The FoodSparks fund will invest in pan-European seed and early-stage startups to offer access to strategic capital and support with scaling up, thereby working towards innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems in food production, supply and sustainability.
The fund will offer up to €30m ($35.7m) of investment over a span of up to four years, with an aim to invest in approximately 10 startups per year. The companies to receive investment will all be domiciled in Europe/EFTA and Israel, have protectable and scalable technology, and align with EIT Food’s mission of making the food system more sustainable, healthy and trusted.
In addition to capital, the startups and entrepreneurs included in the fund will be given access to advice and mentoring from the wider EIT Food community.
FoodSparks, managed by PeakBridge, will be headed up by managing partner Yoni Glickman, working with its investors, allowing the portfolio companies to benefit from potential co-investment and follow-on investment opportunities.
Erich Sieber, managing partner of PeakBridge, said, “In addition to privileged access to deal-flow, due diligence and business development, the collaboration between EIT Food and FoodSparks by PeakBridge will offer our portfolio companies direct access to the EIT Food network thus creating significant additional value in addition to our investment.”
Andy Zynga, CEO of EIT Food, said, “Funding the next generation of agrifood innovations is one of the most important steps we can take in ensuring a sustainable future for the global food system. That is why we are so excited to announce the launch of the FoodSparks fund. By working with PeakBridge and its venture capital resources, we can offer entrepreneurs and start-ups across Europe the chance to realise their ambitions and scale up their ideas – whether that’s finding the next big meat alternative or reducing food waste.”