Seeding The Future Challenge Returns to Support Global Food System Innovators

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and the Seeding The Future Foundation have announced the return of the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge. 

The Challenge will support teams who are working to transform the food system by helping people eat healthier and more sustainable diets. The focus is on projects that will have an impact on a large scale and across a considerable time frame.

Successful applicants will need to fit into at least one of the following domains: nutritious food for a healthy diet; sustainably produced; and accessible, appealing, affordable, and trusted by consumers.

Award levels

There are three levels of awards in the Challenge, adding up to a total of $1 million.

• Seed Grants ($25,000 each): for organisations with an initial prototype or proof of concept, benefiting at least one and ideally two of the domains mentioned above.
• Growth Grants ($100,000 each): for organisations that have projected economic feasibility at scale and high-impact potential to transform the food system. Applicants must benefit at least two and ideally three domains.
• Seeding The Future Grand Prizes ($250,000 each): for innovations that are scalable, economically feasible at scale, trusted, compelling to consumers, and have major impact potential to transform the food system. The innovations must benefit at least two, ideally three domains.

At all levels, the projects must not have a negative impact on any domain. Applications will open on June 1 and close on August 1, with Seed Grant recipients announced in September and the winners of the remaining prizes revealed next January.

Food innovation challenges

As the need to shift towards a more sustainable food system becomes increasingly apparent, various innovation challenges are supporting companies who are attempting to make change happen. Some, such as ProVeg Asia’s challenge, are specifically geared towards alt-protein. Others are more general, though there are often several plant-based and cultivated applicants — for example, plant-based brand NotCo won last year’s Roquette Innovation Challenge.

“IFT and the Seeding The Future Foundation share similar visions of a world where science and innovation are universally accepted as essential to improving food for everyone,” said Christie Tarantino-Dean, Chief Executive Officer at IFT. “Last year’s Challenge was a great success with nearly 900 organisations engaging from around the world, and we strongly believe this initiative will be impactful for years to come by helping to accelerate scientific breakthroughs.”