Emily Little

Emily Little

EquinomThe final day of the IFT FIRST Annual Event and Expo included The Pitch, a pitch competition at the Startup Pavilion. Representatives from 26 startups around the world gave their sixty-second pitch and competed for the title of Best Startup of IFT FIRST 2022.

The winner of the competition was Equinom, a food-tech company based in the United States and Israel. Equinom supplies plant-based ingredients to a variety of manufacturers with nutrition built into the seeds of the ingredient. Galit Fenreich, chief marketing officer, presented the startup to the audience and accepted the title of Best Startup of IFT FIRST 2022.

The following list includes all 26 startups that participated in The Pitch: Alchemeat, Antithesis Foods, Apparo, B.T. Sweet, CANE’d, Cella Farms, Dvash Organics, Equinom, Evergrain Ingredients, Green Era, Innovafead, Lemnature Aquafarms, Levelle, MycoLogic, Nutraberry, Otrafy, Paragon Pure, Planetarians, Prodigest, QALIPRO, Terviva, Thimus, Upcycled Foods, Vegify, Victory Hemp Foods.

The products and services presented ranged from fermented grain flour to women-focused sports nutrition to anaerobic food digesters. Following the pitch presentations, audience members voted for who they believed had the best pitch and represented the best startup. There were 177 unique votes tallied to determine the winner.

The Startup Pavilion was a part of the Business FIRST programming at the IFT FIRST event, which featured presentations and panels on ingredient trends, innovation, startup tips, and other business strategies. The Pitch was sponsored by Catapult Commercialization Services, Upcycled Food Association, and Schreiber Foods.

By winning the pitch competition, Equinom will receive substantial social media coverage from IFT and other outlets, a feature in the September issue of Food Technology magazine, and a six-month group membership to IFT.

About the Author

Emily Little is an associate editor of Food Technology ([email protected]).
Emily Little

Digital Exclusives right arrow

Meat Companies Seek New Plant-Based Niches

Leading meat companies are venturing into the plant-based category via investment in startups and by developing their own new alt-meat products and also via the development of hybrid meat/alt-meat offerings.

Plant-Based Invades the Dairy Case

The success of the plant-based dairy category suggests what’s possible for alt-meat makers if they can overcome current market challenges.

Cultivating Cannabis Indoors

A look at some of the latest trends in controlled environment agriculture cannabis growing.

Where’s the Beef (Analogue)?

The aisles of the IFT FIRST expo hall were a jarring contrast to what’s actually happening in grocery store aisles, where the current generation of plant-based meat analogues is experiencing declining sales even as prices are being cut.

Food Technology Articles right arrow

Hot, Hot, Hot: Spices and Seasonings

A visually oriented overview of spice and seasoning ingredient trends.

Checking on Portions

An infographic describing how consumers use portion control to manage their diet.

Strong and Balanced Food for Women

Products tailored for women’s health are on the rise, made by women, for women.

Recent Brain Food right arrow

A New Day at the FDA

IFT weighs in on the agency’s future in the wake of the Reagan-Udall Report and FDA Commissioner Califf’s response.

Members Say IFT Offers Everything You Need to Prepare for an Uncertain Future

Learn how IFT boosts connections, efficiencies, and inspiration for its members.

More on the FDA's Food Traceability Final Rule

In a new white paper, our experts examine the FDA’s Food Traceability Final Rule implications—and its novel concepts first proposed by IFT.