Empire State Development (ESD) and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) today announced the 20 finalists selected to take part in year five of Grow-NY, a food and agriculture business competition focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage, and agriculture innovation cluster in upstate New York. The competition is funded through New York state’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative and administered by CREA. Winning companies will be required to make a positive economic impact in the Grow-NY region, which comprises 22 counties located in Central NY, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier regions.
“The innovative Grow-NY business competition has once again attracted a group of exceptional startups and entrepreneurial talent from around the world,” said ESD President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight. “Grow-NY’s agribusiness focus demonstrates New York State’s continued dedication to supporting agriculture advancements that will create jobs and grow the Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier economies.”
“For five years, the Grow-NY competition has showcased the strength and diversity of New York State’s agriculture and food businesses,” said State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball. “The program has consistently helped enhance our agricultural economy, attracting exciting, cutting-edge companies that are creating innovative new agricultural technologies and career paths while supporting New York farmers. I congratulate not only the finalists, but all the startups and entrepreneurs who participated in the competition and look forward to seeing all that they will go on to do.”
In total, 323 startups applied from 49 countries, including Canada, the UK, and Italy. Domestic teams also showed strong interest, with 32 states represented in the applicant pool, including 81 entries from New York. Forty-two percent of applicants included a female founder, and 61 percent included a founder from an underrepresented minority group. A panel of 30 judges, reflecting a depth and breadth of regional expertise, knowledge of the region’s agriculture and food production communities, and entrepreneurial experience, reviewed all the applications to determine the top 20 finalists that will pitch their business plans at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit in Binghamton in November.
The 20 selected finalists, in alphabetical order, are:
1. Agriwater Corp, Champaign, Ill. 2. Blue Cove Fish LLC, New York City
3. Cattle Scan, Guelph, Canada
4. Clean Label Solution LLC, Ithaca, N.Y. 5. Crover, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
6. FaunaTech, Bangalore, India
7. FoodNerd, Buffalo, N.Y.
8. FoodReady Inc., Chicago 9. Grape.ag, Cupertino, Calif.
10. GR8PE by Stil-Bène, Geneva, N.Y.
11. HempWood, Murray, Ky.
12. Hypercell Technologies, Peachtree Corners, Ga.
13. KEHO, New York City
14. LeafSpec LLC, West Lafayette, Ind.
15. Mush Foods, New York City
16. MycoLogic, Kennesaw, Ga.
17. SomaDetect Inc., Halifax, Canada
18. TAINR, Los Angeles
19. We Are the New Farmers, Brooklyn, N.Y.
20. Wisely, Inc., Wilmington, N.C.
Photo Credit: Grow NY
Categories: New York, Business, Crops