Future Food-Tech today announced an exclusive innovation challenge with The Kraft Heinz Company, culminating at the flagship Future Food-Tech San Francisco summit on March 16-17. The challenge seeks innovative solutions to unleash the power of tomatoes, delivering on taste, sustainability, nutrition, convenience and/or affordability.

The Innovation Challenge

Kraft Heinz is interested in a wide range of solutions including ingredients, processing, and packaging technologies, as well as finished products, and companies are encouraged to have proof of principle and prototypes. Start-ups are invited to apply before Friday January 20, 2023, and can find additional information on the challenge at https://futurefoodtechsf.com/innovation-challenge/.

Three finalists will be selected to pitch their innovative solutions to Kraft Heinz judges in front of a global audience of food brands, corporations and investors at the Future Food-Tech San Francisco summit on March 16-17, 2023, and the winning start-up will be revealed by Kraft Heinz live on stage. The finalists will also be invited to attend both days of networking and insights at the summit and will benefit from considerable brand visibility to Future Food-Tech’s global network.

The innovation challenge winner will receive extensive development opportunities, including coaching and expertise from Kraft Heinz North America that may encompass technical, regulatory, innovation, marketing, scale-up and distribution guidance, as well as access to Kraft Heinz facilities for on-site support.

Commenting on the challenge, Maxine Roman, New Ventures & Disruptive R&D Lead at Kraft Heinz, said: “At Kraft Heinz, we have the ambition to lead the future of food, and we can’t do it alone. We’re accelerating innovation and growth by bringing in outside expertise to augment what we can do. Kraft Heinz has deep roots in cultivating high quality tomatoes for our iconic brands, and in this challenge, we’re asking food-tech innovators to help us inspire the future of this critical ingredient. What else can we do to make tomatoes better for consumers and our planet?”

The Insights Webinar

On Tuesday, December 13 at 8 AM PST, Maxine Roman and Erin Wahal, Head of Research and Development – Taste, Meals, and Away from Home at Kraft Heinz, will sit down with the Future Food-Tech team to provide additional information about the Innovation Challenge. The free and interactive webinar will explain the drivers behind the challenge, the organization’s approach to partnerships, and tips for start-ups to differentiate their applications. Webinar registration is open at www.crowdcast.io/c/kraft-heinz-innovation-challenge.

Full details of the Future Food-Tech summit in San Francisco, with program, speaking faculty and registration can be found at: www.futurefoodtechsf.com