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MassChallenge is looking for startups or organisations with proven solutions and technology in the field of sustainable solutions for food and feed, sustainable supply chain and manufacturing, sustainable packaging and agri-technology that, together with our corporate partners, can reduce their CO2 emissions and sustainably feed the 9.8 billion people expected to inhabit the planet in 2050.

MassChallenge believes that startups and enterprises can help this effort. Startups can play a unique role in bringing disruptive new ideas to the table. Companies can play a critical role in scaling these ideas and bringing rapid benefits to society.

The start-ups they're looking for?

• In 2023, they will open the Challenge again; their partners: Bühler Group, Givaudan, Nestlé, DSM, Louis Dreyfus Company and Südzucker, are looking for startups or scaleups with proven solutions or technologies in the fields of sustainable food and feed solutions, sustainable supply chain and manufacturing, sustainable packaging and agrotechnology.

Benefits for selected start-ups

• Start-ups and partner companies are joining forces to drive change towards a sustainable world and make a global impact. This challenge enables them to work together, create a common business case and scale up innovative solutions faster than they could alone.
• All startups taking part in the Challenge will receive :
  • A direct route to multinational companies: If they are shortlisted by their partners, MassChallenge will introduce you to representatives of the partners, including R&D managers, open innovation managers, sustainability managers and business unit heads. You'll be talking to the right stakeholders in these organisations, getting their full attention from the start and exploring ways to collaborate with them.
  • The possibility of scaling up your technology with them: After the initial meeting, they plan to share detailed information, most likely covered by a non-disclosure agreement, and then create a joint pilot project to assess the potential for scaling up the product. Start-ups could then become suppliers to the company, partners in a form of venture capital or receive investment. Each stage is entirely at the discretion of the company and the startup, and there is no obligation to proceed unless both the startup and the company wish to do so.
  • Publicity and more connections: each partner company will invite one of the shortlisted startups to its flagship event, the MassChallenge Sustainable Food Solutions Challenge Day, in May 2023. There, the invited startups will present their solutions to all their partner companies, resulting in more connections and the potential to work with other companies. This event will be the subject of press releases from MassChallenge and some of their partner companies, offering visibility to the startups.

How does the challenge work?

• Suitable candidates will be presented to the partner companies;
• The selected start-ups will be invited to meet with managers from R&D, open innovation, sustainable development and business unit heads to deepen their discussions and assess the potential for collaboration;
• They expect this to translate into proofs of concept, partnerships and investment for many of the start-ups;
• In addition to the above, each partner will select one start-up to present their joint collaboration idea at the MassChallenge Sustainable Food Solutions Challenge day in May 2023, attended by all their partner companies. This will be a physical event in Switzerland;
• It is planned that the partners and startups will then work together to scale up the startups' ideas through the partners' activities.

Eligibility criteria

• They are looking for startups and scaleups that:
  • Have a product or idea at the prototype stage or with a functional proof of concept supported by data (i.e. technical maturity level 5, when the technology has been validated in a relevant environment).
  • Are a strategic fit with their partners. In the application form, startups can indicate which specific partner(s) strategically fit their solution. When discussing with a partner, the important thing is to be open to collaborating and evolving your idea.
  • Are from seed to C+ series. What's important is that your product is at least at the prototype stage or with a working proof of concept supported by data. You may already have sales and traction. This allows them to validate that there is a need for your product and that you are ready to work with their corporate partners. The next step is to work with the corporate partner to evolve your technology.
  • Have powerful, viable and scalable ideas:
    • Impact: massively benefit society by extracting value while reducing the CO2 footprint and emissions of the entire food value chain;
    • Viable: being able to demonstrate traction with consumers; manufacturers and their supply base (including farmers);
    • Scalable: capable of scaling up to the stage of agriculture, manufacturing, distribution or disposal of food production.
    • Are from any geography. However, note that their partner companies are headquartered in Europe, so physical collaboration would be primarily in Europe. Startups need to ensure that they are able to travel to Europe for discussions.

For more information, please visitMassChallenge.