The Fi Europe Innovation Awards finalists have been announced. The awards include nine categories to celebrate those breaking new ground in the food and drink industry, including large multinationals, small startups, and contract research organizations.
 
The panel of judges, all industry professionals, will assess each nomination across the categories behind closed doors during Fi Europe and winners will be announced on Nov. 19 in Frankfurt during Fi Europe.
 
The judging panel will be chaired by Colin Dennis, chair of the board of trustees at IFIS and the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF); Michael Adams, head of product innovation at Campden BRI; João Brites, director of growth and innovation at HowGood; Nicolas Bordenave, research director at INRAE, Sandra Einerhand, nutrition science consultant at Einerhand Science & Innovation; Ian D. Healey, editorial director at Dr. Harnisch Publications; Nick Henson, food product developer; V. Krishnakumar, managing director at Giract; Efi Leontopoulou, manager of scientific and regulatory affairs at EAS Strategies; and Rosemary Maguire, managing director at Essence.
 
Dairy Alternative Innovation Award
 
The new Dairy Alternative Innovation Award recognizes plant-based dairy alternative developers, or an application based on a plant-based dairy alternative ingredient, in terms of sensory or physical properties or application costs.
 
ChickP will enter with its dairy alternative proteins which demonstrate high solubility, flavor, and overall performance in non-dairy applications.
 
KMC has entered its potato starch-based solution for plant-based cheese which offers a long, thick stretch that stays stable across a wide temperature range.
 
Bunge has entered with its plant-based ingredient designed to replace anhydrous milk fat partly or fully based on shea, coconut, and rapeseed oil, matching the melting behavior and structuring properties of AMF.
 
Royal Avebe has entered with PerfectaSol D600, a texturizer derived from potato protein and starch which delivers a similar eating experience to traditional yogurt, offering full mouthfeel and creaminess.
 
Diversity & Inclusion Innovation Award
 
The Diversity & Inclusion Innovation Award recognizes an organization or company for creating a work environment that offers equal opportunities for all employees, irrespective of gender, race, religious background, sexual orientation, or physical/mental ability. The award is open to non-exhibiting companies, organizations, and associations.
 
Agronutris has entered with its organizational system in which governance is shared among all employees. It launched an emotional intelligence training program, and has gender and pay equity initiatives. Its hiring system also promotes diversity.
 
Roquette has entered Women@Roquette, an internal network for gender diversity which plays a key role in promoting diversity and inclusion at every step from recruitment and onboarding to training, development, leadership, and career management.
 
Ingredion, with its entry “Women of Ingredion Network,” which supports black, indigenous, and person of color (BIPOC), white, and LGBTQIA+ women, women with disabilities, and their allies.
 
Food Manufacturing Award
 
The Food Manufacturing Award recognizes an organization or company that has developed innovative food manufacturing or packaging equipment that improves manufacturing efficiency, reduces waste, and/or enhances product safety.
 
Nutris has entered with its licenses to process fava bean into high-value plant-based food ingredients, through innovations developed at the University of Copenhagen.
 
Planteneers has entered with its functional systems enabling plant-based meat manufacturers to produce marbled cuts with a fine fiber structure.
 
GEA Process Engineering has entered with its batch freeze dryers for food applications, which are beneficial to both efficiency and hygiene.
 
Future Foodtech Innovation Award
 
The Future Foodtech Innovation Award recognizes an organization or company that has developed an innovative processing or bioprocessing technology solution or service with the potential to improve the production, functionality, or cost of food ingredients.
 
Nizo has entered with a high-throughput protein extraction tool which miniaturizes and automates laborious processes. With the technology, 24 seed varieties can be extracted automatically and analyzed for their protein content and composition, aroma, and taste profile.
 
Cargill has entered with its cocoa alternative confectionary developed in partnership with Voyage Foods, which is a range of cocoa, hazelnut, and peanut alternative solutions for bakery, chocolate confectionary, ice cream, and cereals. The range is based on Voyage’s patented technology, gently roasting and processing lesser-used side stream raw materials.
 
