After highlighting the top European hubs in Part 1 of Zooming in on European Startups in the FoodTech 500, our attention now turns to the up-and-coming European ecosystems featured in the FoodTech500.

Now in its fifth edition, the FoodTech 500 has gathered more than 1500+ applications from AgriFoodTech Startups & Scaleups globally in 2023, receiving applications from 77 countries, with 57 countries represented in the final FoodTech 2023 list. Among the finalists are 255 companies from Europe that made this year’s list. European startups represent more than 50% of the total finalists in the 2023 FoodTech 500 rankings.

5 Things Emerging AgriFoodTech Hubs Can Learn from FoodTech Hotspots

1. Establish Collaborative Platforms

• Create incubators and accelerators that provide startups with access to resources, mentorship, and capital.

2. Enhance Access to Funding

• Facilitate connections with venture capitalists, angel investors, and government grants specifically targeted at AgriFoodTech innovations.

3. Promote Research and Development

• Foster strong links with academic and research institutions to translate scientific research into commercial opportunities (e.g. Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands).

4. Implement Supportive Policy Frameworks

• Advocate for government policies that create a conducive environment for AgriFoodTech startups, such as tax incentives, simplified regulatory procedures, and infrastructure support (e.g. Netherlands with cell-based meat).
• Ensure policies are in place that protect intellectual property rights, encouraging innovation and investment.

5. Cultivate Talent and Skills

• Invest in educational programs and workshops that equip entrepreneurs and the workforce with the necessary skills in biotechnology, sustainable agriculture, and food science (e.g. Imperial College in the UK).

 

Some signals

Recent data reveals that these countries are emerging as hotspots for FoodTech innovation and investment:

• According to the FoodTech Data Navigator, Danish FoodTech startups raised €194M in 2023, surpassing projections.
• Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, collectively form one of Europe’s most dynamic FoodTech ecosystems (FoodTech Data Navigator)
• According to a report from AgFunder, agrifoodtech startup funding in Eastern Europe and the Baltics is addressing significant global challenges. Despite the region’s struggles with factors like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, climate change, and Covid-19, startups raised $82.3 million across 20 deals from August 2022 to August 2023

 

Meet the European FoodTech500 Finalists

Spain

Heura Foods, Building a net positive food system while accelerating the protein transition with plant-based, nutritious, and sustainable products.

ZoomAgri, software development

Novameat, Next-generation plant-based meats via B2B, through an innovative micro-extrusion technology

Consentio, International platform that digitizes, tracks, and provides visibility end-to-end to B2B commercial relationships in the Fruits and Vegetables supply chain from growers to retailers.

Natural Machines, Making products at or closer to the point of consumption, customized for each individual.

Nucaps Nanotechnology The world’s first development platform for functional ingredients leveraging protein-based microencapsulation for bioactives and probiotics.

Libre Foods, Commercialising a platform of fungi-based products to replace meat.

Pink Albatross, Creates and distributes ice cream made with natural and sustainable ingredients

Innomy, Mycoprotein production with solid fermentation

Spherag, Irrigation tech

Moa FoodTech, A B2B platform for healthy and sustainable ingredients obtained by revalorising food by-products through fermentation processes optimised by Artificial Intelligence tool.

Ingredalia, Platform to recover functional ingredients from agri-food industry by-products

Väcka, Makes high-quality plant-based cheese with upcycled ingredients and targeted fermentation

Agrosingularity, Agrosingularity produced added value ingredients using fresh by-products.

Pack2Earth, R&D&I and sales of circular economy, compostable advanced materials for packaging, and more.

Groots, Vertical Farming or Controlled Environment Agriculture

Cultzyme, Intelligent multipurpose bioreactors

BioProcesia, Alternative microbial protein for a healthy, nutritious, and sustainable animal feed

Entomo AgroIndustrial, Production of sustainable raw materials with a technology based on bioconversion of biowaste with black soldier fly larvae

ODS Protein, New ingredients, transforming food waste into protein due to the fermentation process

Gundo, SAAS solution specializing in tailored nutrition for grocery retailers, enhancing both their online platforms and in-store shopping experiences.

