The pioneer Innovation Challenge 2024 brought together startups, students, and engineering teams to collaborate with leading food industry companies. Organized by foodward and ZHAW entrepreneurship, the challenge aimed to develop practical solutions for sustainability, process optimization, and resource efficiency in the food system. Participants attended workshops and received expert guidance, culminating in a Pitch Night to present their projects. The open innovation approach fostered valuable partnerships, some of which are now advancing into concrete projects. Planning for the 2025 edition is already underway, aiming to expand collaborations and solidify the challenge's role in Swiss innovation.
A Success Story – The pioneer Innovation Challenge 2024
When the starting signal for the first-ever pioneer Innovation Challenge was given in September 2024, it marked the beginning of a new, practice-oriented innovation format for the Swiss food system. The Challenge, organized by foodward in collaboration with the ZHAW entrepreneurship team, offered students and startups the opportunity to collaborate with leading companies in the food industry to tackle real-world challenges. The Challenge brought together a diverse mix of teams. Eight startup teams, two engineering teams, and six student teams were formed from a total of 39 participants.
Practical and Interdisciplinary
The pioneer Innovation Challenge 2024 followed a clear mission: to develop practical solutions for real-world problems in the food system. Participants from diverse backgrounds joined forces to work on innovative approaches in areas such as sustainability, process optimization, and resource efficiency. Developing functional and healthy food products was another core focus.
The teams participated in five workshops and received expert guidance in areas such a Ideation, Prototyping, and Implementation. The grand finale of the pioneer Innovation Challenge was the Pitch Night, where teams presented their projects to the Challenge partners.
All of this was conducted under an open innovation framework, enabling close collaboration between the teams and Challenge partners, a key factor in the success of the initiative.
Successful Collaborations
Even in this inaugural edition of the pioneer Innovation Challenge, valuable collaborations were initiated between the participating teams and the Challenge partners. Some of these partnerships are now working to translate the ideas from the Challenge into concrete projects.
Positive Participant Feedback
One participant shared: "The highlight of the Challenge for me was the opportunity to develop innovative ideas and present them to industry experts. The creative exchange during the workshops and the feedback from professionals were incredibly enriching." Another participant emphasized the hands-on experience: “The Prototyping Workshop was super cool because we could get hands-on experience right away."
These insights underscore that the practical approach and close collaboration with established companies and industry experts make this format a promising one for the future.
A Look Ahead
Planning for the pioneer Innovation Challenge 2025 is already underway. The goal is to further develop the successful format and create even more collaborations between innovators and established companies in the food industry. With this approach, the pioneer Innovation Challenge is on track to become a cornerstone of the Swiss innovation landscape.
We sincerely thank all participants of the Challenge, without whom this format would not have been possible!
Challenge Partners:
ZHAW entrepreneurship, fenaco, EiCO Frigemo AG, Biotta AG, Kündig Gruppe, Genossenschaft Migros Zürich, Bertschi Bäckerei zum Brotkorb AG, Buonvicini AG, Emmi Gruppe, ZHAW Life Sciences and Facility Management
Startups:
Yumame Foods, NINODRINKS, tasty spread, peel pack, Ponera Group, ReCircle, Modular Technology
Engineering Teams:
ThermodynamiX, Metinger Engineering
Student Teams from:
ZHAW, HAFL, ETH, HSG, TUM
Program Founders:
foodward, ZHAW Life Sciences and Facility Management, ZHAW entrepreneurship