Fi Europe, the F&B ingredients show, will once again this year recognise achievements in the industry through its Innovation Awards ceremony.
Startups launched within the last 5 years are invited to share their most innovative product, service or solution by submitting an entry before 17 September for the Startup Innovation Challenge 2021, while exhibiting companies participating in the event are invited to submit their entries before 24 September for the Fi Europe Innovation awards 2021. There are eight categories in the awards, seven of which are open to exhibitors only (online or in-person), while for the first time this year the Future of Nutrition category will be open to people from non-exhibiting companies, associations or organisations.
This year, the finalists and winners will be chosen by a jury of industry experts chaired by Prof Colin Dennis, who is Chair of the Board of Trustees of both IFIS and the British Nutrition Foundation. The winners will be announced live in Frankfurt during Fi Europe and will be streamed online too.
Prof Colin Dennis, who has been the awards jury chair since 2019, said: “Innovation in the food industry is vital to its future success. Meeting consumer and market needs, while considering the health of people and the planet, diversity and inclusivity are key drivers for companies. Innovations in processes, ingredients and products continue to deliver nutritional benefits and/ or new sensory experiences. The Fi Europe Innovation Awards recognise the many exciting developments in all these areas and illustrate the pace of innovation in the sector. I very much look forward to working with colleagues on judging the entries for 2021.”
Companies can submit an entry for one or more of the following categories: the future of nutrition, sensory innovation, plant-based innovation, clean label & natural innovation, health innovation, food tech innovation, sustainability and diversity and inclusion. The jury will give preference to products introduced within the last two years.
Now in its sixth year, the Startup Innovation challenge is aimed at supporting projects within the F&B industry through a specialised support programme tailored to start up’s needs.
The contest is open to start ups with innovations targeting the F&B sector with a focus on ingredients that improve taste, texture, appearance, and the nutritional value of food and beverages, revolutionary processing technologies, and technologies or services that support the F&B industry.
The awards will be hosted in conjunction with Fi Europe combined with Hi Europe 2021. All finalists will be invited to pre-record a presentation pitch which will be featured during the online event, as well as to give a live pitch in-person at Fi Europe combined with Hi Europe 2021.
