Food Innovation winners celebrate successful day in Manchester

Winners of the first-ever Food Innovation Network Awards announced at Food Industry Innovation 2018.

 

7 March 2018

From bringing pickled eggs to the people to growing greenery under Glasgow Central Station, the 10 SMEs given  the first-ever Food Innovation Network Awards in Manchester yesterday represented a diverse range of nutritional solutions.

The awards took place during the Food Industry Innovation 2018 event; which focused on enhanced food quality, with a showcase of Innovate UK-funded projects in the post-farm gate food supply chain, and a discussion of the challenges and opportunities involved in a safe and efficient supply chain; the optimisation of food composition; innovation in food processing and manufacturing and waste valorisation.

The awards were announced after 15 finalists had presented their pitches to a panel of leading food and drink industry experts for the chance to win a share of £50,000 funding.

Food and farming minister George Eustice said:¬†‚ÄúI want to congratulate the winners of the first Food Innovation Network fund, which will support small businesses, become more competitive, profitable and resilient – delivering innovations from the laboratory to the consumer.”

The award-winners were:

• Afrique FoodPro – powdered mix for bean fritters, with an estimated market value of ¬£200,000 per year.
• Booch & Brine, Scale up Kombucha! – a project that aims to scale up production and benefit other UK SMEs via knowledge transfer to academia.
• The Cheshire Saffron Company – using hydroponic techniques to grow saffron more efficiently.
• Crafty Tech Ltd – aiming to¬†transform the effectiveness of conveyor belts to enhance the production line.
• Central Stems – based underground beneath Glasgow Central Station, Central Stems will trial food production using hydroponics and natural composting to address food waste and agricultural emissions.
• Drink Baotic – validating the digestive benefits of Baotic.
• LA Brewery – producing non-alcoholic kombucha drinks with a long shelf life.
• PyroGenesys Ltd – converting energy from waste by-products to animal feed ingredients.
• Purely Pickled Eggs Ltd – finding novel ways of packaging pickled eggs.
• Scratch Meals Ltd – healthy pies with sustainable packaging.

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