The FoodTech industry is a rapidly changing landscape, marked by continuous progress and innovation year after year. As part of this year’s FoodTech 500 Global Unveiling Tour, we collaborated with Norrsken Barcelona & sponsored by Damm to host our last stop of the tour at our Barcelona’s FoodTech Innovation Hub! 

The FoodTech 500 

In the ever-evolving realm of FoodTech innovation, Forward Fooding’s FoodTech 500 is the prominent platform celebrating the most groundbreaking AgriFoodTech companies worldwide. Since its inception in 2019, the FoodTech 500 has spotlighted startup and scaleup companies at the intersection of food, technology, and sustainability, driving transformative change in global food systems. 

The FoodTech 500 highlights not only innovation but also the transformative impact these companies have on food systems and the world. The initiative also emphasizes the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing within the FoodTech ecosystem, fostering an environment where ideas can flourish, partnerships can form, and innovations can thrive.

Over the years, the FoodTech 500 initiative has left a lasting impact on the global landscape, reaching 180+ countries with 350M monthly readership through its international coverage. To date the FoodTech 500 initiative received 9,000+ applications representing 70+ countries among the winners, while showcasing global collaboration and innovation in the future of food and agriculture— the FoodTech 500 works to become a catalyst for positive change in the food industry worldwide.

Overview of the Spanish AgriFoodTech ecosystem 

Spain emerges as a dynamic hub for innovation within the FoodTech sector, boasting a diverse ecosystem bustling with startups, innovators, and investors. The position of Spain as a prominent AgriFoodTech player is reflected in this year’s FoodTech 500.  The latest edition included 27 finalists coming from different parts of Spain, covering the 8 macro activities of the AgriFoodTech value chain. More generally, data from our FoodTech Data Navigator registers over 390 companies; making Spain ranks 6th in terms of the total number of active AgriFoodTech companies globally. While funding volumes (excluding Glovo) place the country at 15th globally, this jumps to 12th when considering the massive $1.1 billion funding secured by delivery giant Glovo since 2014. 

To learn more about the Spanish companies in the 2023 FoodTech 500, read our latest blogpost here.

The speakers of Barcelona’s FoodTech 500 Meetup

A selection of leading Spain FoodTech innovators from the latest edition of the FoodTech 500 took the stage to present their companies and their technology solutions in our FoodTech Innovation hub in Barcelona.

 

Sònia Hurtado, Founder and CEO of POSEIDONA 

Sonia is a seasoned food scientist with 15 years of experience in the food industry, and is now focusing on food concepts that embrace sustainability, health, and ethics. 

‍Priscila Silva Delgado, Founder and CEO of GUNDO 

With a decade of experience in the FMCG industry, Priscila leverages her experience in helping develop a software that enhances health and nutrition to personalized recommendations. 

Juan Pablo De Giacomi, CEO of Innomy 

Juan has a background in political science with a passion in making a positive impact in the world. Together with a team of biology experts, he co-founded Innomy, which develops mycelium-derived food industry solutions.

Jose Luis Biaggio, Co-founder of Pink Albatross 

After several years in machinery and financial services, Jose transitioned into food entrepreneurship and co-founded Pink Albatross, which only uses 100% natural ingredients in creating its sustainable and plant-based ice cream products. 

Mariano Oto, CEO of NUCAPS 

Mariano is a serial entrepreneur with expertise in turning ideas and new technologies into businesses. Currently, he is the CEO of NUCAPS, which specializes in manufacturing functional ingredients for different sectors.

María Eugenia Martín Hidalgo, CEO of ColorSensing 

With a Master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Maria co-founded ColorSensing to provide smart packaging solutions for food manufacturers in a bid to reduce food waste and enhance food safety.

Roselyn Chane, President of FATE (Food Agri Tech Europe) and Director General of Alimentos Sanygran

Roselyn manages FATE, which promotes growth and collaboration between European FoodTech companies and leads the Sanygran Foods team with the aim of making it one of the largest vegetable protein manufacturers in Europe. 

Marc Coloma, CEO and Co-founder of Heura Foods

Spanish food activist Marc co-founded Heura to develop a new era of plant-based meat. Thanks to exceptional consumer acceptance, Heura is now setting its sights on global expansion, particularly targeting the broader EU market. Marc has shared insights into their journey to becoming a significant player in the plant-based food industry, detailing their unique process for creating plant-based meat alternatives and the launch of their new B2B division.

When asked about the key to Heura’s success, Marc explained, “What distinguishes Heura is our mission-driven approach and being more in love with solving the problems than the solutions we have.”

Marc also discussed the current challenges within the plant-based sector, stating « We thought we were going to assist to the biggest consumer revolution in a long time and it looks like it is going to take longer. Many believe this is linked to funding but the reality is that consumers still do not understand the benefits of plant-based foods. » This insight has led to the expansion of Heura’s B2B division, aiming to broaden their impact by enabling more companies to leverage their technology.

Marc also touched upon the amazing innovations that plant-based technologies are enabling «The future of plant proteins will go into other applications – what we are doing is creating new scientific knowledge to texturize products. For example, we can structure any kind of cheesy structure through plant proteins», he notes.

Jordi Torrent, Open Innovation Manager of Damm

To top up the entrepreneurial talks with a more holistic perspective, our CEO Alessio D’Antino held a very engaging fireside chat with Jordi Torrent, Open Innovation Manager at Damm. Jordi came to the stage to talk about his professional journey from entrepreneurship to Open Innovation and introduce Damm’s latest Open Innovation platform, LAB1876. He discussed his journey from building Barcelona’s first tech community to launching LAB1876, an innovation platform designed to capture disruptive solutions and address key challenges of the food and beverage sector.

At the end of the event, we provided attendees the chance to mingle with one another over amazing plant-based catering featuring products from Heura, Pink Albatross among others.

Thank you!

A huge thanks to all our speakers for taking the time to share their insights and inspire other entrepreneurs. Also, a special thank you to all the participants who joined us to celebrate this amazing pack of entrepreneurs who work every day to better our Food System!

Apply to the 2024 FoodTech500

This year brings several exciting updates designed to help the Global FoodTech ecosystem thrive. While the FoodTech 500 keeps on championing the most groundbreaking AgriFoodTech companies in the world, there are more unique opportunities for governments, corporates, accelerators or innovation hubs to get involved.

Here are some of the new features you can expect in this year’s FoodTech 500:

• Fast-track application for Early Bird Applicants (Deadline: July 31st). Apply today
• Nominations to the FoodTech 500 are now open for all. Nominate your favorite companies
• Open Call for our Ambassador Program to foster stronger engagement in the global AgriFoodTech sector.  
• Partnership opportunities for corporates, innovation hubs,  governments, or any organizations that aim to leverage the FoodTech 500 platform and build solid relationships with our network.
• Launch of ‘Industry Honourable Mentions’ in various verticals
• Significant exposure for FoodTech 500 finalists through various channels, including press releases, blog articles, and dedicated social media outreach
• More benefits to help both startup and scale-up companies and FoodTech 500 Partner organisations through ecosystem matchmaking, strategic partnerships, easy access to partner programs

To check out the full list of what’s new in the FoodTech500, check out our recent blogpost HERE. Feel free to check out the FAQ’s or visit the FoodTech 500 page to learn more. 

Forward Fooding is the world’s first collaborative platform for FoodTech Data Intelligence and Corporate Startup Collaboration.