GOe supports eight foodtech startups in validating their solutions before bringing them to market

Their projects, focused on areas such as artificial intelligence, new ingredients, fermentation, health and the circular economy, are helping to transform the food value chain.

Over a personalised six- to nine-month journey, each project develops a tailored work plan to validate its technology in real-world conditions, evolve its product and prepare for growth. The programme combines technological development, experimentation in real-world environments and business support, helping each startup move forward with greater confidence and solidity towards its next stage.

Eight startups are already working in the first edition of the programme

The participating startups are Genky (Bilbao), which develops functional beverages from by-products of the wine industry; Marzianos (Bilbao), specialising in donuts with a cleaner formulation, with no added sugars or palm oil; Kampanera (Valladolid), a producer of premium soft drinks and fermented beverages; Gastrophysics (Bilbao), which develops technologies for ultra-fast and efficient cooking processes; Comexsoft (Donostia-San Sebastián), creator of an AI-powered competitive intelligence platform for food manufacturers and distributors; Kamarere (Valladolid), focused on transforming agri-food by-products into new ingredients; Bakewise (Madrid), which applies artificial intelligence to optimise production and predict demand in bakeries; and Batee Active (Galicia), dedicated to developing nutraceuticals and health solutions from marine resources.

Beyond the technologies they develop, the group brings together highly diverse profiles: food scientists, engineers, young entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses with decades of experience seeking to diversify through innovation, and founders who have turned personal experiences into business projects with the potential to drive transformation.

From the lab to the market

Each startup follows a pathway tailored to its needs to validate new ingredients and health solutions, optimise industrial processes, develop cooking technologies or apply artificial intelligence to the food industry. The projects range from assessing how food behaves in new cooking systems to developing ingredients obtained from agri-food by-products, validating health and nutrition solutions, and designing digital tools for manufacturers and distributors in the sector.

In every case, the goal is to validate solutions in real-world conditions, reduce technical uncertainty and help each project progress towards a higher level of technological and business maturity. By the end of the programme, startups have more robust products and a clear roadmap for tackling their growth.

More than 80% of new food products fail before becoming established in the market. Many startups struggle to validate their solutions outside the laboratory and adapt them to the real needs of the industry. The GOe Entrepreneurship Programme was created in response to this challenge, targeting projects that already have a prototype or functional solution and need to take the next step before commercialisation.

Unlike traditional acceleration models, GOe offers an applied working environment where startups develop and validate their technologies in real-world conditions, identify technical improvements and prepare their solutions for implementation and scale-up.

A model where product and business evolve in parallel

“Many startups have promising technology, but still need to demonstrate that it works outside the laboratory. At GOe, we want to support them precisely at this stage: helping them test their solutions in real-world conditions, identify improvements and make better decisions as they grow. Our approach combines business development with the development of the product itself, because we believe this is the only way innovation can truly reach the market,” says Irati Lekue, Head of Entrepreneurship at GOe-Gastronomy Open Ecosystem.

To this end, GOe provides projects with access to the scientific, technological and gastronomic capabilities of GOe Tech Center, Basque Culinary Center’s technology centre specialising in gastronomy. Startups work directly with researchers, food technologists, scientists and chefs specialising in innovation to address technical challenges and validate their solutions before they reach the market.

The pathway is adapted to the needs of each project and incorporates a range of support tools, including technological development, testing in real-world environments, specialised mentoring, strategic and legal advice, investor sessions, speed mentoring with experts and access to the gastronomic innovation ecosystem. Not all startups follow the same path: each one develops a personalised work plan based on its level of maturity and the challenges it needs to address.