Financing is difficult to access for 70 per cent of food start-ups

“Unfortunately, the difficulty in securing funding is a common challenge for start-ups in other sectors too, especially when compared to ecosystems that are more mature than ours. What I find most interesting,” comments Riccardo Porro, Chief Operations Officer at Cariplo Factory, “is how there is a shared purpose in the motivations driving this research, despite the companies operating in different fields, from agriculture to distribution: enhancing the quality and safety of food, ensuring healthy, high-quality food for all people, and preserving biodiversity whilst respecting the environment are the three responses, each of which garnered around 50 per cent of the votes.”

“Food is now one of the areas in which the major transitions of our time are being played out: from environmental sustainability to health, from digitalisation to industrial resilience. It is against this backdrop that the way we produce, distribute and consume food is being redefined,” adds Porro. The 118 organisations mapped by Next-Gen Food demonstrate that in Italia there is already an entrepreneurial ecosystem capable of driving innovation across the key nodes of the supply chain, from agritech to alternative proteins, from traceability to personalised nutrition.”

But what is the profile of the companies analysed? In 62 per cent of cases, they are start-ups, followed by innovative SMEs (29 per cent) and spin-offs (3 per cent). Agritech is the most widely represented sector (22 per cent of the companies surveyed), ahead of foodtech and processing (19 per cent). Thirty-nine per cent have technologies that are already operational and market-proven. Sixty-four per cent have already secured an initial round of funding. 10 per cent of the companies report a turnover of over one million euros, whilst more than one in three have a turnover of between 100,000 and one million. 80 per cent are seeking new capital, with one in three aiming for a funding round of over one million euros.

58 per cent of start-ups were founded by all-male teams, “but they show a significant and growing female presence: teams composed entirely of women have received awards and recognition in 90 per cent of cases and are more likely to participate in accelerator programmes”, notes Porro.

In terms of geographical location, Lombardy leads the way (32%), followed by Veneto (11%) and Emilia-Romagna (10%). In Central Italy, Tuscany stands out with 8% of the total, whilst in the South, Puglia accounts for 5%. Twenty-three per cent are planning to open a foreign branch or make an investment, mainly in Europe.