SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOLUTIONS

CHALLENGE 2025

Get your idea exposed to 7 leading food corporations and gain the chance of a pilot or investment. Our match-making contest finds you the right partner to scale up.
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ABOUT THE CHALLENGE


 
Feeding the planet’s population and reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions that come from the Food value chain is one of the biggest challenges of our time. And the pressures from climate change, land use, and food production/distribution are only set to increase.  Further much of food production today is linear. This promotes waste and is an inefficient use of resources.

Solutions to reduce emissions and help feed the planet’s projected 9.8 billion population in 2050 will need to be increasingly circular so resources are reutilized, and combine supply-side actions, such as efficient production, transport, and processing; alongside demand-side interventions, such as modification of food choices, and reduction of food loss and waste.

MassChallenge believes startups and corporations can help. Startups can play a unique role in bringing new disruptive ideas to the table. Corporations can play a critical role in scaling these ideas and bringing benefits to society quickly.  In 2020 a group of leading global food manufacturers and producers partnered with MassChallenge to find and collaborate with startups so that together, they could help feed the planet sustainably. In the challenges first 6 years over 2,300 startups have applied to take part with over 390 of these being connected to our partners. Of these, over half were involved in a detailed follow-up discussion - check the success stories segment.

 

THE STARTUPS WE'RE LOOKING FOR


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Our partners: Bühler GroupGivaudan, OmyaSüdzucker, dsm-firmenichLouis Dreyfus Company, and SIG are looking for startups or scaleups, with proven solutions or technologies in the areas of:

  • Sustainable Food & Feed Solutions
    • Disruptive proteins/ fats/ Ingredients;
    • Human health & nutrition;
    • Animal feed and pet health & nutrition;
    • Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG).
  • AgTech
    • Regenerative agriculture;
    • Precision farming.
  • Sustainable Supply Chain & Manufacturing 
    • Supply Chain optimization;
    • Decarbonisation of Manufacturing;
    • Circular economy;
    • Traceability/ food safety/ preservation technologies.
  • Sustainable Packaging & Materials 
    • Bio-based Chemicals;
    • New materials and molecules;
    • Sustainable Materials.
  • Side-streams valorization
    • Side-streams: wheat, soy, corn, potato, etc. For a detailed list of areas please see application form. 
    • Upcycled to the ag-tech & food industry, packaging, construction, personal care, and perfumery.
⭐ All startups that have a fit with our Partners in the above fields will be connected and invited to a 1:1 call or DemoDay. 
 
♻️ In this year’s Challenge, in addition, we are also interested in Food & Ag startups that could be part of the Circular Economy. We will connect startups to MassChallenge’s partners who are both producers and users of agricultural sidestreams or the ingredients resulting out of it. This could result in a startup helping a partner turn an agricultural waste into a product, that could be sold to another partner.

BENEFITS FOR THE SELECTED STARTUPS


Startups and Corporate Partners engage together to drive change toward a sustainable world and lead global impact. This Challenge allows them to work together, create a joint pitch, and scale up innovative solutions, faster than they could alone.

All startups participating in the Challenge will get:

  1. A direct pathway to multi-national corporations:If shortlisted by our partners, MassChallenge will introduce you to representatives of the partners, including senior R&D, open innovation managers, sustainability executives, and business unit heads. You will talk to the right stakeholders in these organizations, you will have their full attention from the start, and will explore ways to collaborate with them.
  2. The ability to scale your technology with them: After the initial meeting we foresee a detailed sharing of information, most likely covered by a Non-Disclosure Agreement, and then the creation of a joint pilot to evaluate the scaling potential of the product. Startups could then become suppliers to the corporation, partners in some form of venture, or receive investment. Every step is totally at the corporation and startup's discretion, and there is no obligation to proceed unless the startup and corporation wish.
  3. Publicity and more connectionseach corporate partner will invite one of the startups that they shortlisted to our flagship event, the MassChallenge Sustainable Food Solutions Challenge Day, in May 2025. There, the startup combined with their corporate partner will present their joint solution on how to feed the planet sustainably to all of our corporate partners, resulting in more connections and the potential to work with other corporates. This event will be subject to press releases from MassChallenge and some of our corporate partners, providing visibility to the startups. Selected startups will receive 1,000CHF to contribute towards travel to the event.

