Registration now open

This entrepreneurship event will be full of shared ideas and as early-stage start-ups come together to address the opportunities and challenges in food innovation and commercialization. Participate for one day or both! Descriptions of each day below.

October 10: Food-Tech Pitch Contest

• Have a project in food technologies?
• Are you a start-up business in the novel food space?
• Are you searching for support to accelerate your development and locate capital to grow your idea?

Join the pitch event on October 10 at the NC Food Innovation Lab. The pitch event will gather early stage companies and projects tackling the opportunities and challenges of the future of food. Each presenter will receive feedback from a panel of industry experts including: Bill Aimutis (Executive Director, NCFIL), Thierry Duvanel (Director of Innovation, Bühler Group), Mariliis Holm (Co-Founder & Partner, Sustainable Food Ventures).

Pitch Prizes

• Early-stage project pitch winner will receive three (3) hours of free consultation with NCFIL experts (value $1K).
• Startup pitch winner will receive one day of free access to the NCFIL production environment (value $5K).
• $500 prize for the best beverage project - Sponsored by Westrock Coffee Company.

Want to enter the competition? Apply here by September 29.

October 11: Workshop with the NC Food Innovation Lab

• Are you a startup or an early-stage company active in novel food?
• Are you searching for support to accelerate your development or scale-up your production?
• Are you looking for partnerships to industrialize your production?

Join the workshop on Oct 11 at the NC Food Innovation Lab. The workshop, led by Dr. Bill Aimutis, Executive Director of the NC Food Innovation Lab, will gather top innovators like you and present solutions to help grow your business. Between workshop sessions, hear from Andrew Ive, General Partner at Big Idea Ventures, Mary Lesa Pegg, from the Economic Development Partnership of NC, and Dr. Eliana Cossio, VP of Global R&D, Product Development at Westrock Coffee Company.

Program for October 10: Food-Tech Pitch Contest

9:00  Registration

9:30  Welcome, introductions

9:45   Keynote – Lee Cooper, CEO, Barvecue, Inc.

10:30  Pitch session: Early-stage projects

12:00  Lunch

1:00  Pitch session: Start-ups

2:30  Break

2:45  Partnership with NCFIL, Maacha LeBlanc, CEO, Milli Mylk

3:15  Awards

4:00  Tour of NCFIL

5:00  Networking Event
  (includes buffet dinner)

Program for October 11: Workshop with the NC Food Innovation Lab

9:00  Welcome

9:30  Keynote – Andrew Ive, General Partner, Big Idea Ventures

10:30  North Carolina: The Hub for the Future of Food, Mary Lesa Pegg, EDPNC

11:00  Workshop – NCFIL Live

12:00  Lunch, Networking

1:00  Partnership with NCFIL, Dr. Eliana Cossio, VP of Global R&D, Product Development, Westrock Coffee Company

1:30  Workshop – Business tools and services provided by NCFIL

5:00  Wrap-up, Conclusion

REGISTER HERE