Grow-NY Selects 20 Finalists for Food and Ag Competition

Empire State Development and Cornell University's Center for Regional Economic Advancement have announced the 20 finalists selected to take part in year five of Grow-NY, a food and agriculture business competition.

The competition is 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 is comprised of 22 counties located in Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier regions.

A total of 323 startups applied from 49 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Domestic teams also showed strong interest, with 32 states represented in the applicant pool, including 81 entries from New York. Of the company founders, 42% of applicants include a female founder, and 61% include 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.

Grow-NY will award a total of $3 million in prize money to seven winners. This includes a $1 million top prize, two $500,000 prizes and four $250,000 prizes. The 20 finalists are:

1. Agriwater
2. Big Yield Growers
3. Blue Cove Fish, LLC
4. Cattle Scan
5. Clean Label Solution, LLC
6. Crover
7. FaunaTech
8. FoodNerd
9. GR8PE by Stil-Bène
10. Grape.ag
11. HempWood
12. Hypercell Technologies
13. KEHO
14. LeafSpec, LLC
15. Mush Foods
16. MycoLogic
17.  SomaDetect, Inc.
18. TAINR
19. We Are The New Farmers
20. Wisely, Inc.

The Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit will be held on November 14-15, 2023 at the Binghamton University Events Center. The event is open to the public and will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, and networking opportunities.

Photo Credit: Grow NY