9 Startups Forming The Future Of Food

Sustenance Now

Around the world roughly 793 million people are undernourished, and many argue that the only way we can combat this incredible number is by demanding sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices.

Thankfully, there are already thousands of innovative social entrepreneurs out there who are working towards this goal, making it more achievable for the rest of us! All we need to do, in fact, is show them the support they need to succeed.

Hope For The Future

So to give you some inspiration, here are just 9 startups who are already building the future of food…

1. Alpengummi

Who knew chewing gum could be so harmful? Well, Alpengummi did. Driven by the desire for non-oil chewing gum, artificial sweeteners and other potentially harmful additives, this Austrian startup has created the country’s first natural chewing gum. Basing their approach on ancient traditions, Alpengummi work from Impact Hub Vienna towards a healthier, more sustainable solution to chewing gum.

2. Burp Ferments

Burp Ferments is a social enterprise that brews a range of healthy, naturally fermented, fizzy drinking vinegars in London. Using ancient methods, this organization is working with Feeding The City, an incubator program at Impact Hub King’s Cross, to champion a truly sustainable business model, and to support small-scale farmers in the UK.

3. Chirp Chips

The team behind Chirp Chips want to get people excited about eating bugs. Using crickets as the main ingredient of protein chips, this company is based in Impact Hub San Francisco and believes that if we can normalize entomophagy (the practice of eating bugs) and replace a substantial portion of the current meat-market with insects, the difference could significantly change issues involving resource scarcity, food waste, GHG emissions, deforestation, and malnutrition.

4. Clube Organico

This Brazilian company facilitates access to direct purchase and sales of natural organic food. Striving to get away from a culture where processed food has become normalized, Clube Organico works from Impact Hub Sao Paulo to deliver direct from fields or stores (without intermediaries), pay producers fairly, and work only with 100% organic food.

5. Hut Und Stiel

A well and truly innovative company, Hut Und Stiel uses coffee grounds to grow mushrooms that are completely edible and delicious. This organization came into being when its founders realized that when brewing coffee, only about 1% of the weight is released while 99% remains. Working from Impact Hub Vienna, Hut Und Stiel now uses this waste as the soil with which to grow fresh mushrooms before redistributing them throughout the city.

6. Oumph!

Oumph! want to decrease our climate impact drastically, while increasing the health of as many people as possible. This startup has developed a plant-based protein food designed as an alternative to meat, which encourages a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly approach to food. Based in Impact Hub Stockholm, Oumph! food is suitable for everyone no matter what their diet.

7. Proof Bakery

This artisanal bakery uses bread to bring people together, literally. Proof Bakery creates fulfilling jobs for refugees in the UK and works with local organizations to deliver bakery training courses. At the end of each course, Proof Bakery employs as many refugees as possible, and helps others to find opportunities to use their skills elsewhere. A member of Impact Hub King’s Cross, this inspirational startup is also now one of Feeding The City’s teams for 2018.

8. Six Legs Farm

With a dedicated team of workers, Six Legs Farm is working towards becoming the main UK supplier of insect protein. Also taking part in the Feeding The City incubator program at Impact Hub King’s Cross, this company’s commercial cricket farm supplies high welfare protein to the food industry. Six Legs Farm aims to make the food industry more sustainable for all – and to take the ‘ick’ of edible insects.

9. Unverschwendet

This social enterprise fights food waste by using surplus fruits and vegetables to create delicious food. Using traditional crafts such as making jams, marmalades, chutneys, syrups, pickling and cooking, this Austrian startup works from Impact Hub Vienna and saves all of this excess food from being thrown away, cultivating a much more sustainable food industry for the future.

Hitting Our Target

So whether it’s simply by purchasing your groceries locally, by trying new things or by running food-focused incubators, there are tons of ways you can contribute to Sustainable Development Goal number 2: Zero Hunger. And if we continue to support each other along the way, we might just achieve it – and more – by the year 2030.

The work that these startup do contribute to the following SDGs: