The 4th edition of FoodTech 500 is taking off and we are excited to partner with NEOM for the third consecutive year to support the best international AgriFoodTech entrepreneurs. 

NEOM is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia being built from the ground up as an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a New Future might look like. Today, we are thrilled to share our interview with Dr. Juan Carlos Motamayor, Head of NEOM Food.

In this exciting conversation, we’ll look closely at NEOM Food’s vision and plans to harness innovation to nourish both people and the planet.

The Line, the city of the Future

ABOUT NEOM

One of NEOM’s aims is to change the future of food. What are the steps required to achieve this goal?

The global production, processing and consumption of food are of pivotal importance to the state of our planet. To support the world’s growing population, which is projected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, and to mitigate the impact of food practices on the earth, we can no longer rely on traditional food production and supply chains. 

The world’s current food systems are responsible for more than one-third of global greenhouse gases, contributing to the ongoing climate crisis that is directly affecting food security. Additionally, according to the World Bank, the number of people suffering from acute food insecurity increased from 135 million in 2019 to 345 million in June 2022. 

NEOM Food aims to create the world’s most innovative and adaptable food production model to support local production of sustainable and nutritious foods and provide a framework that can drive change across the world. 

In order to achieve our vision, we have brought together a community of leading scientists and industry experts to help build one of the largest and most innovative food tech labs, capable of producing food through sustainable and resource-efficient practices. 

We are exploring regenerative and technologically advanced farming, cutting-edge biotechnology and genomic intervention technologies in hatcheries, as well as supporting innovative, exciting start-ups that are working on novel ideas worldwide.

 

Technologies play an essential role in shaping the future of food. Sometimes, however, it’s hard to understand which ones hold real transformative potential. What has been your approach to evaluating innovative technologies so far? 

At NEOM, we’re designing and building next-generation products and services from the ground up, at an enormous scale, to create the world’s first fully cognitive region. NEOM Food is working to source, promote and embed a sophisticated framework to support the emergence of novel technologies at different levels of maturity and readiness. 

Our strategy aims to explore how digital technologies and business capabilities can deliver the desired economic outcomes and how to leverage AI to improve operational efficiency in real time. We are focusing on two key areas: the first is harnessing data to personalize our products and services with a tailored approach to maximize satisfaction and nutrition, and minimize waste and inefficiencies; the second is creating opportunities for innovative businesses to deliver profitable and sustainable frontier technologies. 

These two priorities will come to life through our Water and Food Innovation Hub, Agriculture and Aquaculture Consortia and Agri-FoodTech Accelerator program, with more initiatives in the pipeline. We will be measuring the effectiveness of the new technologies and research as we progress, and this will provide us with the adaptability and agility to be truly innovative. 

Oxagon: a reimagined industrial city in NEOM

NEOM is described as a living laboratory for sustainable innovation. Solutions being developed in the region are poised to make an impact not only in Saudi Arabia but also across the world. Can you tell us how NEOM interacts with the global AgriFoodTech ecosystem to help drive transformation? 

NEOM Food aims to future-proof our agricultural systems in partnership with leading global experts, agritech innovators, and ground-breaking food companies. As a greenfield site, we welcome innovators from around the world to come and work with us to develop exciting new ideas in food production and nutrition, such as developing novel foods, climate-proofing agriculture, designing innovative traceability methods, and optimizing our food supply towards the highest standards of sustainability and quality. 

To further this ambition, NEOM is proudly sponsoring the fourth edition of FoodTech 500, as we believe the future of food is in the hands of the world’s pioneers. We are continuing to partner with leaders and innovators in the industry, with Forward Fooding being one of our valued ecosystem partners around the globe. 

 

Dr. Juan Carlos Motamayor, Head of NEOM Food

ABOUT THE FUTURE OF FOOD

What is the role of the Agri-FoodTech Accelerator? Can you tell us more about the work you do with startups there?

NEOM’s Agri-FoodTech Accelerator serves as a magnet to promote and enable innovation and attract global startups and businesses that want to work with them. 

The accelerator offers startups diverse opportunities and creates the right environment to foster innovation. The offering includes world-class mentorship, qualified business development and networking opportunities, and sponsorship. The program also plans to act as a valuable testbed and inspire agrifood innovation catalysts to develop ground-breaking products and services. 

In terms of the focus areas of the accelerator, we have climate-proof agriculture, regenerative aquaculture, novel foods, personalized nutrition and sustainable food supply and ESG.

 

2022 has been a prolific year for AgriFoodTech. Entrepreneurs are increasingly determined to make an impact with their solutions. Where have you seen the most impact happening? How can these new developments support NEOM’s vision for the future of food in Saudi Arabia?

There are four key challenges NEOM Food is looking to address: unsustainable production methods, risk of disruption to food supply chains, lack of availability of water and land, and chronic diseases driven by a lack of high-quality food. 

We’ll play a key role in achieving one of the five strategic pillars of Vision 2030, charting a path toward food security and self-reliance in the Kingdom. More broadly, NEOM Food’s proposition encapsulates the key values of Vision 2030: economic diversification, self-sufficiency, and sustainability. We aim to harness the power of collaboration and innovation to create a sustainable food ecosystem, contributing to the economic, social and environmental development of the Kingdom.

 

ABOUT THE FOODTECH 500

This will mark the third year of our collaboration. What have been the highlights of sponsoring FoodTech 500 so far?

FoodTech 500 does an exceptional job curating the most promising startups, and the innovators behind them, in the global AgriFoodTech ecosystem. Our sponsorship helps us identify the greatest minds and best talent to solve some of the world’s greatest food-system challenges. We’ve leveraged the FoodTech 500 list, in coordination with Forward Fooding, to shortlist several collaboration opportunities and we look forward to continuing to do so.

 

How is the FoodTech 500 helping NEOM Food achieve its vision?

NEOM Food’s vision is to build a global community with food at its heart, harnessing innovation to nourish both people and the planet, and guaranteeing food security for generations to come. FoodTech 500 touches on many aspects of this, most notably “community” and “innovation.” The scoring methodology also emphasizes the importance of sustainability, which is at the center of everything we do.

 

Every year we receive hundreds of new applications and we come across solutions we haven’t necessarily encountered before. Which solutions are you most keen on exploring this year?

There are many areas of interest to us as we look to innovate how we produce, distribute, and consume food. That being said, one domain of particular interest is disruptive food-production-system technologies. More specifically, innovative systems for agriculture and aquaculture that are modular, resource-efficient, and ideally off-grid and closed-loop. This requires out-of-the-box thinking, which we are more than welcome.

 

Forward Fooding and NEOM will soon host a pitch competition for FoodTech startups. What are the main goals of this initiative?

We are very excited about this event to provide a platform for startups to showcase their technologies and relevance to NEOM Food. As we look to collaborate with the startup community, we want to hear firsthand from entrepreneurs about the exciting work they are bringing to life. This will give NEOM Food a clear view of which emerging technologies are most attractive for us to engage with, now and in the future.

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Want to learn more about the FOOD TECH 500?

Visit forwardfooding.com/foodtech500 to see the full list from the past editions, learn more about our methodology and how we are crafting the final ranking.

The final 2022 ranked list will be officially released on the March 1st 2023.

Forward Fooding is the world’s first collaborative platform fostering innovation via FoodTech Data Intelligence and Corporate-startup Collaboration.