Salmon skin crisps and raw superfoods start-ups to pitch at FoodBytes! London

FoodBytes!, the global pitch competition and networking event by Rabobank, has announced the 20 food and agriculture start-ups that will compete at its London event on Thursday 13 September.

Rabobank’s FoodBytes! is on a mission to find the “world’s most disruptive food and agriculture innovators”, giving them the chance to pitch to investors, corporates and media, and receive mentoring from industry leaders.

The inaugural London event has attracted a diverse range of entrants including a salmon skin crisps company, an electric weed killer, a pest monitoring solution, and a product that can detect the sex of chicks before they hatch.

The 10 highest ranked start-ups – based on metrics such as team, business model, innovation, traction and sustainability – will have 3.5 minutes to pitch, whilst the remaining 10 start-ups will have 1.5 minutes of pitch time.

The 10 companies with 3.5 minutes to pitch are:

• Connnectera – an artificial intelligence platform for sustainable food growth
• Trapview – an automated pest monitoring and forecasting platform that optimises crop protection activities
• ViroVet – developing disruptive and innovative technologies to control viral diseases in livestock
• Ubiqutek/Rootwave – uses electricity to kill weeds as a scalable and sustainable alternative to herbicides
• Mimica Lab. – creating accessible, affordable freshness indicators for perishable products, including food and pharmaceuticals
• Easilys – a software-as-a-service editor for back office and waste management solution in the restaurant and foodservice industries
• SwissDeCode – its DNAFoil line claims to be the world’s first portable, completely self-administered, on-site DNA detection kit, to confirm product integrity within 30
• TIPA – compostable, flexible packaging solutions that will return back to nature in compost conditions within 180 days
• Yooji – frozen and organic baby food in small portions. Low-temp steam-cooking and quick freezing help preserve organoleptic qualities, vitamins and nutrients
• Creative Nature – creates a wide range of raw superfoods and ‘free-from’ snacks, with healthy ingredients and functional benefits

The 10 finalists with 1.5 minutes to pitch are:

• BeeHero – aiming to improve crop pollination by saving bees. Its technology allows commercial beekeepers to have stronger colonies and farmers to increase their yields
• Earth Rover – an operating system aiming to make robotics work for farmers using best-in-class technologies to deliver working applications that cut farmers’ production costs
• EggXYt – uses a biomarker on the male chromosome of a chicken embryo to make its sex detectable once an egg is laid. This could save billions of dollars and unnecessary chick deaths
• InnovoPro – makes unique, clean label, non-allergenic chickpea protein, CP Pro70, for use in bakery, dairy and savoury products
• Provenance – helps brands increase trust, using technology for greater supply chain transparency
• OddBox – a London-based ‘wonky veg’ box scheme fighting farm food waste by sourcing slightly imperfect produce, for a fair price directly from farms
• SafetyNet Technologies – works with fishing industry stakeholders to design and build light-emitting devices that increase the selectivity of commercial fishing practices. This reduces over-fishing and bycatch to make the industry more sustainable
• Biokind – produces sustainable protein feed for aquaculture, livestock and pets
• Garcon Wines – flat wine bottles made from 100% recycled plastic and modelled on traditional shapes. Design makes them more efficient & eco-friendly for delivery, logistics, storage and retailing
• Sea Chips – producer of nutrient packed salmon skin handcrafted crisps that donates 10% of profits to ocean charities to help keep the sea clean

There are three awards up for grabs on the day including Judge’s Choice, People’s Choice and Highly Commended.

FoodBytes! London is sponsored by speciality ingredients provider ADM, British dairy company Dairy Crest, international law firm Watson Farley & Williams LLP, and Bühler Group, a technology company for plant and equipment services for processing foods and manufacturing materials.

Nick Fereday, executive director of food and consumer trends at Rabobank and FoodBytes! London judge, commented:

“This is Rabobank’s first FoodBytes! event in London and we are blown away by the calibre of the presenting companies that are developing technologies and products to disrupt the food system, whether it is to improve the transparency of the supply chain or bring alternative proteins to the market.”