Registration Open for the Fourth Edition of the International Startup Competition "Culinary Action! On The Road"
Registration is now open for the fourth edition of the On The Road competition, an international entrepreneurship program aimed at foodtech startups by Culinary Action!, part of the GOe–Gastronomy Open Ecosystem, a strategic initiative of the Basque Culinary Center. The On The Road competition will begin in September 2024 and will be held through competitions in Copenhagen (Denmark), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Tokyo (Japan), Bahrain (Kingdom of Bahrain), London (United Kingdom), and Boston (USA), in collaboration with local partners such as Danish Startup Group, Dansk Erhverv, Tech BBQ, CIC (Cambridge Innovation Center), Tokyo Food Institute, Tokyo Tatemono, OMT, and University College of London (UCL).
This year, "On The Road" will seek startups whose activities are established within the framework of 360º gastronomy and food technology. The initiative, driven by the Basque Culinary Center and the Basque Government through Hazi Fundazioa, is aimed at startups proposing product or service ideas that promote the transformation of agents in the gastronomy value chain: chefs, managers, producers, distributors, diners, etc.
All startups interested in participating can submit their application to be part of this competition through the Culinary Action! website (https://culinaryaction.com/ontheroad/). Once the registration period ends, approximately one month before each event, Culinary Action! officials and local partners will analyze the submitted startups and select five finalists in each of the cities where the local competitions will be held. To participate in the championship, startups must be in the initial, early stage, or "seed" phase.
On the days of local competition, the finalist startups will present their projects to a team of experts and attendees, including investors, mentors, and local agents, in an 'elevator pitch' format, accompanied by round tables and keynote speakers. Afterward, the team of experts will select a winning startup at each stop.
The winning startups at each local event will have the opportunity to develop research and innovation projects for 20 hours at BCC Innovation, the technology center in gastronomy of the Basque Culinary Center. Additionally, during this time, the startups will have access to the network of experts and mentors of the Basque Culinary Center and GOe ecosystem and will receive various types of support, such as access to the center's investor network, networking, or support for integrating into the local ecosystem.
The six local finalists will compete in a grand final to be held in early 2025 in Donostia-San Sebastián, where the winning startups from each country will compete, and the winner of the fourth edition of "On The Road" will be chosen. The winner will be awarded six months of residency at the startup incubator and an additional 25-hour voucher for research and innovation projects at the technology center in gastronomy.
Previous Editions
The Tokyo-based startup Oissy, which focuses on artificial intelligence technology using its flavor sensor Leo, that reproduces the human sense of taste to carry out food flavor analysis, data-based advisory, and joint taste research, was selected as the winner of the third edition. Finalists included Alcheme Bio (New York), Økoskabet (Copenhagen), WNWN Foods Lab (London), and Biotango (Buenos Aires).
In the second edition of the championship, Reborn Farms, a New York-based startup focused on building hyperlocal food systems in economically disadvantaged areas due to racial or climate equity, was the winner. Finalists included Origino (Buenos Aires), Mimic Seafood (Copenhagen), O'Taste (Tel Aviv), and Greenase (Tokyo).
The Danish startup Dryk was the winner of the first edition of Culinary Action! On The Road for its commitment to health and sustainability and its work in developing nutritious dairy and vegan beverages from plant protein. Also present in the final in Donostia-San Sebastián were MOA foodtech (Madrid), Bordery (Biarritz), and ANINA Culinary Art (Tel Aviv).