SPROUT AND IDEALOG: LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF FOOD WITH AGRITECH INNOVATORS.

'6<8639-2+ (33& >!9;'T $8'!ধ='£@ <9-2+ -2&-+'23<9 -2+8'&-'2;9 !2& 1';,3&9T !2& -223=!ধ2+ -2 9<9;!-2!#£' 6!$0!+-2+ ,!9 #''2 ;,' (3$<9 3( 683<; $$'£'8!;38 and Idealog $316'ধধ32 8!29(!81!ধ32T 8<2 -2 $32/<2$ধ32 >-;, ;,' !22<!£ !$$'£'8!;38W

The competition is giving one Kiwi food production innovator the chance to win an $85,000 prize, including cash and tickets to the Natural Food Expo in the US next year, coverage in Idealog and a much sought after place in Sprout’s 2020 Agritech Accelerator.

With a focus on innovating in the food production space by reviving age-old ingredients and sustainably available products to replace those taking a toll on our ourselves and our environment, or finding a new use for food waste to combat some of the world’s pending issues, the competition has called for creative solutions from local inventors and entrepreneurs.

Once the problem is established, entrants had to explain why their product reimagines how we grow, share or consume food or packaging, why it has the right to win, and what impact it would have on the future of food production.

Twenty-first century agriculture faces the vast challenge of producing food for almost 10 billion people by 2050, meanwhile adopting more efficient and sustainable methods of production that adapt to climate change and the environmental impact of farming. As diets and demands change across the globe there’s no arguing we’re going to have to get creative with our ideas to find solutions.

New Zealand has made a well-established and respected name for itself in primary industries and innovating in the field, and we’re not faltering to match with present days challenges. Homegrown plant-based meats are in the making, alternative proteins are gaining popularity, we’re moving forward with cellular agriculture, and farmers across the country are finding ways to practice regenerative farming.

Investing in new sustainable practices in food production and agriculture is the way forward in solving some of these incoming problems, and promoting innovate ideas is how we’ll break new ground.

A great way for new businesses to garner expert advice and investment is through Sprout’s annual Agritech Accelerator. The program will be in its fifthround next year giving food and agritech innovators and entrepreneurs from NZ and abroad the chance to grow into global businesses.

The six-month business accelerator has been designed by studying the journeys of successful agritech and future food startups, and the team behind Sprout has used those lessons combined with learnings from other inventors, investors and employees to create an intensive program for startups looking to go global.

Each year eight to twelve startups are selected for the program that includes weekly advice and mentoring, attendance at four underground workshopping events, the development of a business plan and model, business meetings, and the chance to pitch to investors and partners.

The team at Sprout place high expectations on the selected startups, they challenge the business plan and always prepare their cohort for success and growth at the end of the six months.

Alumni of the program include - Arepa, a caffeine-free mental clarity drink that has ingredients derived from New Zealand plant extracts of blackcurrants and pine bark, Bumblebox, a scalable bumblebee rearing system for pollination, Holsim, an augmented reality software for the breeding and caring of animals and veterinary training, and Acuris Systems, self driving vehicles for farmers and growers that automates the capturing of data and crop analysis in the agriculture and horticulture industries.

To help its startups with growth, Sprout teaches entrepreneurs how to prioritise activities to maximise product valuation, increase sales, ensure scalability, and identify stakeholders valuable to their venture. Sprout connects those in the accelerator to its global network to help fill any gaps, increase global credibility, and importantly meet investors and access grants.

The accelerator ends at the Sprout Partners Summit where agritech and future food leaders and investors get together to meet the businesses and discuss partnership and investment opportunities.

Entrants in the Transfarmation competition include a business making insects more palatable through Cricket Corn Chips, made with the crispy insects and local Gisborne corn.

The company behind the insectbased chips, Primal Future, says it developed its Cricket Corn Chips as a way to introduce, promote and normalise the idea of eating insects, and show they can taste great.

The team reference the FAO’s 2013 report that insects could be a potential solution to providing protein to a swelling population, having a high feed conversion rate, being cold-blooded and needing few inputs to farm. They say the goal with Cricket Corn Chips is to make eating insects mainstream in the West to the point where people will be putting whole crickets in their Wednesday night stir-fry.

Two entries look at replacing plastic food wrap and packaging with seaweed bioplastics. Kate Spence is creating a sustainable packaging which would use the machines currently used to make plastic, but replace PLA with a sustainable algae. Spence has created a prototype in her kitchen using homegrown seaweed that she says is stronger than Glad Wrap, lightweight, water resistant and inexpensive.

The team behind Kelpn, a business dedicated to replacing soft plastics used for supermarket packaging with New Zealand grown kelp, think the change is not only environmentally necessary, but could spur a whole new primary sector of seaweed farming in NZ.

Unlike other bioplastic sources, kelp uses no land or freshwater, it grows faster than tropical bamboo, is good at sequestering carbon and has a number of positive environmental flow-on effects that benefit our marine ecosystems, the team says in its entry.

As well as needing no fertilizers or herbicides, the team says their kelp bioplastic would be compostable, reducing all the environmental issues with current biodegradable plastic alternatives.

The winner of the Transfarmation competition will be announced at an event held at Sprout Accelerator in Palmerston North.

Applications for Sprout’s Accelerator close on November 22 and shortlisted applicants will be notified on November 27. The accelerator kicks off on February 3 2020.