Selected by the FoodNexus Italy panel, composed by experts from Barilla, Electrolux, Granarolo, ICA and the University of Bologna, the two Italian startups will participate to the European Finals in the Netherlands.
Melixa and Revoilution are the top Italian startups selected by FoodNexus Challenge to participate to the European Final taking place next December 13th in Wageningen, The Netherlands.
20 startups applied to the challenge and 10 were shortlisted to pitch their ideas on October 20th during an event organized at the Bologna Business School premises. A panel of FoodNexus Italy experts composed by the University of Bologna, Barilla, Electrolux, Granarolo, ICA assessed the startups’ team, scalability, and impact on our food system.
With the EVA appliance, Revoilution allows the consumer to consume fresh oil by directly milling selected pulp at home when needed.
Melixa produces hive remote monitoring systems based on a sustainable and easy-to-use solution. Hobbyist & professional beekeepers will have the complete control of the apiary in their hands.
" We are acknowledge as the Oil Nespresso, this is because we are changing a commodity like olive oil into a premium product and a unique experience. Thanks to our fresh and tailored oil, we are changing the rules of a $60Bn business, going zero-to-waste, defending biodiversity and raising the profits of farmers. But beyond this, we are changing the way we interact with food towards more healthier and high-quality solutions, says Antonio Pagliaro from Revoilution. “This is our Revolution"
"We are very happy about the results. We are committed to protect the environment and biodiversity as these are two important elements of the food value chain. Bees are the main actor of pollination activity and are exposed to external risk, says the Melixa staff. “our objective is to supply a data monitoring and elaboration appliance that makes it efficient and effective for the beekeepers to do their work. The hardware and the software are entirely made in Italy.”
“We discovered some very unique start-ups with a strong business idea combining leveraging on the expertise from the agro-food sector together with the technology and creativity that typically distinguish the “made in italy” combining together tradition and innovation” says Beatrice Maestri - Open Innovation Project Manager at Electrolux Italia.
“ We are very happy to give international voice to future Italian excellence, thank s to the collaboration between industries, universities, accelerators and incubators which made possible the first edition of the FoodNexus Startup Challenge” comments Maurizio Sobrero – Panel member and University professor. “ It is a very tangible way to show the importance of joining forces in a fundamental sector – like agrifood – and to demonstrate the potentialities of the Foodnexus partnership”
A key component of the challenge is to foster a collaborative innovation ecosystem between all the actors whose goal is to enable technology development and innovation. This is why FoodNexus has relied on respected entities to support the Italian round of the challenge and wishes to thank all of them: Startupbootcamp, PNICube, Aster, Parco Tecnologico Padano, Hub Innovazione Trentino, Startup WeekEnd, Future Food Ecosystem, HFarm, Premio Marzotto, BancaIntesa, UniCredit.
On Friday December 13, Wageningen will host the European Finals of the challenge. Revoilution and Melixa will compete for the grand prize of €50,000 along with the finalists from Denmark, Spain, The Netherlands, Ireland, France and Belgium. This event promises to be an even greater demonstration of breakthrough startups contributing to a better food system.