Food Innovation at Expo Milan 2015
THE FOOD TECH TEAMS SELECTED TO BE THE STARS OF THE BUSINESS
INCUBATOR, “FEEDING THE ACCELERATOR” REVEALED
July 8th 2015, Milan – The USA Pavilion’s innovation program at Expo Milano 2015, “Feeding the
Accelerator” announced today the 10 entrepreneurial teams selected to be part of its startup incubator.
The teams will present their innovative business models in the development of new approaches to food in
the context of EXPO 2015’s theme, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.
Presented and started earlier in March in Milan during a pitch competition at Seeds&Chips, the project is
curated by AtelierSlice with Microsoft, in partnership with FedEx, PepsiCo, Illy and Copernico.
Feeding the Accelerator connects the selected entrepreneurial teams and their ambition to develop creative
strategies for the food value chain, from farming, to food distribution, nutrition, community building, and
knowledge sharing to the experience and infrastructures of the partnering companies of the USA Pavilion.
By providing mentorship from leading industry professionals, as well as chefs, artists, architects and theorists
to big corporate structures and start-ups alike, Feeding the Accelerator creates synergies between an entire
ecosystem of disciplines around food.
“Feeding the Accelerator is one of the key initiatives in innovation taking place at EXPO and gives the
world an opportunity to see American collaboration at work, as leaders in industry look to support the
most innovative food and tech entrepreneurs. We believe the selected teams will play an essential role in
uncovering the ideas and people needed to address the global challenge of feeding more than nine
billion by 2050.” said Ambassador Douglas T. Hickey, USA Pavilion Commissioner General.
The 10 startups selected to be part of the Feeding the Accelerator program are:
•
PNAT: new ways of farming through modular floating greenhouses which will allow for intensive
cultivation water purification using solar energy (Italy) - http://www.pnat.net/
•
MICROVITA: an alternative, sustainable animal feed which does not compete with human feeding
through an efficient industrial system to convert organic by-products into protein feed for livestock
using houseflies (Italy) - http://microvita2050.com/
•
ICE DREAMS: a revolutionary way to produce artisanal Italian gelato that substitutes traditional
ingredients such as milk, eggs, and artificial additives, requiring only water (Italy) http://icedreams.it/
•
FOODTRACE: new tools for the wholesale marketplace to help farmers and artisans sell more
efficiently to more informed and targeted buyers through a cloud-based software platform (US) http://thefoodtrace.com/
•
COOKBOOTH: the future of the cookbook through an accessible self-publishing tool that will allow
professional and amateur chefs alike document, share, and monetize their knowledge,
experimentations, and techniques (UK/Spain)- http://www.cookbooth.com/
•
KALULU: Develops shorter supply chains that connect farmers directly to local consumer, reducing
carbon footprints, and increasing the involvement of farmers in their communities (Italy) http://kalulu.it/
•
URBAN PASTORAL: Develops collectives of integrated food and agricultural businesses, that
understand food as a vehicle for social, economic, and environmental progress (US) http://urbanpastoralcollective.squarespace.com/landing/
•
GREENONYX: develops a smart-home appliance designed for urban settings which delivers "just
picked fresh" super vegetables at a-press-of-a-button (Israel) - http://www.greenonyx.biz/
•
IGNITIA: provides a highly accurate location specific weather forecast technology which improves
farmers’ everyday decision making in remote areas of West Africa by SMS (US/Sweden)http://www.ignitia.se/
•
MINTSCRAPS: an online platform that helps businesses throughout the food supply chain
manage food waste with analytical data to help save thousands of dollars in monthly food
purchasing and waste disposal costs (US) - https://www.mintscraps.com/
***
About Friends of the USA Pavilion Milano 2015
The U.S. Department of State has selected the Friends of the USA Pavilion Milano 2015 as its private sector partner
to work with the U.S. government to develop and implement an official American presence at the Expo. Friends of
the USA Pavilion Milano 2015, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a collaboration between the James Beard
Foundation (JBF) and the International Culinary Center (ICC), in association with the American Chamber of
Commerce in Italy, whose mission is to conceive, design, fundraise for, and produce the USA Pavilion and programs
at Expo Milano 2015.
The USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 would not be possible without the generous support provided by our
growing list of partners: General Electric, NUSSLI, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, CNH Industrial, PepsiCo, Microsoft,
Uvet, Walgreens Boots Alliance, DHL, Brand USA ,DuPont, Adler Pelzer, Boeing, Cisco, Luxxotica, Brooks Brothers,
illy, Bank of America, EMC, 3M, Research Frontiers, Vidsys, Alaska Seafood, Dow, Uber, McKinsey & Company,
Fleishman Hillard, U.S. Sustainability Alliance, Mapei, American Hardwood Export Council, Food Export Association
of the Midwest USA, Food Export USA-Northeast, NAEGA, USA Poultry & Egg Commission, USA Rice Federation,
U.S. Dairy Export Council, U.S. Grains Council, U.S. Soybean Export Council, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel,
Greenhouse Communications LLC, Copernico, Sweet Street Desserts and the Bracco Group.
Through the leadership of Commissioner General Doug Hickey and the overall direction of the U.S. Department of
State, the Friends organization oversees every aspect of the project in consultation with a team of experts across
the science, business, technology, agriculture, sustainability, design and other fields. The pavilion’s management
and program is directed by President Dorothy Hamilton (founder and CEO of ICC), Chief Executive Officer Charlie
Faas, and Chief Creative Officer Mitchell Davis (EVP of JBF). Biber Architects has been selected to design the USA
Pavilion, and Thinc Design is serving as USA Pavilion exhibition designer.
For more information, visit: www.usapavilion2015.net and www.expo2015.org/en.
Twitter: @USAPavilion2015 - https://twitter.com/USAPavilion2015
Facebook: USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 - https://www.facebook.com/usapavilion2015
Instagram: @USAPavilion2015 - https://instagram.com/usapavilion2015/
Hashtags:
#1in9bn -- One in 9 Billion
#FoodTruckNation – USA Pavilion Food Truck Nation
#TasteUSA – USA Pavilion Food Truck Nation
#JBAR -- James Beard American Restaurant
#Expo2015 -- Expo-wide feed
Ketchum Italia - Ufficio Stampa Padiglione USA
Tel. 02.624119.11; 335 7703139
[email protected]
[email protected]
Massimo Garanzini, Marcello Laugelli, Sara Gatti, Paola Chiasserini,
Valeria Tornaghi, Elena Bonatti, Rachel Niemoller, Virginia Merz