Finnish startup wins Tesco Agri T-Jam and World Agri-Tech Pitch Day

Chosen from over 140 international companies, eniferBio wins fast-track introduction to Tesco’s supply chain and mentoring from the Tesco Agriculture team.

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Simo Ellila pitching the eniferBio solution on stage. Picture: Danny Loo

September 22, 2022

Finnish startup eniferBio, focused on developing a mycoprotein to substitute soy in aquafeed, will work with Tesco and into its supply chain after winning the Tesco Agri T-Jam pitching event run in partnership with the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit. After the judging process with Tesco’s agriculture team and their supplier R&D committee, the winner at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit was revealed at the event.

“Chosen unanimously by the judging panel, eniferBio has created a new high protein product to compete in the protein feed market. Given Tesco’s ambitious sustainability commitments around sourcing deforestation and conversion-free soy by 2025, the potential of sustainable soy and soy alternatives is of particular interest to us and our suppliers, especially in the pig, poultry, and aquaculture sectors. We look forward to working with eniferBio and understanding how their product can help us meet our long-term sustainability ambitions,” said Natalie Smith, head of agriculture at Tesco.

“We are thrilled to have been selected as the winner of the Tesco Agri T-Jam 2022! It really highlights Tesco as a key player in the food value chain and really sees the potential of our solution to drive sustainability. Our mycoprotein as a drop-in ingredient is uniquely positioned to deliver sustainable, affordable nutrition to diverse value chains including aquafeed and pet food. We’re looking forward to working with Tesco and seeing how we can accelerate the adoption of our technology," said Simo Ellilä eniferBio’s co-founder and CEO.

Alongside Smith, the Tesco Agri T Jam judging panel included Richard Wood, meat, fish, and poultry category director; Tom Mackintosh, produce category director; David Ross of Agri-EPI Centre; and key supply chain partner representatives, David Moore of DPS and Dale Hill of Labeyrie Fine Foods.

The nine other finalists were: Altered Carbon (UK), Flox (UK), BigSis (UK), Earth Rover (UK), FarmHealth Guardian (Canada), Frasscoat (UK), Soos Technology (Israel), Pherosyn (UK), and iFlowTech (Thailand).

eniferBio recently expanded its partnership with Skretting to test its protein ingredient in Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout.