In March 2025, we announced the launch of the inaugural pladis Accelerator Programme, powered by Yıldız Ventures, celebrating 12 pioneering startups selected from nearly 300 applications received from FoodTech startups globally. On September 8th, we had the privilege of witnessing the culmination of this groundbreaking initiative at the pladis Accelerator Inno Day in London. The event showcased what happens when corporate commitment meets startup ingenuity, and when eight weeks of intensive collaboration transform into tangible, market-ready innovations.

From 300 to 12 to 6: A Journey of Focused Innovation

The journey from initial selection to Inno Day demonstrates progressive refinement and deepening partnership. While all 12 startups participated in the eight-week accelerator programme, six companies advanced to pilot projects that culminated in presentations to the executive leadership teams of both pladis and Yıldız Holding at the London headquarters.

The startups moved beyond pitch decks into the realm of commercial reality. The companies showcased real product development work conducted in partnership with pladis experts, incorporating novel ingredients into iconic products like Digestive Biscuits, to running pilots in the pladis Test Bakery & Pilot Plant.

The Infrastructure That Made It Possible

The programme’s success was built on substantial corporate investment and support:

• 35 internal mentors from pladis and Yıldız Ventures provided technical and operational expertise across R&D, supply chain, regulatory affairs, and marketing
• Hands-on access to the pladis Test Bakery & Pilot Plant enabled real-world product testing
• Side-by-side collaboration with pladis subject-matter experts, guided by external coaches
• Speed-dating sessions facilitated one-on-one conversations between startups and key decision-makers

This infrastructure transformed the accelerator from a mentorship programme into a genuine product development partnership. Entrepreneurs could test their innovations at scale with a company operating in over 110 countries.

The Six Innovators: From Concept to Commercial Pilots

The companies presenting at Inno Day demonstrated the breadth of innovation happening across the snacking ecosystem:

Nuritas: AI-Powered Peptides for Enhanced Nutrition

Named the Most Exciting Startup of the day by participants, Nuritas showcased their groundbreaking application of AI, deep learning, and genomics to discover precision cell-signaling peptides from natural plant sources. During the programme, they developed PeptiStrong-enhanced prototypes including fruit and oat bakes, fiber jacks, and even explored applications in McVitie’s Biscuit Sandwiches. The presentations displaying these applications with the tagline “That Keep You and Your Protein Going Strong” demonstrated how plant-based peptides can boost protein effectiveness. This clinically backed solution maintains the taste consumers love while delivering genuine functional benefits.

Zya: Transforming Sugar into Fiber, One Bite at a Time

Zya’s Convero enzyme technology represents a paradigm shift in nutritional enhancement. Their presentations showed concrete examples of how their technology can be incorporated into products like Godiva chocolate bars. Taking up just 0.1% of product weight, Convero converts 23g of sugar into additional fiber after eating. This transforms a bar’s nutritional profile to 16g total sugars and 8g dietary fiber without compromising taste or consumer experience. This “better-for-you” approach enables brands to improve nutritional outcomes without reformulation.

BIOVIT: Redefining Vitamin and Mineral Delivery

BIOVIT brought their expertise in creating highly effective and sustainable vitamins and minerals to the accelerator, working with pladis teams to explore applications in functional snacking. This represents a critical capability as consumer demand for nutritionally enhanced products continues to grow.

Fermtech: Upcycling Food Waste into Premium Ingredients

Fermtech’s showcase of their Koji Cocoa platform, captured the programme’s practical impact of upcycling. Using solid-state fermentation to convert food industry side streams into nutritious ingredients, Fermtech demonstrated versatility across substrates. These ranged from oat husks and brewer’s spent grain to cocoa shells and fruit pomaces. Their pilot work with pladis showed that Koji Cocoa can deliver significant cocoa reduction in certain applications, with 98% lower carbon footprint than conventional cocoa, while being cheaper and maintaining equivalent flavor, function, and texture.

