Companies Chosen to Compete in Grow-NY Food, Business Challenge

From Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office:

Eighteen companies have been selected to take part in round one of the Grow-NY food innovation and agriculture technology business challenge. 

The contenders were chosen from a field of almost 200 startups that applied to be part of the initiative, which is focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage and agriculture innovation cluster in Central New York, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier. 

The applicant pool represented 23 different states and 16 countries. The Grow-NY region includes a broad 22-county swath that includes Upstate New York's farming community as well as several major urban centers, including Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca and Binghamton.

 

 

The selected finalists include:

 

• AgVoice - Norcross, Ga.
• Capro-X - Ithaca
• Combplex - Ithaca
• Dropcopter - Syracuse
• Halomine - Ithaca
• Whole Healthy Food - Ithaca
• Independent Barley & Malt - Litchfield, Mich.
• Livestock Water Recycling - Alberta, Canada
• Nuravine - New York City
• Paragon Pure - Princeton, NJ
• The Perfect Granola - Victor, NY
• Radical Plastics - Beverly, Mass.

• RealEats America - Geneva, NY
• Re-Nuble - Rochester
• Simply Good Jars - Philadelphia, Pa.
• Slate Craft Goods - Westwood, Mass.
• Tiliter - Munich, Germany
• Varcode - Naperville, Ill.

Each startup has recently been assigned a mentor who will help them make connections in the region, plan regional business trips, and refine their business pitches. The finalists will pitch their ideas to a panel of Grow-NY judges and a live audience from Nov. 12-13 at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit held at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. 

Cornell University is administering the competition through its Center for Regional Economic Advancement.