 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA


We are looking for startups and scaleups that:

Your eligibility criteria
  1. Have a product or idea at the prototype stage or with a working proof of concept backed by data (ie Technical Readiness Level 5, where the technology has been validated in a relevant environment).

  2. Are a strategic fit with our partners. In the application form, startups can note which specific partner(s) are a strategic fit for their solution.  When discussing with a partner what’s important is an openness to collaborate and scale your idea.

  3. Are from seed to series C+. What’s important is that your product is at least at the prototype stage or with a working proof of concept backed by data. You may already have some sales & traction. This enables us to validate that there is a need for your product and that you’re ready to work with our corporate partners. The next step is to work with the corporate partner to scale your technology.

  4. Have Impactful, Viable, and Scalable ideas:
    • Impactful: to massively benefit society by extracting value whilst reducing the CO2 footprint and emissions of the entire food value chain;
    • Viable: be able to demonstrate traction amongst consumers; manufacturers, and their supply base (including farmers);
    • Scalable: be able to scale at the agricultural, manufacture, distribution, or disposal stage of food production.

  5. Are from any geography. However, note that our partner corporations are headquartered in Europe, so physical collaboration would be mostly in Europe. Startups should ensure they are able to travel to Europe for discussions. The selection process will be carried out online.

 

HOW THE CHALLENGE WORKS


  • Relevant applicants will be presented to partner corporations;
  • Selected startups will be invited to meet with R&D, open innovation, sustainability executives, and business unit heads for further discussion and to evaluate the potential for collaboration;
  • We expect that this will result in proof of concepts, partnerships, and investments for several of the startups;
  • In addition to the above, each partner will select one start-up to pitch their joint collaboration idea at the MassChallenge Sustainable Food Solutions Challenge Day in May 2025 where all of our corporate partners will attend. This will be a physical event in Switzerland;
  • It is anticipated that partners and startups will then work together to scale the startups' ideas through the partners’ businesses.

 

MASSCHALLENGE SUCCESS STORIES

NoPalm and Bühler

The partnership between NoPalm Ingredients and Bühler is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation to drive positive change.

NoPalm-Bühler

Floré and dsm-firmenich

Floré by Sun Genomics, accelerated their collaboration process with dsm-firmenich following the Sustainable Food Solutions Challenge. 

Floré_DSM

 

 

Applications are open until November 25, 2024.

Info Session on November 18, 5 PM CET, register here

Any questions? switzerland@masschallenge.org

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INNOVATION BLOG


MassChallenge Startups Leading the Way in Tackling Climate Change

As climate change and sustainability top the world’s concerns, more and more startups are addressing them directly with innovative solutions. Many MassChallenge Switzerland alumni, for instance, are making a significant impact in their fields, demonstrating how targeted support and mentorship can help early-stage ventures succeed. 👇

Climate Change

The future of animal feed: Improving animal health while driving sustainability and mitigating climate change

Animal feed, responsible for 50-80% of environmental emissions in farmed seafood, meat, milk, and eggs, is undergoing a deep transformation. Dive into the article, by clicking the picture below, to explore how innovation is reshaping the future of food sustainability. 👇

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SUSTAINABLE FOOD LECTURE


Can Alternative Proteins Save the World?

Alternative proteins and FoodTech have an impact role on sustainability and our society. This conversation on alternative proteins will provide insights into one of the most prolific sectors in FoodTech.

Hear from the experts why investors, founders, and corporates are entering this space, what challenges they are facing, what actions they are taking to speed up food transformation & adoption, and how they are preparing for the future through open innovation. 

Watch the lecture here

 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Bühler Louis Dreyfus Company
Omya Sudzucker_Logo_MCCH-1-300x171
Givaudan DSMFirmenich_Logo
SIG_Logo-300x167  

 

PAST WINNERS

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