foods (Latvia), which is creating dairy-alternative cheese with high protein content made from fermented yellow peas.
• Colipi (Germany), which develops and scales two distinct technologies to upcycle waste carbon to edible oils.

EIT Food RisingFoodStars (13 start-ups):

• Bosque Foods (Germany) which aims to create the next generation of meat alternatives, starting with whole-cut products grown naturally from fungus-derived mycelium.
• Onego Bio (Finland) which has developed a way to produce egg whites without chickens.
• FreshSens (Turkey), which has developed an AI-powered platform to prevent fruit and vegetable waste by predicting and extending their shelf-life after harvest.

We are thrilled to welcome our 2023 cohort of 63 outstanding agrifood start-ups into the EIT Food Accelerator Network and RisingFoodStars programmes and would like to say a big thank you to all applicants from across Europe, start-ups, our EIT community, hubs, 100+ evaluators and corporate partners for all their trust and support. Our start-ups’ innovative solutions and dedication to transforming the food industry are truly inspiring. We believe that together, we can create a brighter future for our global food system.

Marie Russier EIT FAN Programme Manager, and Narjis Chakir RisingFoodStars Programme Manager

Disrupting the agri-food industry

Over 1 000 high-impact start-ups from across Europe were evaluated by more than 100 experts from the agri-food sector to ensure that the chosen start-ups not only have the potential to disrupt the food industry, but also share EIT Food's commitment to following missions:

• Healthier lives through food
• A net zero food system
• Reducing risk for a fair and resilient food system

Each start-up underwent a thorough and comprehensive evaluation process to assess their innovative potential, their impact, their tech, their commercial viability, their business model, leadership, and growth potential. 

Corporate partners for the EIT Food Accelerator Network programme include: Bayer, IFF, General Mills, The Südzucker Group, Danone, Sodexo, Ingredion Incorporated, ICL Food Specialties together with ICL PLANET Startup Hub, FrieslandCampina, Valio Group, Paulig Group, Lantmännen, John Deere, the CORE by CBC Group and the Kerry Group.

Get about EIT Food’s entrepreneurship programmes