SPARKALIS JOINS EIT FOOD IN FOODSPARKS® TO FOSTER THE NEXT GENERATION OF AGRIFOOD INNOVATORS
Brussels, April 13th 2021 — FoodSparks® – a seed fund tailored to support the most promising European early-stage enterprises – has been setup by EIT Food and capital fund manager PeakBridge, along with Sparkalis, Puratos venture arm, as an investor among others.
The investment in FoodSparks® is a reflection of Sparkalis’ broader commitment to investing in innovative technologies to create a healthier and better ‘food print’ for today’s and tomorrow’s generations around the world.
Sophie Blum, Managing Partner of Sparkalis and CMO of Puratos, said: “Partnership and collaboration are at the heart of new and disruptive business building ideas. Sparkalis has become an active investment partner at FoodSparks® to support the best and brightest FoodTech entrepreneurs. For the food changemakers.”
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 €30 million of investment over a span of up to four years, with an aim to invest in approximately ten 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 including Sparkalis and Puratos teams of global experts, allowing them to benefit from decades of food experience and knowledge.
FoodSparks®, managed by PeakBridge, will be headed up by Managing Partner Yoni Glickman, working closely with Sparkalis among others, allowing the portfolio companies to benefit from a wide range of 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 startups 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.”
Sparkalis is the first global food tech venture in bakery, patisserie and chocolate sectors. Its goal is to support the development of ground-breaking products, services and ingredients, and drive collaboration with start-ups and SMEs.
Sparkalis contact
All interested innovators can find all relevant information on Sparkalis’ website: www.sparkalis.com
Email: contact@sparkalis.com
About Sparkalis
Sparkalis is a corporate venture arm of the Puratos Group, the global leader in the B2B bakery, patisserie and chocolate sectors. Sparkalis’ mission is to work with start-up founders, innovative and business-driven entrepreneurs to transform exciting ideas into successful business reality. Sparkalis is committed to investing in innovative technologies to create, with future partners, a healthier and better ‘food print’ for today’s and tomorrow’s generations around the world.
For further information, visit www.sparkalis.com
Press Contact – Puratos Group
+32 2 737 95 33
Puratos NV/SA
Industrialaan 25
1702 Groot-Bijgaarden
Belgium
About Puratos
Puratos is an international group, which offers a full range of innovative ingredients and services for the bakery, patisserie and chocolate industry. It serve artisans, industrials, retailers and food service companies in over 100 countries around the world. Puratos’ headquarter is located in Belgium, where the company was founded in 1919. Above all, Puratos aims to be ‘a reliable partner in innovation’ across the globe to help their customers deliver nutritious, tasty food to their local communities, today and tomorrow.
For further information, visit http://www.puratos.com
