EIT Food’s Venture Summit 2022 agri-food innovation winners announced
EIT Food has announced the winners of its Venture Summit 2022 held at the end of October in Lisbon.
The invitation-only Venture Summit 2022 brings together industry-leading corporates, investors and innovative start-ups working to create a sustainable and trusted food system.
Nine start-ups were shortlisted for the award for their positive impact on people and the planet. All are working towards achieving three goals in agri-food tech: Healthier Lives Through Food, A Net-Zero Food System and A Fully Transparent, Resilient and Fair Food System.
The three winning agri-food tech start-ups work in the areas of food allergy, food waste prevention and reduction, and chemical-free fertilisers and they were chosen by an audience of 300 investors and experts in the agri-food sector.
- Healthier Lives Through Food: Vini Mini
Vini Mini works to prevent an increase in food allergies in children. The Dutch start-up produces healthy products that offer a safe way of introducing allergens to babies, helping to reduce food allergies.
Vini Mini Founders Laurie Lancee and Jozien Boersma, said of their mission to cut down on allergies: “One in four children have a food allergy, and this number has doubled in the past ten years. If we continue this way, by 2050 half of the population will have a food allergy. Vini Mini helps parents prevent food allergies in their children by offering an easy, healthy and safe way to give them allergens.”
- A Net-Zero Food System: Bio2Coat
From Terrassa, Spain, Bio2Coat works to reduce food waste and plastic waste coming from packaging materials. Its technology is able to reduce food waste and single plastic use through a 100% natural, edible coating that extends shelf-life of fruits and vegetables and a 100% natural, edible packaging material that replaces one use plastic in multiple applications.
Commenting on their win, Bio2Coat said: “We are very proud to receive this award from EIT Food. EIT Food has supported us from the beginning, from Seedbed to the Bilbao FAN Accelerator Programme, and it is thanks to them that we have achieved so much in such a short space of time. Bio2Coat edible coating can extend shelf life of fruits and vegetables up to two weeks; this has a huge impact because it increases the availability of food across the whole supply chain, and reduces the use of water and energy.”
- A Fully Transparent, Resilient and Fair Food System: Toopi Organics
French start-up Toopi Organics utilises a technology that transforms human urine – which is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – into an agricultural fertiliser.
Alexandra Carpentier, CEO at Toopi Organics, said of the start-up’s technology: “Recycling urine could save the world. By using urine as a growing medium to produce biofertilizers, Toopi Organics addresses the urgent issues of climate change, biodiversity loss and closing the loop on the nutrients cycle.”
Dr Andy Zynga, CEO of EIT Food commented: “Investing in agrifood innovation has never been more crucial. To overcome the challenges the world is facing in delivering a healthy and sustainable food system, we need to connect our brightest minds with the support they need, to bring innovative new ideas to fruition. That is why we are so proud to announce the winners of the 2022 Venture Summit – which represent just three of the brilliant and creative new solutions, products and approaches EIT Food is helping to bring to the agrifood sector.”
