Your innovative solution must be underpinned by science or technology with a prototype or lab proof of concept established (TRL 4). It must also fall under one of EIT Food’s missions &  key focus areas

You can apply for the Seedbed Incubator as a project team or as a registered company. A project team must consist of at least two individuals with complementary skills and experiences, and at least one member must be a citizen or resident of an EU member state, or Horizon Europe associated countries. If you are a solo researcher or an academic currently without any team members, you must have support from a member of your Technology Transfer Office for the duration of the programme (and include these details in your application). If you are applying as a registered company, your company must be established in an EU member state, or Horizon Europe associated countries.

Switzerland and UK-based companies ARE eligible to apply. However, eligibility to receive funding will be determined based on Switzerland’s and UK’s eligibility status for EU funding at that time  

Programme applications are open from 26th January until the 26th of March each year, and all applications are evaluated in April 2023. Up to 60 teams considered to have the highest impact & commercial potential are then shortlisted to attend a 4-day Bootcamp in May. At the end of Bootcamp, all the teams involved pitch their business innovation to a panel of experts, who select the final 40 to join the new Seedbed Incubator cohort in June 2023. All selected, participating teams are required to attend regular training sessions during the course. 

The Seedbed Incubator training and workshops are online, while Seedbed main events are predominantly in person. The two dates we require all teams to travel to a location in Europe are:  

• Seedbed Kick off  2 to 3 days – Beginning of July  
• EIT Food Venture Summit & Seedbed Showcase Final  2 to 3 days – Beginning of November 

All teams are required to commit at least 8 hours a week during the course of the programme. We expect at least one team member to remain active, and to be engaged with the programme during its full course, from when it starts in June, until the final presentations take place in November.

The Seedbed Incubator supports validation of the market need of highly innovative solutions to pressing global food system challenges. Applications are assessed based on the understanding of the social, environmental and economic impact the innovation is creating, the problem/solutionsolution fit, and company’s match to EIT Food’s mission goals. Equally important is the innovation and its technology readiness (innovation has been validated at least in the ‘lab’ and a basic prototype/MVP is in place, TRL4), the hypothetical business model, its USP, the potential to commercialise and the dynamics of the founding team, if already in place. 

Please refer to our programme Terms & Conditions for more detailed information.   

All judging panels consist of experienced entrepreneurs, business experts and experts from the agriculture and food industries 

No, any innovation team or early-stage startup that can create impact at any point along the food supply chain is invited to apply to this programme. Does your business innovation help to make our global food system more sustainable, healthy, and trusted? If the answer if yes, then we want to hear from you! 

No, any innovation team or early-stage startup that can create impact at any point along the food supply chain is invited to apply to this programme. Does your business innovation help to make our global food system more sustainable, healthy, and trusted? If the answer if yes, then we want to hear from you!

The Seedbed Incubator offers €7,000 sub-granting for travel to meetings & events during the course of the programme, and all teams eligible for Seedbed + have the opportunity to receive a further maximum of €10,000 equity-free, along with the opportunity to access follow-on EIT Food funding and support through EIT Food’s Impact Fund. More information on funding can be found here 

Seedbed provides direct access to experts who fundamentally understand the commercial potential of science and technology in the agrifood sector. You will be joining Europe’s largest agrifood startup community to receive continuous support from other like-minded entrepreneurs, with endless opportunities to share knowledge and work closely with our world-leading industry partners, to launch and build a market-validated business. 

At the end of the programme, each cohort team is automatically enrolled as Seedbed Alumni and then invited to pursue opportunities for follow-on funding to support the development of their commercial roadmap. This may include spinning out, starting up a new company, or establishing further technology feasibility tests with suitable identified partners. There is also the possibility to progress to the EIT Food Accelerator Network, which connects impactful agrifood startups with industry-leading corporate and research partners, to pilot their technology and drive the ultimate goal of every business: a successful market adoption.