This year, we were glad to be a strategic partner of the Big Meet event organized by our friends from Sweden FoodTech. The Big Meet has been a prominent gathering for over six years, and brings together a vibrant mix of influential FoodTech companies, entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, and chefs from around the world, to discuss the future of food. 

Kick Off Big Meet: Mingle & Matchmaking

The night before, we co-hosted a ‘Mingle & Matchmaking’ event alongside Sweden FoodTech to start connecting with the big Meet attendees; this was a great opportunity to get a first glimpse of the buzzy Swedish ecosystem.

We also took that opportunity to unveil the list of the top Nordic companies that have achieved a place of honor in the 2022 FoodTech 500 ranking and share some key numbers about the Nordics FoodTech ecosystem.

 

The Big Meet ‘Un-Conference’: 2 days full of content and learnings, and food(tech) tastings

The event, that we could qualify more as an ‘un-conference’ by its unique immersive approach, was a three-fold experience: an exhibition of cutting-edge FoodTech companies’ products and technologies, a bustling kitchen laboratory where talented chefs transformed these products into delightful dishes, and an engaging stage hosting a range of captivating talks, pitches, and more from various key players in the ecosystem, making this event a remarkable platform where industry pioneers, startups, corporates, and thought leaders converged to discuss and explore the latest advancements in food technology. 

As part of our partnership, we curated the ‘Foodtech 500 Lab’, where distinguished alumni companies from the FoodTech 500 showcased groundbreaking technologies that are reshaping the future of our Food System.

 

Keynote Showtime – ‘10 years of FoodTech – Looking back to understand what’s ahead’

One of the highlights was the keynote of our Co-founder and CEO Alessio D’Antino. Having been exposed to the sector for almost 10 years now, Alessio tried to provide a comprehensive perspective on the AgriFoodTech sector, how it evolved over the years, what have been its key trends and developments, current challenges, and what is ahead of us, by contextualizing data extracted from our FoodTech Data Navigator platform.

Between 2013 and 2022, AgriFoodTech companies have raised €175.4 billion in funding (which is still 3x times less than the Fintech sector), 94% of which since 2016, while 72% of the 8,800+ companies we have been tracking were founded after 2016. These figures highlight the rapid growth of the industry.

Yet, our analysis revealed that 69% of the overall capital invested in FoodTech up until 2021 went into food delivery and alternative proteins, which accounted for only 18% of the ecosystem in terms of the number of companies. This indicates that many impactful areas within the FoodTech industry across the whole supply chain are still underfunded, leaving exciting opportunities to be explored.

During his presentation, Alessio explored where the ‘blindspots’ of FoodTech investment currently are, how the events from the past 2 years reshaped the industry, and what it means for the years to come (disclaimer: we are quite optimistic!).

We will soon release a blogpost to delve deeper into the key learnings from the presentation. Stay tuned!

The FoodTech 500 Lab at the Big Meet Conference

In a dedicated area within the show, we presented some of the distinguished alumni of the FoodTech 500, showcasing their revolutionary technologies from various areas such as alternative proteins, personalized nutrition, vertical farming, and food waste reduction among others. Discover more below.

• Stenon (DE) presented the first real-time soil analysis solution for agriculture, empowering farmers with IoT-based soil data measurement and analysis to optimize their practices and save money.
• Oh Mungood (SW) is an organic Swedish-produced plant-based food brand known for its additive-free products.
• Ljusgarda (SW): is a company focused on hydroponic vertical farming that produces and sells vertically produced lettuce.
• Sustainable Planet (UK), winner of the FoodTech Challenge, is a high-impact AgriFoodTech company that produces premium plant-based proteins on a large scale while contributing to environmental regeneration.
• X-next (IT) is an intensive knowledge scale-up company specializing in the production and development of advanced inspection technology.
• Nucaps (SP) is a company that provides a novel encapsulation technology for the industrial development of Nanocapsules and Biocapsules for bioactive and probiotics.

 

• Tebrito (SW) a company that uses insects to upscale low-value biomass into organic fertilizer and high-quality protein applications for feed and food.
• Winnow (SP) provides an AI-enabled tool called Winnow Vision that enables food service and hospitality industries to track food waste automatically, cutting costs and saving time.
• Acoustic Extra Freezing (FI) working on a revolutionary innovation in food processing and storage.
• Canopi (UK), a company revolutionizing the nutrition space with its next-generation platform that replaces powders and pills with grow-at-home superfood cultures, while also assisting individuals in forming nourishing habits.
• MiFood Robot (SP) is a company that builds robot workers for farms to reduce food waste, crop losses by 30%, labor shortages, labor costs by 50%, co2 emissions and workplace accidents.
• Deligate (SW) brought and showcased their machine for supermarkets that categorize products nearing their expiration date, offering automatic discounts to minimize waste.
• Ufraction8 (UK) develops microfluidics-based filter systems as an energy-efficient and scalable solution to help bio-manufacturers harvest their products.
• Ecobloom (SW) showcased its machine learning and computer vision technologies that monitor and analyze plant development, health, and stress. 
• Innomy Labs (SP) is focusing on the development of a new generation of meat alternatives by combining fungi and biotechnology.

All of these companies were part of the ‘Pitching Galore’ where they had two minutes to present their technology and its impact, in front of the Big Meet audience.

 

The ‘Test Kitchen’: A Fusion of Culinary Expertise and FoodTech Innovations

The key highlight of the Big Meet was definitely its ‘Test Kitchen’, where talented chefs from around the globe skillfully crafted extraordinary dishes using innovative products from the participating FoodTech companies.

As each chef presented their culinary creation, Daniel S. Ruben amongst other interviewers engaged in lively conversations, adding an extra layer of excitement and contributing to the dynamic atmosphere of the Test Kitchen. 

The most intriguing aspect of the Test Kitchen Lab was the interactions between the world of food producers and the culinary masters. The chefs were presented with novel and cutting-edge food products, challenging their creativity and culinary skills. This fusion of the two worlds served as a powerful demonstration that the future of food can be not only environmentally sustainable but also a delightful gastronomic experience.

 

The Power of Collaboration

Once again, the partnership with Sweden FoodTech has proven that collaboration is key to achieving remarkable outcomes. The Big Meet Conference, with its dedicated focus on food technology, served as a catalyst for inspiring entrepreneurs and innovators. 

A huge thank you to the Sweden FoodTech team for having us and for creating such an impactful event. Looking forward to next year!

Do you want to be part of next year’s FoodTech 500 Lab? Apply to be featured in the next edition of the FoodTech 500 HERE, and have the chance of being part of the FoodTech 500 Lab.

Forward Fooding is the world’s first collaborative platform for FoodTech Data Intelligence and Corporate Startup Collaboration.