Scentian Bio Wins Top Prize at IFT FIRST Startup Pitch Competition

CHICAGO — The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a nonprofit scientific organization committed to advancing the science of food and its application across the global food system, announced the 2024 winners of The Pitch, a multi-stage, rapid-pitch competition located in the Startup Pavilion at the recently completed IFT FIRST: Annual Event and Expo in Chicago. Scentian Bio (Auckland, New Zealand), a biotech company using synthesized insect olfactory receptor biosensors that can measure smell and taste, took home the grand prize of $10,000 for its portable, handheld biosensor, which offers real-time and super-sensitive measurement capabilities to ensure product quality, safety and sensory satisfaction.

Chainparency (Houston, Texas) and NuCicer (Davis, Calif.) were each awarded $2,500 as the runners-up in the competition. Chainparency is a blockchain technology solutions startup that offers granular tracking of key data elements and critical tracking events, while NuCicer is a biotech company that utilizes an extensive genetic library to precision breed a variety of underutilized types of chickpeas that are nutritionally rich, sustainable and climate tolerant.

The prizes were courtesy of the Seeding The Future Foundation, a private, non-profit organization motivated by its core value that everyone should always have equitable access to safe, nutritious, affordable, appealing and trusted food. It seeks to inspire innovative solutions that can help transform the global food system to be more sustainable and benefit the health of people and the environment. The foundation provides seed funding and support to promising ideas and high impact innovations to improve food systems globally, technologies to reduce post-harvest losses in developing regions, as well as foundational work in academia and research. 

Participants were limited to 90-second pitches in the first round, but in the finale, the length was expanded to two minutes and 30 seconds. Finalists from each round were decided by a panel of judges spanning academia, venture-capital investment groups, government, incubators, industry leaders and startup coaches and consultants.

“The winners of The Pitch exemplify the innovative spirit that the science of food community needs to adapt to critical challenges impacting our food supply today and in the future,” said IFT CEO Christie Tarantino-Dean. “I congratulate and celebrate the winners and participants of this year’s competition, as well as all Startup Pavilion exhibitors who showcased their innovative solutions and products to IFT FIRST attendees, industry stakeholders, and potential funders and investors.”

The Startup Pavilion featured more than 80 food and food tech startups hailing from five continents as well as Oceania. The companies featured this year represented all stages of the food system, from solutions for manufacturers to ready-to-eat consumer products.

After the finale of The Pitch, all Startup Pavilion participants had the opportunity to attend the “Connecting for a Better Food System VIP Networking Event.” This networking opportunity was attended by leaders in the global food system, including judges from The Pitch, venture-capitalist investment firms, IFT’s Board of Directors and past winners of the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge, which is funded by the Seeding The Future Foundation and hosted by IFT.

To learn more, go to ift.org.