Pack2Earth: Compostable Packaging That Actually Works

Addressing one of the food industry’s most pressing challenges, Pack2Earth demonstrated its materials that compost at ambient temperatures while remaining suitable for long-life food products. Their work during the programme focused on real-world applications for pladis products, moving beyond concept to address the practical requirements of packaging snacks for global distribution.

PulseON: Natural Weight Management Through Legume Innovation

PulseON showcased their patented legume-based ingredient that supports digestive wellness, satiety regulation, and weight management through natural metabolic pathways. Their presentation outlined clear areas of alignment with pladis’ key interests: advancing functional food through food-pharma beauty crossover, nutrition for younger generations and health-conscious consumers, and pioneering next-generation snacking with sustainable ingredients. The specificity of their alignment with pladis priorities demonstrated how effectively the programme matched startup capabilities with corporate needs.

Real Results: Concrete Outcomes from Concrete Collaboration

What distinguished this accelerator from typical corporate innovation programmes was the tangible nature of the work delivered. Instead of “exploring possibilities,” the accelerator programme centered on demonstrating viability:

• Actual product prototypes incorporating startup ingredients into pladis formulations
• Specific commercial projections backed by pilot data and technical analysis
• Defined application pathways across multiple product categories
• Technical feasibility studies conducted in real production facilities
• Regulatory and supply chain assessments by experienced pladis team members

 

These weren’t concept presentations but detailed technical showcases, complete with substrate options, fermentation platforms, nutritional impact data, and cost-benefit analyses.

Leadership Perspective: A Vision for Transformation

The presence of executive leadership from both pladis and Yıldız Holding at Inno Day underscored the strategic importance of the initiative. Murat Ülker, Chairman at pladis and Godiva Chocolatier and Board Member at Yıldız Holding, reflected on the programme’s broader significance:

“Change is inevitable, and development is essential. While forecasts about the future often center on technology and automotive sectors, the transformation of ecosystems, economies, and health-nutrition perceptions is placing the food sector at the heart of this change. Consumer expectations from food are evolving just as much as production processes themselves. We’ve launched this programme to be not just a part of this transformation, but to direct it.”

This perspective explains the depth of commitment and resources invested in the programme. The accelerator serves as a mechanism for leading industry transformation rather than simply accessing innovation.

Forward Fooding’s Role: Strategic Partnership in Action

For Forward Fooding, being part of this journey from initial scouting through to Inno Day represented our mission in action: connecting corporate innovation needs with breakthrough startup solutions. Our involvement extended beyond application review to strategic guidance throughout the programme, leveraging our deep understanding of foodtech trends to ensure maximum value for both pladis and the participating startups.

The partnership exemplifies what’s possible when corporate vision, startup innovation, and strategic advisory expertise align around shared objectives. From the nearly 300 applications we helped evaluate to the six companies presenting their pilot work at Inno Day, we witnessed firsthand how thoughtful selection, substantial support, and genuine collaboration can accelerate innovation.

The Future of Snacking Is Being Built Today

Walking through the pladis headquarters on InnoDay, the future of snacking felt tangibly present. These weren’t abstract concepts or distant possibilities. They were working prototypes, validated technologies, and commercially viable solutions ready for scale, from AI-discovered peptides to upcycled ingredients, from enzyme technology to compostable packaging. These solutions are addressing the real challenges facing our food system: sustainability, nutrition, personalization, and functionality.

The pladis Accelerator’s first cohort proved that when you combine innovation with practical support, genuine corporate partnership, and a shared commitment to transformation, you don’t just generate ideas. You create tangible, scalable solutions that can transform an industry.

We’re proud to have been part of this journey, and we’re already looking forward to the next chapter. Stay tuned!

 

Interested in learning more about how Forward Fooding connects corporate innovation with startup solutions? Explore our FoodTech Data Intelligence, Consultancy and Scouting Services, and Startup Network.