Agropur Cooperative today kicked off the second edition of Inno Challenge, an international challenge to co-create innovative dairy products through crowdsourcing, in partnership with the Quartier de l’innovation and FoodBytes! by Rabobank.
Agropur originally launched Inno Challenge, a Canadian first in the agri-food industry, under the theme Together, let's reinvent dairy! This year, the focus will be on supporting the emerging businesses that will help reshape the dairy industry and develop revolutionary new dairy products. Candidates from Canada and around the world interested in teaming up with Agropur have until March 11 to submit their projects for new dairy equipment, technology or packaging. Agropur is proudly continuing its partnership with the Quartier de l’innovation in the quest for disruptive ideas and is pleased to welcome to Montreal, for the first time, FoodBytes! by Rabobank, the international innovation platform for food start-ups.
“Inno Challenge is a concrete way for Agropur to deliver on its promise to act as an industry leader by reinventing itself, anticipating consumers’ needs and offering them the dairy products of the future,” says Robert Coallier, CEO of Agropur. “Entrepreneurs are driven by the same energy, passion and out-of-the-box thinking as Agropur. We are therefore inviting emerging businesses that are on the verge of creating a radical new dairy product, piece of equipment, technology or packaging to enter into a win-win partnership with us.”
Partnership with Quartier de l’innovation and FoodBytes! by Rabobank
The Quartier de l’innovation is pleased to continue its association with Agropur in this international challenge. “We want to develop strong alliances with promising dairy-related start-ups,” says Damien Silès, Executive Director of the Quartier de l’innovation. “We were very pleased with the crop of 68 original and relevant ideas from creative thinkers in 8 countries submitted in the first Inno Challenge. We are eager to see what new projects will stand out this year.”
Agropur’s Inno Challenge has also linked up with FoodBytes!, Rabobank’s international platform for innovative food start-ups. “We are thrilled to partner with Agropur’s Inno Challenge and to hold our first Canadian event in Montreal, a globally recognized centre of innovation,” says Manuel Gonzalez, Managing Director, Global Head of Banking for Food Startup Innovation, Rabobank. “On May 16, the short-listed Inno Challenge candidates will show off their projects as part of the event.” FoodBytes! Montreal will be part of the FoodBytes! North American tour, which also includes events in San Francisco on March 1 and New York in the fall of 2018.
Inno Challenge targets entrepreneurs who have just begun to, or are about to, bring their concept to market and want to boost the potential of their dairy-related start-up. Emerging businesses can apply on the innoagropur.com microsite until 11:59 p.m., March 11, 2018.
Source : Agropur Cooperative