Incredo has entered with Incredo Sugar G2, a clean-label sugar reduction solution which enables reductions of up to 70%.
 
Health Innovation Award
 
The Health Innovation Award recognizes an ingredient or application’s contribution to digestive, cognitive, immune, or physical health.
 
Prolactal has entered with its Goat MPC 80, a premium goat milk protein concentrate with 80% protein in dry matter, which is rich in BCAAs and A2 beta-casein, making it digestible and suitable for those with A1 beta-casein sensitivities.
 
ADM has entered with ES1 (Bifidobacterium longum CECT 7347) postbiotic, which is evidenced to improve markers associated with gut health.
 
Novonesis has entered with MindAble 1714, a clinically-tested probiotic that is evidenced to support stress and mood and is suitable for a range of products, including energy bars, chocolate treats, frozen desserts, and chocolate-enriched cereal.
 
Pet Food Innovation Award
 
The Pet Food Innovation Award recognizes ingredients or applications for the pet food category, specifically for sensory or physical properties or application costs.
 
Divaks has entered with its textured insect protein, which consists of 71% protein, dominated by unsaturated fatty acids, a rich essential amino acid profile, and a low percentage of crude ash.
 
Gelita has entered with Petagile, an ingredient formulated to promote joint cartilage growth in pets caused by aging and excess load.
 
Cargill has entered its ultra-concentrated formula within the TruPet postbiotic range, which helps enhance pet diets by supporting a balanced and diverse gut microbiome, with enhanced stability and efficacy through processing conditions like retort, extrusion, and high-pressure.
 
dsm-firmenich has entered with Veramaris Pets, a high-potency omega-3 formulation containing 60% EPA and DHA. The ingredient is sourced from a sustainable marine algae.
 
Plant-based Innovation Award
 
The Plant-Based Innovation Award recognizes an organization or company that has developed the best plant-based ingredient or application based on a plant-based ingredient in terms of sensory or physical properties or application costs.
 
Novonesis has entered with its Vertera Biosolutions, an ingredient which improves texture and flavor of plant-based meat alternatives in a label-friendly manner.
 
Avebe has entered with PerfectaSol S 200, a potato protein isolate that offers irreversible gelation upon heating, which creates adhesion between coating and substrate.
 
Lesaffre has entered with Springer Proteissimo, a yeast protein produced by fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is sustainable, gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan, and contains a high digestibility score, high protein content , and well-balanced amino acid profile.
 
Sensory Innovation Award
 
The Sensory Innovation Award recognizes the best ingredient or process in terms of enhancing the sensory experience of food products, such as taste, texture, smell, and/or appearance, without significantly increasing application costs.
 
Phycom has entered with an algae processing technique designed to improve the sensory qualities of vegan chocolate. This technique provides a rich, creamy mouthfeel, smooth texture, rich taste, and enhanced mouth-coating properties.
 
Novonesis has entered with its Novamyl BestBite, an enzymatic technology that delivers softness, moistness, and resilience to freshly-baked goods.
 
Sustainability Innovation Award
 
The Sustainability Innovation Award will recognize an organization or company for a measurable supply system that demonstrates environmental, economic, and/or socially sustainable practices in the food and beverage industry.
 
Dossche Mills entered with its Terah Standard initiative, which is focused on cutting CO2 emissions in wheat flour production by 50% by the year 2030.
 
AAK has entered with initiatives providing opportunities for 240,000 women in West Africa to improve livelihoods through its AAK Kolo Nafaso direct sourcing program.
 
ADM has entered with its regenerative agriculture program which supports growers in adopting farming practices to protect and improve soil health, biodiversity, climate, and water resources while supporting farming business development.
 
Argana Fruit has entered with its regenerative agriculture framework, which includes 2023 pilot projects in Mexico which showed that regenerative strawberry production contributed to a 2.75% increase in yield with 50% less production costs, 77% less pesticides, 99% less fungicides, 58% less hormones, and 65% less carbon footprint.