NATURE FOODS – Latvia

Nature Foods is a food and beverage production company founded in 2017 by German Prof. Dr. rer. medic. Markus Masin, located in Latvia. Our goal is to combine medical and scientific knowledge with technological innovation to provide the best plant-based food options for a modern and health conscious consumer.

I am Michel Wettstein, CEO of Nature Foods SIA. My background is in economics & finance, but decided in 2017 to follow my interests into the world of startups and to do an MBA in innovation & entrepreneurship. I have combined my study period with learning everything about the Baltic startup ecosystem that I was interested in. This is around time time I met Prof. Dr. Markus Masin, the founder of Nature Foods SIA, I passionately knew immediately that this will be my next journey.

“We strongly believe dairy free, plant-based food products that are grown and produced in an environmentally sustainable way are the future of the global food market.”

AGROVA (Phylazonit™) – Hungary

Agrova Ltd. was founded in 2003 in Hungary and come a long way over the past decades – from a small family business to a modern enterprise. Setting the vision of improving soil health and preserving agricultural potential for future generations as a main target, the company has developed Phylazonit™ and Myrazonit™ liquid bacteria fertilizers which are made up of natural bacterium strains, increasing humus content and soil fertility in a natural way.

Szilvia Palakovics represents Agrova during the Fast Track program. She is responsible for the company’s international corporate relations, as well as the search for distributors in foreign markets. In addition to these, she assists the work of Agrova’s existing foreign partners and resellers in their marketing and professional activities, as well as in serving their customers.

“We truly believe that this would serve not only our, but the whole planet’s interest.”

HERMES SMART CONTROL – Spain

Hermes Smart Control is a young company working in the IoT sector developing a solution to monitoring livestock for the whole food-chain. We have identified a weak process in livestock handling related to animal transport. We track and monitor physical and chemical transport conditions to ensure animal welfare.

The company is represented by Xavier Barra, an expert in organizational management and engineering. He comes with real-world experience as a leader and business strategist and has a sharp focus on further developing the reach and potential of the company.

“We only settle for the best, because our only and highest priority is your total satisfaction. We are like that, and we are proud of it.”

SEATRIENTS – Sweden/The Caribbean

Seatrients is co-founded by two female entrepreneurs, both with Caribbean descent. We met during our MA for Leadership for Sustainability at Malmö University where we started to work on the idea.

“My name is Amankwa Baptiste; a Malmo University masters graduate in Leadership for Sustainability, with a postgrad in Environmental Management and Policy from Harvard University. I decided to pursue environmental management and sustainability education to fill the need for equipped minds to shift the focus of established industries to become more aware and engaged with today’s challenges.”

“My name is Krishma Jean-Baptiste. My entrepreneurial pursuit began during my secondary education as the President of a Junior Achievement mini-enterprise but my inspiration comes from my father who is a French micro-entrepeneur. I have experience in the use of animal and plant-based compounds in the sustainable production of food and biotech products. I pursued MA in Leadership for Sustainability at Malmo University with a focus on fostering sustainability in the life science industry. ”

Seatrients will be primarily represented by Amankwa Baptiste.

Kora Agrilab – Spain

We are a biotech company dedicated to providing products and tools for sustainable intensification of agriculture. We orchestrate root-microbes interactions through a three-piece process, which results in a richer rhizosphere and more productive crops.

OUr VISION: Regenerative agriculture at the microscale: healthy soil microbiomes for sustainable food production.

Tristano Bachhetti de Gregoris represents Kora Agrilab at the Growth Train Fast Track program. He is a marketing and sales expert has has created and managed a team of sales representatives. Besides his success in the field of business, Tristano has co-authred of 9 scientific articles about biotech that make the use of microbial ecology.

“Healthier soil. Healthier food. Healthier planet.”

ÖSELBIRCH – Estonia

We are a family-owned company from Estonia producing and marketing “ÖselBirch”​ refreshment drinks based on birch sap. Birch water is a traditional beverage in Nordic countries and its refreshing benefits for our health are long recognised.
Our speciality is fermented birch sap.

Its establishment was inspired by our beloved Grandma. Every spring, right when then snow starts to melt, she would tap the trees and collect the nutritious and tasty birch sap. In summer holidays, when the school’s out and the days are never-ending, we always went to visit her in Saaremaa (aka. Ösel), which is the biggest island in Estonia. The birch water, which was naturally fermented by the summer was then the best refreshment on a hot day at a hayfield.

Öselbirch is represented by Siiri Vene, who is a business graduate with expertise within financial analysis, risk management and business planning – which puts her at the forefront in evaluating new markets for Öselbirch.

“ÖselBirch – Made by Nature, brewed by Granny!”

HONEYFLOW – Nigeria/USA

Honey Flow Africa has a custom-built beehive that features patent-pending technology that offers an easier and more gentle way to harvest honey from bees without disturbing them; optimizes beekeeping operations by bringing the power of IoT, AI and Big Data to the African beekeeping process to improve honey production, processing, and predictability.

Honeyflow is represented by Amaete Umanah, a multi-disciplinary, parallel entrepreneur who is passionate about gadgets, software and hardware development, agriculture, livestock and technology. He has been responsible for systems integration at water treatment, food, beverage, pharmaceutical, utilities, and manufacturing plants around the world. He received BSEE from the DeVry University at Pomona, California.

“Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius.”

GREENJOY STRAW – Vietnam

GreenJoy hails from Vietnam and our grass straws are biodegradable straws made from lepironia, a plant that is native to the Mekong Delta. These grass straws are the best alternative to plastic straws. We have a mission to accelerate the phasing out of single-use plastic by making the most sustainable and affordable straws made from grass for F&B sectors and individuals.

Vo Nguyen is the founder, CEO, and majority shareholder of GreenJoy and she will represent the company in the Fast Track program. She is also responsible for GreenJoy’ s operations and leadership, with a 10 year experience in operations, supply chain, and project management. Vo Nguyen has an MBA in Kedge Business School, France.

“We want to replace 5 billion straws by 2025 and aim to turn grass into money.”