• The Catalan wine cluster INNOVI, the Gourmet Cluster, the Foodservice Cluster, the INNOVACC Catalan meat cluster and the Packaging Cluster, together with ACCIÓ and Eatable Adventures, are promoting the FoodStart.CAT project
• The initiative aims to identify start-ups from the entire value chain of the food sector to detect possible synergies and promote the culture of Open Innovation among the companies that make up the participating clusters

The most representative clusters of the food industry in Catalonia - The Catalan wine cluster INNOVI, the Gourmet Cluster, the Foodservice Cluster, the INNOVACC Catalan meat cluster and the Packaging Cluster -, together with the Agència per la Competitivitat de l'Empresa ACCIÓ and Eatable Adventures, launch the FoodStart.CAT project with the aim of promoting innovation among their companies through the identification of business opportunities with start-ups from around the world.

The FoodStart.CAT project was born from the collaboration between key players in the food sector who come together in the search for a common strategy to increase their market intelligence and increase the impact of their businesses, in a changing environment. Through innovative tools and a methodology defined by Eatable Adventures, experts in the selection of disruptive start-ups capable of revolutionizing the food, beverage, restaurant and technology industry applied to the sector, clusters and their companies will be able to connect with start-ups. ups with great potential and promote collaborative pilot projects.

This 2021, the project will be sequenced in four stages: a first phase of scouting, or exploration of start-ups that exist globally that can adapt to the needs already detected of the consortium's ecosystem; a second phase of training of the companies participating in the program, to design an action plan with the growth engines; a third phase of defining pilot projects with clusters and start-ups that have identified new competitive opportunities; and a final design phase of the program's execution plan. Subsequently, the launch of the open innovation program is foreseen.

This collaboration with startups will be a win-win, companies will become more permeable to innovation, promoting change and growth of partners, and entrepreneurs will be able to boost their business with consolidated companies, learning from their expertise.

The FoodStart.CAT program is a pioneer in Catalan industry and will allow us to understand the context of the food sector in a holistic and resilient way. The transversal axis will be collaboration and the culture of open innovation for growth as a connected community. In addition, the investment costs in generating new ideas will be reduced by being shared. In the coming months, different benchmark and open innovation workshops will be held for CEOs and Innovation teams of partner companies, where they will discover new technologies, examples of good practices, investment models and collaboration systems.

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For more information, contact your cluster: 

• Foodservice: https://www.clusterfoodservice.org

• Gourmet: https://www.cataloniagourmet.cat

• INNOVI: https://www.innovi.cat

• INNOVACC: https://www.innovacc.cat

• Packaging Cluster: hhttps://www.packagingcluster.com