Shaping the future of food: Seven entrepreneurs awarded for their market-ready agrifood innovations
Winners offer commercial solutions from seaweed-based packaging and AI-powered field robots to automated honey analysis systems and fungal meat alternatives
Advertisement
EIT Food, has announced the winners of its Innovation Prize (formerly known as Marketed Innovation Prize), designed to reward innovative food startups whose products or services have successfully reached the market. Seven entrepreneurs have been awarded €10,000 in recognition of their leadership, impact and contribution to building a healthier, more sustainable and resilient food system. EIT Food is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
How we produce and consume food is key to driving the much-needed transition of Europe’s agriculture industry that needs to address growing pressure due to higher production costs, climate change and supply chain volatility. This is why initiatives that support the development and scale-up of impactful innovations are more important than ever.
The Innovation Prize highlights entrepreneurs delivering real-world impact today, moving beyond prototypes to solutions that are already improving how food is produced, processed, and consumed. This year, the prize places a special focus on recognising the innovators themselves, celebrating the talent, commitment, and leadership behind each breakthrough. In addition to financial support, winners will benefit from visibility through EIT Food’s global channels, media exposure, and opportunities to present at major industry events.
This year’s Prize winners showcase how cutting-edge technologies are accelerating a more sustainable and resilient food system: from clean-label plant-based meat alternatives produced through solid-state fungal fermentation, to digital tools that support farmers with environmental monitoring, disease prediction, and growth tracking in viticulture, and AI-powered field robotics that automate weeding while protecting beneficial plants and improving soil health. Together, these solutions demonstrate how agrifood innovation is delivering practical impact across the value chain, from production to processing and beyond.
The winners were chosen by a panel of two independent external experts in innovation and food systems, alongside one internal evaluator. All applications were assessed against four core criteria: impact , novelty , commercial potential and traction, and leadership. In total, 118 completed applications were received, reflecting the strong level of interest in the prize.
Full list of the EIT Food Innovation Prize 2025 winners
- Gustavo Adolfo Gonzalez Flores, Agree NET won the Rising Innovator Award for PìFresc, a patented plant-based coating that extends the shelf-life of fresh fruit by over 25 days without using plastic, synthetic chemicals, or controlled atmosphere technology.
- Randi Wahlsten, from MATR Foods – Women in Innovation Award for MATR Fungal, a new generation of clean-label plant-based meat alternatives using solid-state fungal fermentation applied directly to whole, locally sourced organic vegetables, grains, and legumes.
- Iratxe Perales from the company Microfy Systems, won the Global Reach Innovator Award with its innovation HoneyAI, a fully automated, AI-powered microscopy system that replaces the entire honey analysis workflow by autonomously preparing samples, capturing images, and interpreting them with advanced computer-vision models to deliver standardised, laboratory-grade results in minutes.
- Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, from the company Notpla, won the Impact Innovator Award with its innovation Seaview Range, the world’s first fully natural window box range, combining seaweed-based coating technology with a seaweed-based window for total packaging transparency.
- Ilker Bektaş, from the company Orbiba Robotics, won the Tech Pioneer Award with its innovation Ecominos, an affordable, AI-powered modular field robot that uses AI vision, multispectral sensing, and CERN-licensed Structured Laser Beam technology to automate weeding, protect beneficial plants, and deliver real-time soil insights through a plug-and-play Robot-as-a-Service model for small and medium-sized farms.
- Srdjan Tadic, from the company Atfield Technologies, won the Market Excellence Innovator Award with its innovation Winessence, a specialised vineyard management platform that combines precise environmental monitoring, disease prediction, and growth tracking tailored for viticulture.
- Oluwaseun Olawusi, from the company Gloxad Academy, won the Student Innovator Award with its innovation Gloxad, a flexible, personalised online learning platform that equips individuals and organisations with future-ready skills across digital technologies, agritech, food technology, climate tech, software development, blockchain, and soft skills through self-paced courses, customised training, live sessions, and community engagement.
All seven startups have developed a product or service that has reached the market, following their involvement with EIT Food. This includes startups which have been through one of EIT Food’s Entrepreneurship Programmes: Seedbed, EIT Food Accelerator Network and RisingFoodStars.
Richard Zaltzman, CEO of EIT Food, said : “We’re delighted to have this opportunity to recognise and reward startups that have participated in EIT Food programmes and are now creating real impact by bringing their products and services to market. From protein diversification to resilient agriculture, the winners of the Innovation Prize are driving transformation across every part of our food system, whether by giving consumers exciting new options on supermarket shelves or offering food producers new techniques to maximise their efficiency.”
Other news from the department business & finance
Most read news
More news from our other portals
Something is happening in the food & beverage industry ...
This is what true pioneering spirit looks like: Plenty of innovative start-ups are bringing fresh ideas, lifeblood and entrepreneurial spirit to change tomorrow's world for the better. Immerse yourself in the world of these young companies and take the opportunity to get in touch with the founders.