UOBO, Developing the eggs of the future, we create plant-based alternatives and animal-free proteins, paving the way for a kinder, healthier world.

Alimentos Sanygran, Manufactures Plant-Based meat analogs and 2nd and 3rd generation vegetable solutions 

Naturbec, Research, development, and manufacturing of biofertilizers.

Poseidona, Develops protein ingredients from algal waste and invasive biomass

Isauki Seafood, Develops alternatives to seafood products with high nutritional value, mainly based on micro and macro-algae

Mundo Healthy, Focuses on developing new food ingredients and high-value products.  

 

Italy

Planet Farms, Designs, builds and operates industrial-scale, fully automated controlled environment agriculture facilities.

Soplaya, Building a transparent, efficient & sustainable B2B food supply service.

Deliveristo, B2B Foodtech Marketplace among Ho.Re.Ca. (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafès) and suppliers

XNext, Developing x-ray food inspection systems

Tomato+, Vertical farm at Cm0, with biodegradable pods

Heaven, Oat-based consumer foods & beverages.

Dreamfarm, Plant-based cheese made from fermenting sustainably-grown Italian almonds

EVJA, Supports farmers worldwide to grow food sustainably by optimizing irrigation, nutrition, protection, and yield thanks to agronomic predictive models and AI.

The Circle, Develops top quality food in aquaponics saving 90% of water without chemicals.

Cynomys, Patented IoT solution for environmental impact monitoring in animal farms.

Elaisian, Specializes in precision farming services for the preservation of olive trees. 

Ittinsect, Production of a specialized feed from agri-food by-products for the aquaculture industry.

Agricolus, Making Agritech sustainable and AgTech tools accessible to worldwide farmers to improve production, reduce wastes, and increase sustainability of the AgriFood chain.

Thimus, Allowing anyone creating food experiences to do so based on hard data on food emotion and behavior (based on neuroscience).​​

Al.ta Cucina, Social platform for food lovers.

Bruno Cell, Developing the best cell lines for cultivated meat.

Earth Automations, Hlp farmers fight rising labor costs and shortages, with a hybrid autonomous robot platform that can be paired up with different equipment and work the fields 24/7 thanks to AI and computer vision.

Yeastime, Developed and patented an innovative solution that leverages ultrasound technologies to help producers in the field of cell culturing, accelerate their fermentation process by 30%, in a more sustainable and cost-effective manner.

Hexagro, The first product-service platform to accelerate the adoption of urban farming.

Agrobit, Developed the first DSS mobile app to optimize pesticide treatments in tree crops using in-cloud algorithms and 3D model (digital twin).

Safer Smart Label, Colour-changing sensors for protein foods’ freshness monitoring.

Drype, Water-soluble alcoholic cocktail that saves up to 92% of CO2.

Enismaro, Traceability technology

 

Switzerland

Farmy An online market that has everything.

xFarm Technologies, Tech company focused on the digitization of the agri-food sector, providing innovative tools that can support farmers and stakeholders in the management of their businesses.

Koa, Upcycling the entire cocoa fruit, thus reducing food waste and providing cocoa smallholders with an additional income.

AgroSustain, A novel sustainable way of reducing food waste and CO2 emissions on fresh produce after the harvest.

Planetary, Powering the bioeconomy by building up bioprocessing capacity globally.

Yamo, Good kids’ nutrition, made easy.

SwissDeCode, SwissDeCode helps farmers and food manufacturers to grow and produce high-quality, good food by providing rapid testing and certification solutions.

Authena, Single-unit end-to-end traceability with real-time condition monitoring, elevating food safety and supply chain transparency while driving eco-friendly and sustainable practices.

SERA Intelligence, By combining analytics, software, and remote crop expertise, SERA formulates and executes the best cultivation strategy for your crop.

Yeastup, Sustainably produces high-quality, native, alternative proteins and fibers by upcycling spent brewer’s yeast at scale with our innovative and patented technology.

YASAI, Builds and operates high-tech hydroponic vertical farms.

Agrinorm, Quality risks in the fresh produce supply chains with AI. 

