pladis program plans to help with a snacking reshape

Snacking business pladis is launching the second year of its Accelerator Programme, seeking food-tech startups from across the globe that can improve nutrition and ingredient sustainability without compromising on taste.

With GLP-1 medicines changing eating habits and climate pressures affecting ingredient supplies, pladis is interested in innovations spanning sugar reduction, alternative ingredients, and flavour and texture.

Tim Ingmire, VP global innovation and technology at pladis, said: “The pressures on food are increasing. The pleasure people expect from it is not. A breakthrough only matters if people want another bite. That’s the challenge we’re putting to the food-tech community: help us find new ways to improve nutrition and rethink ingredients while preserving the flavour and texture people love.”

pladis is looking for technologies that could improve nutrition or make snacks more sustainable without making them less enjoyable. That includes new approaches to indulgent reformulation, flavour and texture — from fermentation and enzymatic processing to sensory science and natural alternatives to common additives. It is also exploring how developments in gut health, functional ingredients and personalised nutrition could shape the next generation of products.

The first pladis Accelerator attracted around 300 applications from five continents. Twelve startups were selected as finalists in the program, benefiting from the expertise of 37 mentors from across pladis and Yıldız Holding’s global and regional teams. The program led to six proof-of-concept collaborations, demonstrating how emerging food technologies can be explored and validated within a global food business.

The technologies involved ranged from Zya’s Convero enzyme, which the company says can convert up to 30% of sugar into fibre after consumption without changing taste, to Fermtech’s fermentation of food-industry by-products into an alternative to cocoa. Dublin-based Nuritas, meanwhile, uses artificial intelligence and genomics to identify bioactive plant peptides for potential use in functional food ingredients.

Up to 12 startups will have the opportunity to work with specialists from across pladis, accessing technical and operational expertise, and three to six will potentially progress to pilot or co-development opportunities.

“Startups bring specialist technology and the freedom to challenge assumptions about how food is made. We bring a deep understanding of ingredients, flavour and texture and what it takes to make food consistently at scale,” Ingmire said.

“The interesting bit is what happens when you put those strengths together and turn an exciting technology into something people actually want to eat.”

The program is now open for applications and will close on 15 January 2027. Selected startups will be announced in early March.

For more details, visit here.

Image credit: iStock.com/AleksandraAverina