Akorn Technology, a Berkeley, California-based agri-tech startup focused on reducing the amount of fresh produce lost or wasted by developing an edible coating to extend shelf life, has been announced as one of four winners of the UAE FoodTech Challenge during a live finale at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week – one of the world's largest sustainability gatherings. The company was selected from a pool of ten global finalists chosen from an initial 1,215 submissions across 113 countries.
Winners of UAE FoodTech Challenge
Now in its third edition, the UAE FoodTech Challenge identifies and scales the world's most promising agri-tech solutions that boost food production and reduce food loss and waste in arid and increasingly climate-stressed environments. The competition is organized by the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court and Tamkeen, in partnership with the Gates Foundation, ne'ma (the UAE's National Food Loss and Waste Initiative) – and Silal, a leading UAE agri-food company. Akorn Technology is the first US company to be named a FoodTech Challenge winner.
Akorn Technology, founded in 2019 by a team with experience spanning the high technology, consumer goods, and agriculture sectors, will share a $2 million prize package and receive further in-kind support to develop and scale their pioneering solution through the UAE's world-class innovation ecosystem, including technical and research support, pilot opportunities, market access, and incubation and acceleration services.
About Akorn Technology:
Challenge: An estimated 13% of food is lost between harvest and retail, with an additional 19% wasted at the consumption stage. Loss across the supply chain reduces availability and quality, cuts grower revenues, and increases environmental impact.
Mission: Reduce food loss by enabling producers and retailers to deliver harvest-fresh, tastier, and longer-lasting fruits and vegetables.
Innovative solution: A natural, edible coating for fruit and vegetables, including vegetable protein to slow ripening, wax to reduce moisture loss, and vegetable oil to maintain color, without altering the taste, quality, or nutritional value.
Future plans: Optimize the solution for the UAE and other arid environments, and scale deployment from current operations in Egypt and Ghana to include new international markets across the Global South, building more resilient supply chains and advancing global food security.
Akorn Technology - Winner of UAE FoodTech Challenge
Anthony Zografos, Founder and CEO of Akorn Technology, commented on the win: "It is an incredible honor to be a winner of the UAE FoodTech Challenge. We've always known that our breakthrough technology has the potential to solve one of the world's biggest challenges – food loss – and we are very excited to receive this validation by the judging committee."
"With the funding and ecosystem support offered by the FoodTech Challenge, we're planning to set up a research program and production capability in the UAE, and we expect to be in pilot production of our cutting-edge products within the next 12-18 months. We already have handshake agreements with growers in South Africa and Southeast Asia to test our products and we will move these projects forwards immediately."
Akorn Technology was named a winner of the UAE FoodTech Challenge alongside global startups Permia Sensing, HyveGeo, and Flybox, whose operations span Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East. They follow in the footsteps of previous UAE FoodTech Challenge winners, who have gone on to raise more than $48 million in follow-on funding, launch more than 50pilott projects, and successfully localize their technologies for the UAE, before scaling across similar environments.
