EIT Food RisingFoodStars, a non-profit organisation funded by the EU and the agri-food tech community, has revealed the 14 scaleups selected for the latest cohort of its three-year program.
RisingFoodStars aims to solve environmental and social challenges such as reducing net emissions by 90% by 2040, halving food waste, achieving food self-sufficiency, and improving the availability of healthy, nutritious foods. Selected startups have access to a network of over 50 investors and 160 industry leaders, along with workshops, coaching, and mentorship.
The new cohort features:
- SeedForward GmbH — a German startup substituting synthetic agrochemicals with biobased alternatives, with an emphasis on seed treatments, biostimulants, and plant protection. The aim is to facilitate the transition towards regenerative agriculture.
- Notpla — a UK-based sustainable packaging producer that provides solutions for everyday applications, including food containers, pipettes, seaweed paper, dissolving pods, and films. The packaging solutions are made from Notpla, a seaweed and plant-based material that biodegrades in weeks.
- Ficosterra — a Spanish marine biotechnology company developing biostimulants, biofertilizers, and soil activators from different species of seaweeds and microorganisms. The products improve crop growth while reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture.
Image credit: David Lineton ©Notpla - Carbone Farmers — a French startup making the decarbonisation of agriculture economically viable through a platform that allows stakeholders to valorise their contribution to farmers’ transition to low-carbon agriculture.
- Meala Foodtech — an Israeli company developing innovative ingredients and processes for the creation of cleaner, healthier, and tastier products with a better ecological footprint.
- MyEasyFarm — a French startup that provides a platform to manage agricultural data from many sources (such as fields, satellites, drones, Ag machines, weather, and IoT sensors), reducing product usage and enhancing crop cycles.
- Neggst Foods GmbH — a German company developing a plant-based whole egg alternative featuring a white, yolk, and biodegradable shell. The product is made using a legume-based recipe free of soy and gluten.
- Matr Foods — a Danish company that develops microbial food solutions transforming local plant ingredients into clean-label plant-based meat alternatives with a juicy texture and natural umami flavour.
© MATR Foods - Evja — an Italian startup that allows growers to optimise management and monitoring of the irrigation, nutrition, and protection of their crops through a system based on predictive agronomic models, machine learning, data analytics, and sensors.
- Those Vegan Cowboys — a Belgian company making animal-free dairy products using precision fermentation.
- AgroLeague — a French startup building a social platform to connect farmers by providing real-time diagnosis of farming issues and direct-to-farmer services.
- NoPalm Ingredients — a Dutch company that creates environmentally friendly microbial oils to substitute palm and other tropical oils in food, cosmetics, and detergents. The oils are produced sustainably by fermenting industry sidestreams.
- Bon Vivant — a French biotech firm specialising in precision fermentation methods to produce dairy proteins without animals, allowing clients to create environmentally conscious, nutritious products.
- Cultivated Biosciences — a Swiss startup that improves the mouthfeel of animal-free cheese, yogurt, and more by developing a unique creamy fat ingredient for the food industry using fermentation.
“Initiating transformative change”
Over 130 startups have previously been supported by the RisingFoodStars program, and alumni have secured over $700 million in investments. A notable success story is plant-based meat company Redefine Meat, which boosted its growth by participating in the program and subsequently secured $170 million in funding over a three-year period.
“At RisingFoodStars, we recognise the complexity of ensuring food security, reducing CO2 emissions, and providing healthy options for EU residents while remaining competitive in the global market,” said Narjis Chakir, RisingFoodStars Programme Lead.
“With over 8% of EU citizens unable to afford regular meat, fish, or vegetarian meals, new solutions are essential. Our personalised approach is key to initiating transformative change, unlocking commercial opportunities, and facilitating rapid, sustainable growth for startups. For example, our alumni company Infinite Roots has secured $58 million from a leading European retailer and the holding company behind Haribo to scale its mycelium fermentation platform.”