Essento Food, Develops highly nutritious food products based on insect protein, which derives from EU farms upcycling side streams as feed for insects to produce a highly nutritious and sustainable protein.

Umami, A bionic farming company specialising in growing pure food with superior taste.

Fruitful AI, Remove guesswork in controlled agriculture and food processing through data-driven insights.

QualityChain, QR Codes, and blockchain technology.

FlavorWiki, Market research and product data management platform.

 

Sweden

Ljusgårda, Vertical indoor farm, specializing in building controlled ecosystems.

Mycorena, Uses fermentation to brew next-generation proteins and other foods from mycelium.

SweGreen, Vertical farming innovation venture, offering automated growing platforms for hyper-local production to retail chains, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and real estate owners in a service model (Farming as a Service).

CarbonCloud, Emissions calculation and mapping platform for the food supply chain.

NitroCapt, Electrifies the nitrogen fertilizer process with a state-of-the-art energy efficiency

Melt and Marble, Designer fats via precision fermentation.

Klimato, Calculating carbon emissions for food businesses.

Improvin, Builds the digital infrastructure that food brands, mills, and processors use to collect primary data, quantify sustainability insights, and drive change in their supply chain, together with their suppliers and farmers.

Innoscentia, Sensor-based labels to indicate food status in real-time.

Millow, Mycelium/plant-based food using patented sustainable production technology.

Lupinta, An R&D-driven food-tech startup using lupin as the key ingredient to develop healthy, tasty lupin-based products.

OlsAro, AI-enabled climate adaption of crops.

Havredals, Plant-based drinks, and plant-based meat.

Ecobloom, AI to create a software and sensor system for monitoring crops in controlled environments. 

Oh Mungood, Crafting the next craving by producing delicious, organic mung bean-based food without any additives, packed with natural nutrition.

Agrodit, Helping farmers to be more sustainable through our smart irrigation system.

OptiCept Technologies, Technology solutions that contribute to a more sustainable world.

 

Belgium

Biotalys, Develops cutting-edge protein-based biocontrols designed to effectively protect crops against plant pests and diseases.

Inbiose, A pioneer in specialty carbohydrate synthesis with an industry-leading R&D platform at its core offering a novel and rich active ingredient portfolio of several HMOs and relevant innovations enabled by synthetic biology and precision fermentation

Botalys A pivotal player in the supply chain of rare botanicals for the food, cosmetic & pharma industries thanks to a disruptive biomimetic indoor farming technology.

Urban Crop Solutions, An end-to-end indoor farming solutions provider, supporting clients from A-Z with contract research, engineering and construction of indoor farms for numerous applications ranging from food to ingredients for cellular food products.

Eclo, Growing gourmet mushrooms from local waste.

Ajinomatrix, Digitising measurements of the senses of taste and smell for FoodTech

Planticus, Increasing the quality of food production by using artificial technology as a core, combined with IoT solutions.

Alberts, Develops a vending robot that produces healthy personalized blends (soups, smoothies & shakes) on the spot, 24/7, and with zero waste.

Tiptoh, Develops plant-based drinks made from a small yet powerful source of protein: the yellow split pea.

 

Greece

Wikifarmer, An online global platform with the mission to empower farmers through education

Planet Foods, The world’s first plant-based and carbon-negative ice cream

Coffeeco, Upcycling of coffee waste into premium skincare products and innovative polypropylene plastic compounds.

Agritrack, Post-harvest automation solution that reduces food losses for perishable food value chains by dynamically predicting shelf life and enabling consumer trust.

Agroknow, A data and analytics company that uses AI to predict risks and prevent food recalls.

farmAIr, A Plant Stress Management Company. We see what no one else can, we are Agronomists’ MRI

 

Finland

Onego Bio, Disrupting the egg market by producing animal-free egg protein at price and performance parity 

iFarm, Technology development company for IT-driven plant growth in a controlled environment.

Manna Insect, Fast-track solution for commercial and scalable insect farming anywhere in the world 

Volare, Turning food processing waste into valuable B2B ingredients for pet food and aquafeed 

Acoustic Extra Freezing, Solution to make frozen food taste fresh

SuperGround, Upcycles fish and poultry by-products into tasty human food. 

