We’re giving 10 startups an exclusive chance to take center stage at F&A Next and present themselves as one of the world’s Next Heroes in Food & Agtech. At the same time, they’ll compete for the prestigious Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award. This is a unique opportunity to showcase your innovation to a high-profile audience of key stakeholders, including investors, leading corporations, and influential media.
What does participating mean?
Each startup has three minutes to present itself on stage to the live and online audience, including a small expert panel. After the presentation, there’s a three-minute Q&A session with the expert panel, which has an extensive track record in the agri-food industry.
Registration for Next Heroes in Food & Agtech 2025 has closed. Here are this year’s candidates!
What’s in it for me?
If you are one of the startups to be selected as one of our heroes, your benefits are:
- Two free startup tickets to F&A Next will give you access to key network opportunities.
- Pitching your company to leading corporates, investors, media, and other stakeholders that can help you grow.
- One-on-one Pitch Training with a professional pitch coach (optional).
- Media exposure. Your logo and company profile will be shared with all event attendees and media.
- The distinguished title ‘Next Hero in Food & Agtech 2025′.
- The chance of winning one of two ‘Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Awards 2025′ (Categories ‘Pre-Seed/Seed’ or ‘Series A/B’), entailing a €12,500 cash prize and advisory support from Feike Sijbesma.
Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award
As one of our Next Heroes in Food & AgTech, you’ll have the chance to win the prestigious Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award. In 2025, for the first time, we will honor not one but two winners, each receiving €12,500. The jury will select one winner in the Pre-Seed/Seed stage category and another in the Series A/B stage category.
Named after former DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma, the DSM Brighter Living Foundation made the award possible. Its purpose is to support innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide in scaling their science-based solutions, focusing strongly on sustainable, climate-resilient food systems.
During the closing ceremony of the F&A Next Summit, Mr. Sijbesma will personally present the awards to the winners. The selection will be made by an independent jury composed of investors and industry experts with a proven track record in the agrifood sector.
Qualification requirements Next Heroes in Food & Agtech:
Apply if your startup…
- Works on a genuinely innovative and sustainable product or technology with an application in food and/or agriculture.
- Aims to impact at scale with a focus on sustainability (people, profit, and planet) and climate-resilient agrifood systems.
- Builds something that consumers or the industry needs or wants.
- Is anywhere between the Pre-seed and Series-B stage (your company is not older than 10 years).
- Actively looks for funding or partnerships.
F&A Next only considers applications that meet the above qualification criteria. Another requirement is that a (co)founder will be the person pitching live on stage at F&A Next.
What previous 'Next Heroes in Food & Agtech' have to say!
How does F&A Next evaluate and review the pitch applications?
High-ranking startups exhibit the following evaluation criteria: include all this information in your pitch deck!
A) Team background:
Exceptional domain and entrepreneurial experience.
B) Business model:
The company has a strong view of its revenue model, competitors, how to scale, customer acquisition, and cost base. The company knows its margins and how it can improve as it scales.
C) Market opportunity:
High growth market opportunity and high barriers to entry.
D) Product innovation:
Concept is a game-changing approach to solving a problem or gap in the market.
E) Product validation and traction:
The team is on track to building a successful business. The company creates something consumers or the industry needs or wants and has raised external funds.
F) Sustainability and social impact:
The concept is focused on the triple bottom line: people, profit, and planet.
Application deadline Next Heroes in Food & Agtech
Applications for Next Heroes in Food & Agtech 2025 have closed.
