MassChallenge Sustainable Food Challenge 2026

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Applications are open for MC MassChallenge Sustainable Food Challenge 2026. The MC MassChallenge Sustainable Food Challenge 2026 is a global initiative aimed at fostering innovative startups and corporations to develop solutions that feed the planet’s growing population while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the food value chain.

Feeding the planet’s population and reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions that come from the Food value chain is one of the biggest challenges of our time. And the pressures from climate change, land use, and food production/distribution are only set to increase. Further much of food production today is linear. This promotes waste and is an inefficient use of resources.

Solutions to reduce emissions and help feed the planet’s projected 9.8 billion population in 2050 will need to be increasingly circular so resources are reutilized, and combine supply-side actions, such as efficient production, transport, and processing; alongside demand-side interventions, such as modification of food choices, and reduction of food loss and waste.

MassChallenge believes startups and corporations can help. Startups can play a unique role in bringing new disruptive ideas to the table. Corporations can play a critical role in scaling these ideas and bringing benefits to society quickly. In 2020 a group of leading global food manufacturers and producers partnered with MassChallenge to find and collaborate with startups so that together, they could help feed the planet sustainably. In the challenges first 6 years over 2,800 startups have applied to take part with over 500 of these being connected to our partners. Of these, over half were involved in a detailed follow-up discussion – check the success stories segment.

MassChallenge Sustainable Food Challenge Focus Areas

They are looking for startups or scaleups, with proven solutions or technologies in the areas of:

Sustainable Food & Feed Solutions
- Disruptive proteins/ fats/ Ingredients;
- Human health & nutrition;
- Animal feed and pet health & nutrition;
- Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG).
AgTech
- Regenerative agriculture;
- Precision farming.
Sustainable Supply Chain & Manufacturing
- Supply Chain optimization;
- Decarbonisation of Manufacturing;
- Circular economy;
- Traceability/ food safety/ preservation technologies.
Sustainable Packaging & Materials
- Bio-based Chemicals;
- New materials and molecules;
- Sustainable Materials.
Side-streams valorization
- Side-streams: wheat, soy, corn, potato, etc. For a detailed list of areas please see application form.
- Upcycled to the ag-tech & food industry, packaging, construction, personal care, and perfumery.

MassChallenge Sustainable Food Challenge Benefits

All startups participating in the Challenge will get:

A direct pathway to multi-national corporations: If shortlisted by our partners, MassChallenge will introduce you to representatives of the partners, including senior R&D, open innovation managers, sustainability executives, and business unit heads. You will talk to the right stakeholders in these organizations, you will have their full attention from the start, and will explore ways to collaborate with them.
The ability to scale your technology with them: After the initial meeting we foresee a detailed sharing of information, most likely covered by a Non-Disclosure Agreement, and then the creation of a joint pilot to evaluate the scaling potential of the product. Startups could then become suppliers to the corporation, partners in some form of venture, or receive investment. Every step is totally at the corporation and startup’s discretion, and there is no obligation to proceed unless the startup and corporation wish.
Publicity and more connections: each corporate partner will invite a startup that they shortlisted to our flagship event, the MassChallenge Sustainable Food Challenge Day, in June 2026. There, the startup combined with their corporate partner will present their joint solution on how to feed the planet sustainably to all of our corporate partners, resulting in more connections and the potential to work with other corporates. This event will be subject to press releases from MassChallenge and some of our corporate partners, providing visibility to the startups. Selected startups will receive 1,000CHF to contribute towards travel to the event.

Eligibility Criteria

We are looking for startups and scaleups that:

Have a product or idea at the prototype stage or with a working proof of concept backed by data (ie Technical Readiness Level 5, where the technology has been validated in a relevant environment).
Are a strategic fit with our partners. In the application form, startups can note which specific partner(s) are a strategic fit for their solution. When discussing with a partner what’s important is an openness to collaborate and scale your idea.
Are from seed to series C+. What’s important is that your product is at least at the prototype stage or with a working proof of concept backed by data. You may already have some sales & traction. This enables us to validate that there is a need for your product and that you’re ready to work with our corporate partners. The next step is to work with the corporate partner to scale your technology.
Have Impactful, Viable, and Scalable ideas:
- Impactful: to massively benefit society by extracting value whilst reducing the CO2 footprint and emissions of the entire food value chain;
- Viable: be able to demonstrate traction amongst consumers; manufacturers, and their supply base (including farmers);
- Scalable: be able to scale at the agricultural, manufacture, distribution, or disposal stage of food production.
Are from any geography. However, note that our partner corporations are headquartered in Europe, so physical collaboration would be mostly in Europe. Startups should ensure they are able to travel to Europe for discussions. The selection process will be carried out online.

How To Apply for MassChallenge Sustainable Food Challenge

Click Here to Apply

Application Deadline: 17th November 2025, 23:59, Swiss Time. 

Any questions? switzerland@masschallenge.org