 

Denmark

Aliga, Precision fermentation to develop, cultivate, and produce functional, protein-rich sustainable algae ingredients for the global food, animal feed, and supplement industries.

Kaffe Bueno, Uses coffee by-products to derive active, functional, and multifunctional ingredients that can be applied in a wide range of consumer and industrial products,

MATR Foods, MATR has developed a new generation of plant-based meat alternatives using fungi fermentation on upcycled vegetables and grains to create plant meat with juicy bite and natural deep umami without any additives

Agrain, Upcycling spent grains and producing ingredients for the food industry

Tempty Foods, Creating the next-generation alternatives to tofu and meat based on mycoprotein.

Connecting Grounds, Turning spent coffee grounds (coffee waste) into a food ingredient Coffee Base for snack and confectionary products to make the end-product greener and tastier.

 

Poland

Fresh Inset, Developed Vidre+™, a breakthrough post-harvest technology that extends the freshness, nutrition values, and appearance of fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers, reducing food waste at the same time.

Foodsi, Fighting waste while helping local businesses sell their surplus.

Roślinny Qurczak, Creating meats that have muscle-like fibres, and full amino profile, that can fool hard-core meat eaters like no other product.

Rebread, Provides the food industry with technology and tools to upcycle excess bread into value-added food and beverage products.

Humati, Mobile technological equipment for processing organic waste and producing high-quality organic fertilizers – potassium humates, which can completely replace chemical fertilizers.

 

Norway

Soil Steam International, Fighting invasive plants at the same time as we recycle soil without the use of chemicals. 

Elenovations, Electrical stimulation to control the speed of growth and quality of crops to save time, energy, and costs for the farmers.

Sensonomic, SaaS and data analytics for increased volume and improved quality of fruits and vegetables.

GroGro, Providing delicious and nutritious food for kids, aged 6 months to 6 years.

 

Estonia

Click & Grow, Creating simple, sustainable indoor gardens that allow anyone to grow fresh food at home, in restaurants, schools or wherever indoors.

Raw Edge, Fermentation technology to turn vegetables into delicious health-promoting products using patented and clinically testes lactic acid bacteria 

 

Austria

NEOH, Zero sugar added sweets & chocolate.

Headstart, Healthy drinks that keep the blood sugar level in the brain in an optimum range for many hours.

 

Ireland

Senoptica Technologies, Smart packaging sensors helping global retailers reduce food waste.

SomaTech, Scalable solid-state fermentation system to help food companies create ​delicious, sustainable, functional ingredients

 

Cyprus

EMBIO Diagnostics, Rapid detection of bacteria and chemicals.

 

Romania

Ultragreens, Largest producer of micro plants, sprouts and fresh culinary specialties in Romania.

 

Hungary

Proofminder, Proofminder “puts” an AI agronomist next to each plant to enable growers to meet production goals sustainably.

 

Serbia

Beehold,  AI-based beekeeper’s assistant, that can completely remove the need for manual colony inspection and allow beekeepers to connect with their beehives online and get advice anytime, anywhere with real-time data flow and analysis to ensure beehive sustainability

 

Czech Republic

Mewery, Cell-based food-tech startup developing cultivated pork on a microalgae base.

 

Isle of Man

Gander, Innovative SaaS (web-based software) solution that instantly connects short-dated, discounted food with a large local customer base, effectively increasing product demand and minimizing waste.

 

Bulgaria

FoxCrop, Connects and digitizes farmers, suppliers and food service providers.

 

Georgia

Agronnect, Telemedicine for Agriculture, where farmers get consulted, by top agronomists online. 

 

Read PART 1 of Zooming in on European Startups in the FoodTech 500 and know the players within the European AgriFoodTech Hotspots. To learn more about the 2023 FoodTech 500 ranking and global FoodTech ecosystem insights, visit forwardfooding.com/foodtech500.

 

Are you an AgriFoodTech startup? Early Applications for the 2024 Edition is now OPEN.

 

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