FoodBytes! recently announced the 20 emerging startups pitching at their London future of food and agriculture event on September 13th. We’re big fans of events that give new, innovative companies a chance to show off what they’re working — in fact, the Startup Showcase is one of the most popular parts of our upcoming Smart Kitchen Summit.
Until then (the next event is October 8-9th, if you’re interested!), here are a few startups pitching at FoodBytes! London that caught our eye:
Mimica
This U.K. startup has developed gelatine labels that turn “bumpy” to indicate when fresh food is past its prime. Called “Mimica Touch,” the label is meant to reduce food waste and lead to large-scale behavior change for both consumers and retailers, who as of now have been constrained by overly-cautious expiration dates. When we last reported on Mimica in March, they were piloting their technology with Danish dairy giant Arla Foods and expect to take it mainstream soon.
TIPA
Also in the smart packaging space is TIPA. The Israeli company makes bags which look and act like regular plastic, but are fully compostable. Flexible plastic, used as packaging for everything from produce to coffee beans, is traditionally very difficult to recycle because it’s a blend of several materials. However, TIPA has developed a material that is transparent, flexible, and durable, but will break down into compost in 6 months.
Photo: Garcon Wines.
Garçon Wines
Sometimes companies make head-slappingly simple innovations that make you wonder why no one ever that of that before. Garçon Wines has done just that: They make full-size flat wine bottles that can fit through your letterbox, so you don’t have to wait at home for your delivery or chase it down at the local Post Office. Their bottles are also made of 100% recycled plastic (no breakage!) and made in the U.K.
Photo: Wikimedia
Easilys
French startup Easilys is working to optimizing back of house management for restaurants and reduce food waste. Their purchasing software helps organize ingredient suppliers, store (and calculate the cost of) each recipe, and track food waste, among other services. Altogether, the company claims their software will save restaurants 15% on food costs. Imagine if U.K. restaurant food waste startup Winnow and restaurant software company Ingest.ai had a baby — that would be Easilys.
Connecterra
This Amsterdam-based startup has created an artificial intelligence platform to help dairy farmers manage their cows. Dubbed ‘Ida,’ it learns cows’ behavioral patterns to improve animal welfare, increase dairy farm productivity, and generally make dairy farmers’ lives a lot simpler. You can actually check out a chat we had with their CEO on our food robot podcast, The Spoon: Automat.
Photo: Provenance
Provenance
If you’ve ever been around a millennial (or if you are one — hi!) you’ve probably heard the question: “Is it local?” Provenance and sourcing are growing trends in the food world; people are starting to care more about where their food comes from. Which is why the aptly-named U.K. company Provenance has come around at such an opportune time.
Their platform partners with suppliers to gather and verify origin stories for their products and display this information online. They’re also one of several companies experimenting with blockchain to increase supply chain transparency; FoodLogiQ, Ripe.io, and even Nestlé and Alibaba are playing with the emerging technology to tackle food fraud, track product recalls, and increase traceability.
There are plenty more startups presenting at FoodBytes!, and you can see the full lineup here.
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The Startup Showcase applications for Smart Kitchen Summit close today! Keep an eye out over the next few weeks to see which groundbreaking young companies will pitch at SKS in Seattle this October.
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