Happy New Year! We have just received all the feedback from the Seedbed 2022 cohort and we were thrilled to hear how much each team has benefited from the programme, and more importantly how they are continuing to develop their business which will have a HUGE impact in transforming our food system. Take a look here, it might even inspire you to apply for Seedbed 2023!

As a result of our interviews with farmers, we pivoted in both market and technical concepts. We talked to very big corporates like John Deere, Bayer, Unilever, and PepsiCo to discuss their problems and receive feedback on our products. We also started a collaboration with the biggest baby leaf salads producer in Greece with whom we will now co-develop a specialised weeding solution for their farms.

We valued the 1-1 workshops, the networking events, and our expert’s guidance. Also, the market discovery training helped us to step out of our comfort zone, to segment the market, and have an indication of product pricing and impact. Through this, we identified the most promising customers partners. and we pivoted our solution to launch in a new market segment.

Terra Robotics

Seedbed offered us the ability to meet other agtech startups. It was a fantastic opportunity to talk about our project with many people outside of our local market.

Nangatech

Seedbed fosters a strong feeling of community & offers opportunities to work on pilots with corporates such as Unilver. It was also nice to meet other entrepreneurs in the same industry as us facing similar challenges.

Veridi Technologies

We recommend Seedbed because it helps you build a powerful ecosystem of business contacts. We gained some valuable skills, and the programme forced us to acquire customers! We initiated talks with potential customers regarding testing our technology and through this, we identified a better market fit for our product.

Agriception

If you want to grow fast and discover the market, join Seedbed! It’s also useful as a “stamp” to present that our idea has been validated. We learned a lot about the various dimensions of building a startup, such as understanding your target market and business culture. We were put into direct contact with key players, and we received full support in trying out new directions for our business. We realised that at this point we will have to look for more grants.

As an outcome of Seedbed, we discovered a new target for our solution – golf courses! We have just been approved for an R&D grant by the Ministry of Agriculture in Israel, and we are in touch with several contacts we met during the programme (advisors and other cohorts) for potential future collaborations. Our presentation and our level of English have improved a lot and we met lovely people who are now friends.

Molex Solutions

The connections to established players in our field were invaluable! We met a lot of potential customers and investors. All the conversations we had challenged us to think about our business in a different way and to recognise opportunities we did not see before. During the programme we won 10,000 Euros of prize money, which is something we wouldn’t have been able to achieve without all of the wonderful training and pitching sessions offered by Seedbed.

B-COS

We highly recommend Seedbed! During the programme, we made several much-needed connections and learned the necessary skills to develop our business. EIT Food also helped us spread the word about our company around Europe. After talking to the most scientifically renowned experts in our space, we pivoted our technology and shifted our main customer group. We have now formed a GmbH and just closed our first paid pilot program for 2023! We are also in the middle of our pre-seed funding round with European investors.

Nerit’e

Thanks to Seedbed, we made some really good international connections and we managed to close a deal with our first pilot customer, which has also led to multiple requests from a few other potential customers.

Ant Robotics

Seedbed helped us to make contact with important stakeholders whom we would not have approached otherwise. We now have a clearer vision of what our customers expect from OPTIcut and a gained awareness of other markets where our tech can be applied. The support and networking opportunities were excellent. We have made some valuable connections to explore future opportunities with. We also valued very much being part of a community amongst similar minded people. Thank you, EIT Food!

Opticut

The coaches were VERY friendly and helpful. Experienced business professionals provided us with down-to-earth advice as well as more theoretical advice to shape the overall picture. We learned how to explain our technology to stakeholders and how to pitch, to a much better level than before entering Seeded. The programme is a great way to understand if your idea is needed in the market. We realised that not all great technologies are worth what you think they are, to other people.

Elogium

The Seedbed team of experts offered tailored advice appropriate for teams at the early stages of development and the coaching sessions created a good environment for peer-to-peer support. The quality of training provided was excellent, particularly the pitch training and the IP course. Seedbed helped us solidify our business plan.

Playwel

If you are looking for connections, EIT Food Seedbed is amazing! It’s like being part of a European startup family in a very collaborative atmosphere. The EIT Food Venture Summit was the most beneficial for us because it combined meeting everyone from the cohort with other unknown target groups – industry, investors, and political players, The training was also a great overview of all the important topics for startup founders

Omegga

The connections we made with the other startups were so valuable, as well as the focus on skills development for people coming from academia. Thanks to Seedbed we met other like-minded founders, and this made us feel that together we can change the world.

Greenhub

We had a great time and now we have many possibilities for future partnerships with fellow startups from the Seedbed programme.

Myriad

Thanks to Seedbed, we now have a much sharper vision. We received excellent business coaching and we learned key industry insights which shifted us from being a team with one product concept to becoming a focused business with a full range of possibilities. Our business strategy has radically changed and we have just received positive feedback on a new customer pilot project

Evanium

Seedbed was pivotal for us to start conversations with all kinds of different stakeholders. It was also brilliant for highlighting what kind of innovations are critical in the agrifood sector. We made some good contacts and we now have some great tools to work with, to pursue bigger ideas

BFF

The programme magnified the market landscape and the customer need at a degree we hadn’t previously seen. The specialist agrifood group dynamic was really beneficial and the peer-to-peer support, and the relationships we built have helped with our ongoing development.

SyMO3

Seedbed helped us bring our project alive with good support and guidance from our coach. The programme introduced us to some valuable industry connections and we learned a lot about our market to pivot along the way. The IP training was great – we have now registered our patent and have an approved trademark in place.

Icesupp

The Seedbed programme was full of interesting workshops, and we benefited a lot from all the networking events. The mentoring also helped us to clarify many doubts that we had about our business.

