Empire State Development (ESD) and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) today announced the 20 finalists selected to take part in year six of Grow-NY, a business competition focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage, and agriculture innovation cluster in upstate New York. Winning companies will be required to make a positive economic impact in the Grow-NY region, which comprises 22 counties located in Central NY, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier regions.
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight, said, “Once again, the Grow-NY food and agriculture competition has drawn top-quality startups and entrepreneurial talent from around the world. Through its continued support, New York State is poised to reap the benefits of these Grow-NY innovators, who will create jobs and grow the economy in the Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions.”
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball, said, “From farming to food production, New York is an innovative, world-class leader in agriculture. Year after year, the Grow-NY competition is instrumental to bringing new, high-growth businesses in the industry focused on critical areas to our state. This event has once again brought to light just how critical agriculture is to our communities and to our economy, and I congratulate these finalists on their innovation that will help bolster our food systems, feed our communities, and move our state forward.”
In total, 312 startups applied from 50 countries, including Canada, the UK, and Italy. Domestic teams also showed strong interest, with 26 states represented in the applicant pool, including 89 entries from New York. Forty-four percent of applicants included a female founder, and 60 percent included a founder from a culturally diverse group.
A panel of 30 judges, reflecting a depth and breadth of regional economic development expertise, knowledge of the region’s agriculture and food production communities, and entrepreneurial experience, reviewed all the applications to determine the top 20 finalists that will pitch their business plans at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit in Ithaca in November. Grow-NY will award a total of $3 million in prize money to seven winners. This includes a $1 million top prize, two $500,000 awards, and four $250,000 prizes.
The 20 selected finalists, in alphabetical order, include:
- Afterlife Ag, Queens, N.Y. – Upcycles food establishment scraps into fresh, local, and sustainable mushrooms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from food waste.
- Benchmark Labs, Rochester, N.Y. – Provides AI-based weather forecasts, recommendations, and alerts to help farmers increase production and yield, improve management activities, and protect against extreme weather events such as frost, heat spikes, or powdery mildew.
- Bialtec, Delft, Netherlands – Designs microencapsulated feed additives tailored to specific breeds, ensuring optimal nutrient delivery and improved livestock health outcomes while promoting environmentally friendly and economically viable farming practices.
- BonAppeSweet Inc., Leonardtown, M.D. – Uses simple, ethically sourced ingredients to make date-sweetened chocolate products. Free of sugar and artificial sweeteners, the company’s chocolate bars, trail mix, chocolate-covered almonds, raisins, and espresso beans are all organic, vegan, and non-GMO.
- Cajou Creamery, Baltimore, M.D. – Handcrafts cashew-based frozen desserts with whole superfoods for ice cream you can feel good about.
- ChopLocal, Wayland, I.A. – Provides an online farmers’ market that makes buying and selling regionally farmed, high-quality meat easier for home consumers.
- Clean Crop Technologies, Holyoke, M.A. – Combines electricity and food-grade gasses to remove pathogens from seeds before they are planted, increasing yields, reducing waste, and improving food safety without preservatives.
- ClearLeaf, San José, Costa Rica – Offers safe fungicides and bactericides protects soil and crops from a wide range of pre- and post-harvest pathogens, without harming the environment or your health.
- Earthsense, Champaign, I.L. – Produces autonomous, AI-powered robots accurately sense plant health and productivity of a diversity of crops, minimize chemical use with targeted precision applications, and make regenerative practices like cover cropping far more effective and economical.
- Farmer Lifeline Technologies, Nairobi, Kenya – Produces solar-powered, AI-equipped crop monitoring devices for real-time detection of pests and diseases.
- For Bitter For Worse, Portland, O.R. – Aims to create a healthier, more inclusive culture with non-alcoholic cocktails made at their farm-based distillery.
- Grape.Ag, Cupertino, C.A. – Developed sensors and communication devices that allow for the unique care of each plant in a vineyard, providing valuable atmospheric and soil information that enables vintners to visualize hyper-local conditions, find trends, and make better decisions.
- Holmes Mouthwatering, Shaker Heights, O.H. – Designed an all-natural, elevated applesauce brand delivering homemade-inspired products made with real fruit.
- Meala, Haifa, Israel – Created next-generation, naturally derived texturizing proteins that can create gelling, binding, and emulsion, helping food manufacturers maintain a clean ingredient list without compromising texture, juiciness, and nutritional value.
- PureNanoTech, Parsippany, N.J. – Created a nanobubble irrigation solution to maximize irrigation performance and optimize energy usage in the agriculture, pond and lake restoration, wastewater treatment, and disinfection industries.
- SkyAcres Agrotechnologies Inc., Surrey, British Columbia, Canada – Developed an energy-efficient vertical farming system and AI-powered marketplace that allow anyone with under-utilized space to grow and sell produce, creating the Airbnb of indoor farms.
- Terra Bioindustries, Toronto, Canada – Upcycles agrifood waste into sustainable, value-added products with broad market appeal, starting by converting Brewers Spent Grain into a sugar for fermentation and food applications.
- UdderWays, Albion, N.Y. – Uses a unique, brushless technology to gently stimulate cows and ensure clean and dry teats. With the startup’s patented vortex-style application, farmers can achieve consistent stimulation and effortlessly promote milk letdown.
- Unibaio, New York City, N.Y. – Offers naturally derived particles that trap the active ingredients of pesticides, fertilizers, and phytosanitary, enabling them to penetrate plants more efficiently.
- Zordi, Oakfield, N.Y. – Builds autonomous greenhouses with robots and AI to make delicious, high-quality produce available anywhere.
In the months leading up to the pitch competition at the Summit, the 20 finalists will embark on a 10-week business development phase, which includes:
- Dedicated mentorship from a business advisor selected by our program team for their subject matter expertise and presence in the region;
- Introductions to the region’s leaders and resources to connect them to potential partnerships and other strategic opportunities;
- Site visits, business tours, and industrial and economic development agency introductions for finalist team representatives;
- Business development support and workshops helping them fine-tune their regional plans; and
- Pitch training to hone their live presentation skills for the Grow-NY judges and other potential sources of capital.
“The thrill of the Grow-NY competition is how each year we accelerate the growth of not only the individual startups from around the world who choose to work in the region, but also of the region itself. We start with an incredible group of innovators, we mentor them and connect them to Upstate’s rich and unique resources, and the merging of energy, talent, and effort results in shared success,” said Jenn Smith, Program Director, Grow-NY.
The accelerator culminates with a live pitch at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit, scheduled for November 6 and 7, in Ithaca, New York at the brand-new Downtown Ithaca Conference Center. The Summit will be held in two formats simultaneously, in-person and virtually, with finalists pitching their business ideas live in front of an audience and answering questions from a judging panel. The event also includes a food and agriculture symposium, ecosystem expo, and student pitches. The 2024 Grow-NY winners will be revealed in a live awards presentation at the conclusion of the Summit.
“The Grow-NY competition is a powerful catalyst for science-based innovations that enhance our food economy while promoting climate sustainability,” said Benjamin Z. Houlton, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Year after year, I’m grateful to see Cornell CALS’ robust research inspiring entrepreneurs and propelling startups that create jobs, advance sustainable agriculture, and feed communities in New York and beyond.”
Registration for the Summit is now open. Visit https://www.grow-ny.com/summit-new/ to register.
To learn more about the finalists, mentors, and register for the Summit, visit grow-ny.com.