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.