Bread Free S.L

Seedbed is the most beneficial programme we have participated in! All the learnings and connections gained have been invaluable to our business development and future success. We enjoyed the regular connections with other entrepreneurs in the food industry at a similar stage of development to us – there was a lot of support and sharing of resources

Seedbed is a very robust program covering all the elements that a startup needs to understand about business development. Many opportunities have come out of the programme with potential customers and investors, and new sources of inputs and production.

Where we started on the programme and where we now seem miles apart! We originally positioned ourselves as a plant-based alternative to mimic meat. Through the market discovery journey, we came to understand that what we have is something much better – consumers are demanding a source of plant protein that is tasty and nutritious, not just food that mimics animal products, and Seedbed made it possible for us to be on the leading edge of this movement in plant-based foods.

AnuLife

Seedbed enabled us to conduct the research we needed to validate our customer targeting. We built a great foundation to test our prototype in the market, and by speaking to suppliers, manufacturers, and buyers, we expanded our industry network, which resulted in a commercial contract with a large multinational. It’s a programme that we would highly recommend to any new startup in the agrifood industry! 

The networking and community element was wonderful!  We had the opportunity to travel to events around Europe that were of great interest to our startup. We met like-minded people in food tech and fantastic partners who can boost our business development. Thanks to the customer connections training and input from our mentors, by the end of the programme we had a better understanding of what our clients are interested in and how we can continue to develop our products to provide value.

Seedbed helped us to begin trading! Many good connections were made and we refined our business model with the support of great coaches who had relevant industry experience and a willingness to go the extra mile. As a result of our market discovery, we have just secured a second new raw materials supplier and we have found other new companies willing to test our products. We also reconnected with PepsiCo who we are now are in a testing phase with.

The training was concise and provided knowledge that is applicable in the real world of business. Our mentor had previously founded his own food company and was working at a global FMCG company. He was always supportive and he will continue to be an important advisor in our business development. His advice really helped us in the development of our products to be ready for a market launch. We have since listed our products in 30 stores, with two retail chains, and have set up a manufacturing facility.

SavFood

Thanks to Seedbed we met companies who are interested to work with us as soon as our final product is ready. We pivoted our business after completing our market discovery journey and we started collaborations with other teams that we met whilst taking part in the programme.

Venus

No other programme taught us as much as Seedbed has! We met a lot of relevant industry contacts and being science-based, we managed to overcome our challenge to be less ‘sciency’ in how we communicate. The training really helped us to define and deliver our message with impact to the right audience – we are pitch gurus now, it’s great!  The community and coaching sessions were extremely valuable too.

BeWorm

Our business has boosted since joining Seedbed! The Seedbed team were very supportive in introducing us to new contacts. We had two mentors with expertise on different subjects and both of them were very helpful, motivating, and kind. We also got to know startups from other EIT Food programmes that we can work with at a later stage.

Seedbed helped us develop a more attainable business plan. Both investors and potential customers were very interested in us when they saw we are part of the EIT Food Seedbed Incubator – It became our driving force. During the 6 months, we went from being a prototype to registering a startup as a newly emerging sustainable business. We also received a grant and two prizes from government bodies. Thanks for everything Seedbed!

Biopols

Seedbed opened several future doors for us within the European food startup scene. We would recommend the programme, especially for very early commercial stages. It allows for evaluating and optimising a business idea, and it presents many lucrative opportunities thanks to its excellent network. Great training on messaging & pitching too! We would recommend Seedbed, especially to teams that are really new to business, i.e. they have never written a funding application or a business plan before.

Colipi

Seedbed has opened countless doors! We made new friends with like minded entrepreneurs, and we were introduced to many potential clients from different countries around the world. Thanks to all the training and events, over 500 people tested our products and we received two letters of intention to produce and distribute our products, plus interest from three global clients!

Seavolution

Seedbed is valuable for early stage startups, who are looking to expand their network and evaluate their business idea. The programme teaches you about all the important startup creation steps.

Milgogi

We are so grateful for all the EIT Food Network connections, the pan-Europism, the industry experts, especially the mentors, and we connected to many likeminded startups in our sector.

Meet Future

Seedbed enabled possibilities for us to interact with different stakeholders from the food supply value chain. We would recommend the programme for the networking opportunities and the number of industry experts involved in the process, along with their willingness to help you.

ODS Protein

We valued the connections we made with other start ups and EIT Food’s big network of relevant players. Seedbed helped us define our business model and it has opened up many doors to a more international panorama.

Yeastime

It was a great experience! Seedbed expanded our network, and it helped us gain good knowledge in the area of market discovery and business planning. We valued all the new connections and the supportive community.

AA+

Since the start of Seedbed, we have been in contact with several potential use cases and clients. The programme really helped with business connections and we highly recommend our network to apply for it.The Seedbed team was professional & friendly, and they provided the best networking and advice for our business stage.

Tracifier

Seedbed sets the tone for a more collaborative Europe. The programme offering, the support from collaborative minds, and the network was quite a good buffet to have enough food for the coming months!

ClearCO2

We valued the community where you can meet people with the same interests & ambitions, and learn about each other’s similar challanges. This programme gives you a summary of the all the market opportunities and the things you should be thinking of to de-risk your commercialisation journey.

Eye-Q

This is a useful programme for those who want to become an entrepreneur! It was an educational and very interesting experience, which enhanced our commercial development path. We started collaborations with other groups that we met in the program and we pivoted our business plan after completing our market discovery journey. We would like to stay in touch with EIT Food and attend networking events for future collaborations when our final MVP is ready.

Bio Restart