The series of global roadshow events for foodtech and 360º gastronomy startups designed to find the most groundbreaking startups is back

 

Basque Culinary Center has opened the registration for the 2nd edition of Culinary Action! On the Road: an international entrepreneurship scheme for foodtech startups that kicks off in September 2022 and will be held through competitions in New York (US), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Copenhagen (Denmark), Tokyo (Japan) and Tel-Aviv (Israel), in collaboration with local partners.

This is the second edition of this international roadshow competition launched by Culinary Action!, the Basque Culinary Center and Hazi Fundazioa's gastronomy entrepreneurship programme, and part of The Food Global Ecosystem, a Basque Government-backed public-private partnership comprising 60-plus companies. The Basque Country wants to attract cutting-edge projects, entrepreneurial talent and technology startups from the agri-food sector.

In 2022, "CA!  On the Road" will be looking for startups involved in the 360º gastronomy and food technology fields. The initiative is geared towards startups that devise new products or services that help to transform gastronomy value chain players, from chefs, head waiters and managers to producers, distributors, diners, etc.

Any startups interested in taking part can apply to join the competition on the Culinary Action! website   (https://culinaryaction.com/ontheroad/). After the registration closing date, approximately one month before each event, Basque Culinary Center managers and local partners will analyze the startup entries and select five finalists in each of the cities where the local competitions will be held. To be eligible to take part in the championship, startups must be at the pre-incubation or incubation stage and based in the country where each event is to be held.

On local competition days, the five finalist startups will give an elevator pitch to present their project to the team of experts and anyone else attending (including investors, mentors and local agents), and there will also be round tables and keynote speakers from local partners. After that, the team of experts will select a winning startup in each of the stops.

Each local event's winning startups will be awarded a one-month residency at the LABe-Digital Gastronomy Lab startup incubator in Donostia-San Sebastian, an open innovation living lab run by the Basque Culinary Center, and a 20-hour credit for research and innovation projects at BCC Innovation, the Basque Culinary Center's Gastronomy technology centre. During their stay, the startups will also get the opportunity to draw up an advanced plan in the digital platform GOe Community, where they can join and access the Basque Culinary Center's network of experts and mentors and receive different kinds of support on issues such as accessing the center's investor network, networking or support for setting up in the local ecosystem etc.

The five local finalists will compete against each country's winning startups in a grand finale to be held in early 2023 in Donostia-San Sebastian, where the second edition of "CA!  On The Road" will choose the winning startup, which will be awarded a one year stay at the startup incubator LABe Digital Gastronomy Lab, and an additional 25-hour credit for research and innovation projects at the technology center, BCC Innovation.

In 2021, the first edition of "CA!  On the Road" chose the best foodtech startups from 100-plus entries, taking into account their value proposition and their relationship with the local and international ecosystem. The winning entry was the Danish startup Dryk , chosen for its commitment to health and sustainability and its work in developing nutritious dairy and vegan beverages from vegetable protein. MOA foodtech (Madrid), Bordery (Biarritz) and ANINA Culinary Art  (Tel Aviv) were also present at the Donostia-San Sebastian final.

For further information and registration: https://culinaryaction.com/ontheroad/

 

CULINARY ACTION!

Culinary Action! is the Basque Culinary Center and Hazi's gastronomy entrepreneurship programme, and part of The Food Global Ecosystem, a Basque Government-backed public-private partnership comprising 60-plus companies. The Basque Country wants to attract cutting-edge projects, entrepreneurial talent and technology startups from the agri-food sector. Culinary Action! promotes entrepreneurship and new businesses in gastronomy and food. Since 2014 it has been attracting entrepreneurs, students, companies and industry, and society to the same venue to cause a real socio-economic impact on the gastronomy sector. It catalyses disruptive innovation by promoting startups and sustainable projects that challenge the food system, such as foodtech, restech and agritech projects.