Twenty food and agriculture startups have been selected from a total of over 150 applications to pitch at the first ever FoodBytes! London. FoodBytes! is the global pitch competition organized by food and agriculture bank Rabobank with the aim of harnessing new innovation to create a better world through food. The competition has now taken place in seven cities globally with more than 40 countries taking part.
Nearly one-quarter of applications came from startups focused on the farm, a larger portion than in previous editions of FoodBytes! where CPG startups have tended to apply in greater numbers.
“Precision agriculture is the dominant theme among the selected companies, including AI-powered dairy farming and data-driven beekeeping,” said Nina Meijers, startup innovation platform manager at Rabobank, adding that animal health was a particular theme among agtech startup applicants.
CPG startups still contributed 43% of applications and 23% came from foodtech startups.
Packaging innovation, food waste applications and foodservice technologies were strong trends among the applicant pool on the foodtech side, while over 30% of the CPG applicants were plant-based and/or alternative protein, according to Meijers.
“Supply chain transparency will continue to trend on the FoodBytes! stage in London, including light-emitting hardware that reduces seafood bycatch and the first portable DNA detection kit for food processors,” said Meijers.
The FoodBytes! London pitch companies hail from The Netherlands, Slovenia, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Israel, Switzerland, and France. The top 10 companies have 3.5 minutes to pitch a panel of expert judges and participate in an audience Q&A. Ten runner-up companies will give 1.5-minute pitches on September 13 at One Marleybone, a 19th century converted church in central London.
The 10 companies giving 3.5-minute pitches are:
- Connecterra (Netherlands) – Artificial intelligence-powered service that uses data collected from dairy cows to offer meaningful insights and recommendations.
- EFOS Ltd./Trapview (Slovenia) – IT and R&D company developing Trapview automated pest monitoring and forecasting platform.
- ViroVet (Belgium) – Dedicated to the development of disruptive and innovative technologies for the control of viral diseases in livestock.
- Mimica (United Kingdom) – Developing an intelligent way to know exactly when food and other perishable products expire.
- Easilys (France) – SaaS software editor for back office and waste management solution for restaurant and foodservice activities.
- SwissDeCode (Switzerland) – Real-time certification of authenticity, safety and quality of products, processes and premises to build trust and secure the global food supply chain, from farm to fork.
- TIPA (Israel) – Developer and manufacturer of fully compostable flexible packaging solutions that will fully return back to nature in compost conditions within 180 days.
- Yooji (France) – Clean, organic, frozen baby foods in small portions.
- Creative Nature (United Kingdom) – Cold-pressed snack bar creator, catering for all the Top 14 Allergens, Vegans, Coeliacs, children and the health conscious (also makes allergy-friendly baking mixes).
- RootWave (United Kingdom) – Pioneering the use of electricity to kill weeds and is a scalable and sustainable alternative to chemical herbicides.
The 10 companies giving 1.5-minute pitches are:
- SafetyNet Technologies (United Kingdom) – Works with fishing industry stakeholders to design and build light-emitting devices that increase the selectivity of commercial fishing practices, reducing over-fishing and bycatch, and making the industry more sustainable.
- InnovoPro (Israel) – First company worldwide to produce Chickpea Protein as an innovative unique source of vegetable protein.
- Provenance (United Kingdom) – Empowers brands to increase trust by bring trustworthy information to the point of sale.
- Oddbox (United Kingdom) – London’s first and only wonky veg box subscription scheme delivering delicious wonky produce for cheaper.
- Garcon Wines (United Kingdom) – Inventor and granted IP holder for flat wine bottles made of 100% post-consumer recycled PET that allow delivery into the home seamlessly via the letterbox.
- Biokind (United Kingdom) – Sustainable protein feed for aquaculture, livestock and pets.
- Seachips (United Kingdom) – Handcrafted salmon skin crisps, using the often-wasted nutrient-packed skin and donating a portion of profits to help keep the sea clean.
- BeeHero (Israel) – Increasing and improving crop yields by empowering the most fragile link in our food chain – the bee.
- Earth Rover (United Kingdom) – Aiming to provide robotic agriculture system that is genuinely viable for farmers.
- EggXYt (Israel) – Using a biomarker on the male chromosome of a chicken embryo to detect its sex once an egg is laid, and before the chick hatches – saving billions of dollars and unnecessary chick-death.
The selected startups will pitch on September 13 for the chance to win one of three awards: the Judges’ Choice Award, the People’s Choice Award, and the Highly Commended Award.
Tickets to FoodBytes! London are on sale now here.
