Brave New Food challenges disruptive start-ups in quest for healthy future food

24 Jun 2021 --- Brave New Food has launched the search for “healthy food solutions,” for its innovation acceleration platform which includes several F&B key players like FrieslandCampina, Bonduelle and the Kraft Heinz Company. 

Brave New Food says it’s now “even more interesting” for start-ups and scale-ups to pitch in the quest for healthy food of the future. 

More than 200 start-ups and scale-ups from primarily European countries participated in the first open call, which was all about sustainability. Eighty-seven of these were invited, and after 130 one-on-one interviews, more than 70 follow-ups took place. 

And now, Brave New Food continues with a second open call within the theme of “Healthy Food Solutions.”

Brave New Food has formulated four directions for finding promising solutions including offerings that make healthier choices and behavior change easier.

A healthy future 
Unhealthy food has serious consequences for human health, says Bas Allart, one of the four co-founders of Brave New Food.

“As many as two billion people worldwide are overweight, and 679 million of them are obese. This causes many life-threatening diseases, resulting in a poor quality of life, enormous pressure on healthcare and possibly even death.”

“Fortunately, more and more people, governments, schools and businesses are taking action by promoting and adopting healthier foods and diets. As a result, the demand for healthier food will increase significantly in the coming years. So we need healthy food solutions to meet this increasing demand,” he says.

Four challenges and a wildcard
Brave New Food has formulated four directions for finding suitable and promising solutions:

- Healthier daily food and snacks with a higher nutritional value and/or fewer additives such as sugar, salt and fat.
- Solutions that make healthier choices and behavior change easier.
- Functional foods for better general health, faster recovery or better (sports) performance.
- Technological and scientific solutions that support the transition to healthier food, diets and a healthier society.

Call for collaboration
In addition, there is a wildcard category for all innovative healthy solutions that do not fit within one of these sub-themes.

The open call Healthy Food Solutions runs until September 14. After that, the now 26 partners will consider the submissions. 

The start-ups and scale-ups with solutions that best match the innovation needs of the affiliated companies from the food industry will be invited to a matchmaking event scheduled for October.

Brave New Food is convinced that closer partnerships between established food industry companies, innovative start-ups, scale-ups, and investors will accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and healthier food system. 

“We offer young innovative companies access to the market, expertise, network and capital,” the company stresses. 

Opportunities to accelerate
Established companies find smart solutions through us and come into contact with colleagues from the industry in a different way during our partner events, Allart adds.

“By supporting all links in our food chain in their growth and connecting them, we enable accelerated change.”

Edited by Gaynor Selby