EIT Food, the world’s largest food innovation community, has announced the winners of its Fast Track to Market Initiative, awarding €900,000 in funding to five startups across Europe. EIT Food is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
Four winners were chosen to receive funding from the Fast Track to Market initiative, which provides funding to mature agrifood startups and SMEs to accelerate their commercial success and enter new, or expand in existing markets, faster.
The initiative will fund 6–10 month projects that can significantly accelerate the startup or SME’s commercial success, with the goal of creating immediate impact by bringing their products or services to market.
The proposed innovative solutions are expected to result in commercially viable products and services reaching the market, and work towards achieving EIT Food’s three missions: healthier lives through food; a net zero food system; and a fully transparent, fair and resilient food system.
The chosen startups from across Europe include:
scoutlabs (Hungary) – awarded €399,293
scoutlabs is transforming pest management with the world’s most affordable and dense digital trap network. Its IoT devices capture daily high-resolution images of insect pests, analysed by AI and entomologists to provide precise pest pressure alerts. This allows farmers to reduce pesticide use by over 10 times, preserving crop yields and protecting beneficial insect populations. Its farmer-first approach promotes sustainable agriculture, enhancing food security and reducing waste.
Inspectle Food (Estonia) – awarded €80,000
Inspectle Food is a tool that allows quick and effective resolution of non-conformities in food hygiene and simplifies the process of carrying out food safety and hygiene inspections. By giving food producers a preventative tool against food waste, Inspectle helps identify and solve non-conformities in food production that, if unaddressed, can lead to production stops or the need for product recalls. Early detection and resolution of these issues not only ensure food safety but also contribute to the reduction of CO2 equivalent emissions, since less food waste translates to fewer resources expended across the entire supply chain.
Julienne Bruno (UK) – awarded €267,900
Julienne Bruno is a multi-international award-winning food brand creating naturally plant-based products with a focus on taste, quality and innovation. Their mission is to create a range of products that are loved by all, regardless of dietary preference. Following the successful launch of its products into Switzerland, the new funding will allow Julienne Bruno to accelerate entry into new markets and provide investment to ensure commercial success in these markets.
Applications open for 2025
The application window for funding in 2025 is now open until 26 November 2024.
Total funding of up to €250k per company is available via a revenue-based financing mechanism. EIT Food is looking for fast-moving, mature companies with an existing business case that have high potential to generate B2B/B2C sales for new or improved food innovation products or services.
Adam Adamek, Director of Innovation at EIT Food said: “It’s incredibly exciting to announce this support to help ambitious startups bring their innovations to market. From plant-based foods to food safety, these startups are developing bold new solutions to some of the key challenges facing the agrifood sector today. And with applications open for the next round of funding, we want to hear from other companies with the potential to develop innovative, commercially viable solutions to help transform the food system.”The Fast Track to Market Initiative follows six years of innovation funding calls from EIT Food that have resulted in a wealth of impactful initiatives and projects which are making a real difference to the agrifood industry.
Fast Track to Market is a founder-friendly instrument that provides financial support to companies in exchange for a percentage of their future expected revenues. This ‘Revenue Based Financing’ model has grown in popularity for SMEs that are looking to raise funds in between investment rounds, as it is significantly cheaper than equity and more accessible than bank loans.
