• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to navigation
Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

  • Home
  • News
    • Alternative Protein
    • Business of Food
    • Connected Kitchen
    • COVID-19
    • Delivery & Commerce
    • Foodtech
    • Food Waste
    • Future of Drink
    • Future Food
    • Future of Grocery
    • Podcasts
    • Startups
    • Restaurant Tech
    • Robotics, AI & Data
  • Spoon Plus Central
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Connect
    • Send us a Tip
    • Spoon Newsletters
    • Slack
    • RSS
    • The Spoon Food Tech Survey Panel
  • Advertise
  • About
    • Staff
  • Become a Member
The Spoon
  • Home
  • News
    • Alternative Protein
    • Business of Food
    • Connected Kitchen
    • Foodtech
    • Food Waste
    • Future Food
    • Future of Grocery
    • Restaurant Tech
    • Robotics, AI & Data
  • Spoon Plus Central
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Slack
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Become a Member

accelerators

May 30, 2017

IKEA Gets In The Startup Game With Bootcamp Accelerator

In the last several years, we’ve seen major home, tech and food brands reach out to the startup community in the form of VC funds and accelerators to try and harness the massive innovation taking place in their markets. From General Mills, Kellogg and Google, companies are looking at hot areas like food, agriculture and housewares to find the disrupters to bring into their ecosystems.

IKEA, the maker of popular furniture and home goods – and most recently, smart lighting products – is getting into the mix, announcing the IKEA Bootcamp for startups looking to solve the world’s “Big Problems.” It’s clear IKEA is looking to cultivate and support entrepreneurs in hot innovative areas right now – including IoT, virtual reality, chatbots, food tech, drones and Big Data.

The Swedish home design conglomerate is no stranger to pursuing partnerships in search of the next big thing; last year they worked with IDEO and design students School of Industrial Design at the Ingvar Kamprad Design Centre at Lund University to come up with the Concept Kitchen 2025, a prototype of what kitchens of the future might look like.

“We are looking for startups to help us solve the IKEA ‘Big Problems’ around being truly affordable for the many people, reaching and interacting with the many, and enabling a positive impact on the planet, people and society.” -IKEA

The perks IKEA is offering startups are pretty enticing – fifteen companies will be selected to work and live in Almhult, Sweden with a stipend of 20,000 EU and free housing from September through December. Selected innovators will work in IKEA’s prototype shop and test labs and be able to tap into expertise within the IKEA Range & Supply group.

They’ll also have access to workshops, courses and mentorships from senior IKEA global business leaders. And maybe most appealing? IKEA is not looking to take any equity in accelerator startups but rather see it as an opportunity to collaborate, saying “We may end up being a customer, licensing your technology or even investing in your company, but first and foremost we want you to be working on the Big Problems and to share our vision to create a better everyday life for the many people.”

Applications are due August 6 to be part of the fall cohort, which runs from September 8 to December 18.

Are you a startup in food tech or the smart kitchen? Apply to demo at the Smart Kitchen Summit in the Startup Showcase on October 10 and 11 in Seattle, WA. Selected finalists will receive an opportunity to showcase their innovation to decision makers across tech, food, housewares and appliances, retail and commerce.

Apply by August 15 for a chance at a spot at the only event in North America dedicated to the future of food, cooking + the kitchen. 

 

 

May 12, 2017

Entrepreneur Hopes To Transform Shanghai Into Food Startup Hub

China’s middle class is changing and with that change comes emerging differences in the way their population consumes food. This week Fast Company introduced the new food tech accelerator, Bits x Bites – the first of its kind in China – and how it’s looking to help shape the nation’s food and agricultural systems. According to Matilda Ho, founder of Bits x Bites, the accelerator’s mission is to “shape the future of good food by investing in early stage startups that use technology to solve food system challenges in China.”

Ho founded the successful Chinese food startup Yimishiji, an online farmer’s market that delivers chemical-free produce by electric bike to Shanghai consumers. Her work with Yimishiji made Ho realize she wanted to expand on the vision and help build a community of other food tech startups that were working to shape food and agricultural sustainability across the country. The Bits x Bites accelerator was born and the 120-day program, based in Shanghai, gives startups capital, coaching and a like-minded community to network and help them take their idea to the next level.

While all of the startups under Bits x Bites are offering innovative solutions that are also common in other parts of the world, they also appeal to the nuances of Chinese culture. In Chinese culture, salad is not a common meal as it is in the West. Startup Frugee markets their cold-pressed, high-pressure pasteurized juice from fruits and vegetables as a nutrient-rich alternative to eating salads. Another participant startup, Alesca Life, addresses the issue of limited arable land in China by producing hydroponic farms that come in shipping containers, coupled with software to run them. Their first focus is on hotels that want to grow their own produce for in-house restaurants.

A third, currently unnamed startup addresses the issue of creating a sustainable animal agriculture system by developing noodles and other foods that are made from silkworm flour similar to the way other global startups are producing cricket flour. Since the worms are often discarded after using their cocoons for developing silk, using the by-product is a cost-effective alternative to wheat or other grain flours.

In an interview with That’s Magazine, Ho commented on her vision and drive to pursue an accelerator in Shanghai and how it might transform. the Chinese food system,

There are more than 4,000 startups opening shop in China every day. If we can harness some of this entrepreneurial energy to solve food system challenges, the impact can be astonishing. With our experience building the online farmers’ market Yimishiji, we hope to help more startups accelerate their growth and build a sustainable business.

Ho sees food tech startups growing rapidly in China, but recognizes that a lot of work needs to be done both in China and across the global food industry – starting with participation in accelerators like Bits x Bites. She is already seeing an influx of major Chinese food companies visiting the startup each week, looking for ways to get involved with food incubators or their own or to help make strides in the space. As a global leader, increased investments in tech for China’s food and agricultural system is important for sustainability inside and outside of the country.

Previous

Primary Sidebar

Footer

  • About
  • Sponsor the Spoon
  • The Spoon Events
  • Spoon Plus

© 2016–2021 The Spoon. All rights reserved.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube