EU Agrifood & Foodtech Startup Accelerator

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EIT Food Accelerator Network (FAN) – Call for Startups 2026 OPEN CALLS The call supports high-potential agrifood and foodtech startups to validate their technologies, accelerate go-to-market readiness, and access European expertise, networks, and funding through the EIT Food Accelerator Network. EIT Food accelerates innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all. We create connections right across the food system that stimulate new ideas and innovations to drive change: between startups and corporates; between food entrepreneurs and investors; between consumers and industry; between research and action; between ideas and reality; between present and future. Our focus Supported by the EU, we invest in projects, organisations and individuals that share our goals for a healthy and sustainable food system. Our innovation projects are delivered with a combination of industry, education and research partners to improve environmental and health outcomes by developing solutions that align with our three missions: Healthier Lives Through Food We will make a material difference to quality of life by enabling more consumers to have better choices through access to affordable, healthier food products and actionable information. Food System Resilience We’ll improve food security and safety for consumers everywhere by enabling and establishing resilient and dependable digitally enabled food supply chains. Net Zero Food System We will enable the transition to a net zero food system, measuring and quantifying the change through reduced CO2 equivalent emissions. Healthier Lives Through Food We will make a material difference to quality of life by enabling more consumers to have better choices through access to affordable, healthier food products and actionable information. Nutritious, diverse food choices can benefit people and planet. Yet healthy food choices are not accessible to all consumers, nor viable for industry at scale due to affordability, lack of awareness and profitability. Working as a community, EIT Food aims to increase the uptake of balanced, sustainable and healthy diets. We raise awareness about the relationship between nutrition and health. We provide support for innovative solutions for affordable products. And we offer policy interventions that prioritise soil health, nutrition and food education. EIT Food's Healthier Lives Through Food mission framework is based on three targets where the EIT Food community can have the most impact, and in the areas of greatest need. These are: Improving product choice and supply for a balanced diet for people and planet Diversifying protein choices for food products Optimising the nutrient density of food. This is reflected in our community building and advocacy activities and underpins the design of our funding and partnership opportunities. Real progress to prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) needs radical food systems transformation so that nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable diets are available to all people. This also needs to be associated with the importance of exercise. Addressing diet-related NCDs can only be achieved through dietary behaviour change, which requires a variety of stakeholders working hand in hand to set priorities for NCDs to be tackled and action points to be addressed. Above all it requires the engagement of all populations, including disadvantaged groups who may lack the financial resources, time and/or knowledge to make major lifestyle changes. RELATED STARTUPS IN OUR NETWORK Vegg Foods V. G. Freyia Labs Ltd Slim Protiberia MBP BioTech NEW ERA FOOD (previously JUSTAKE) POTENTIAL: Precision Optimisation Tools for Enhanced NutriTIonal and Agronomic Lifecycle 2025 > 2026 PROJECT IMPACT FUNDING FRAMEWORK (IFF) Leveraging advanced AI, IoT sensors, NIR spectroscopy, and remote sensing to predict potato yield and quality. This platform integrates multi-source data to provide farmers with real-time, actionable insights, optimising input use for… CRAFT 2025 > 2027 PROJECT IMPACT FUNDING FRAMEWORK (IFF) CRAFT’s mission is to integrate cultivated meat into real farms, ensuring production is farmer-led and locally embedded. The project will demonstrate how cultivated meat can coexist with traditional livestock and crops, creating resilient… ISAAP: Innovative Strategies to Accelerate Adoption and Consumption of Plant-Based Food 2025 > 2027 PROJECT IMPACT FUNDING FRAMEWORK (IFF) ISAAP's mission is to support a healthier, more sustainable, and resilient food system by promoting plant-based foods and building strong national action plans in Portugal and Czechia. ScaleUp Regenerative Agriculture with EIT Food 2024 > 2025 PROJECT EIT Food is strategically supporting transitioning to more regenerative agriculture methods at farm-level in Europe to meet its climate change targets, food security needs, protect our farmland and build a healthier food system through the… Food System Resilience We’ll improve food security and safety for consumers everywhere by enabling and establishing resilient and dependable digitally enabled food supply chains. The current food system is vulnerable to external shocks, putting stakeholders across the entire value chain at risk. To reduce this risk and increase food security and safety for consumers everywhere, at all times, we must collaborate to enable fairer, more resilient and transparent food supply chains that are rooted in innovation and equitable business models. EIT Food's Food System Resilience mission framework is based on three targets where the EIT Food community can have the most impact, and in the areas of greatest need. These are: Improving sustainable and resilient food production practices Improving urban integration of shorter supply chains Investing in the growth of fair and resilient business models supporting food security. This is reflected in our community building and advocacy activities and underpins the design of our funding and partnership opportunities. In order to create a fairer and more resilient food system, radical food systems transformation is required to ensure risk is alleviated from all points of the food value chain and food security is prioritised across all activity. To achieve this, key enablers of change include the digitalisation of consumer communication and labelling to build trust as well as the development of food insecurity indicators and framework. RELATED STARTUPS IN OUR NETWORK Polium Scientific Tank Solution Seads RBT - Rapid Listeria Testing PATHFINDER Opterra Óir na Farraige 2026 > 2027 PROJECT IMPACT FUNDING FRAMEWORK (IFF) Óir na Farraige is an innovative regenerative aquaculture initiative establishing a commercial seaweed farm in Irish Waters to supply sustainably cultivated biomass to the biostimulant industry. The project replaces wild-harvested seaweed…