EIT Food Seedbed: up to EUR 30,000 for agrifood startups

EIT Food has launched the Seedbed Venture Catalyst Call for Startups, designed to provide equity-free financial support to early-stage agrifood ventures. The initiative targets startup teams that require external funding to overcome critical hurdles in their development journey and accelerate business validation.

Selected ventures can receive up to EUR 30,000 in funding alongside participation in an acceleration programme. The acceleration package features structured mentorship and customer-centric business model testing to help founders validate their solutions in the market.

The call remains open until January 27, 2027. Applications are welcomed from eligible agrifood startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and entrepreneurial teams operating within Horizon Europe participating countries, including Ukraine.

What is funded

The grant provides targeted financing to address specific development bottlenecks that impede venture progress. Eligible cost items include producing test batches of novel ingredients, purchasing specialized equipment for test laboratory facilities, and securing intellectual property rights.

Funding may also be directed toward operational necessities, such as contract negotiations or hiring and compensating a co-founder to ensure their dedicated commitment to the venture. The scope encompasses innovations across the agrifood spectrum, including alternative proteins, processing technologies, logistics, and food waste reduction.

Financial assistance is structured alongside the Seedbed acceleration programme, offering founders structured support to test their value proposition directly with potential clients and industry experts.

Who can apply

Eligibility is open to early-stage startups, SMEs, research teams, and individual entrepreneurs working in the agrifood sector. Applicants must be based in EU member states or countries associated with Horizon Europe, which explicitly includes Ukraine.

A key qualification requirement is that projects must originate from or be created through the seven designated Venture Catalyst partners. These official partners comprise Carbon13, Enviu, FOOD FOUNDERS, Fresh Ventures, Ivoro, Kost Studio, and Zinc.

Teams must be at an early stage where technical or commercial de-risking is required, showing a clear need for external resources to achieve their next operational milestone.

Conditions and requirements

Grant allocations are managed under a lump-sum agreement model, meaning funds are disbursed to achieve predefined venture building results rather than simple cost reimbursements.

All activities and expenditures must directly contribute to removing verifiable roadblocks in the venture development cycle. Ventures must align with EIT Food priority areas, such as protein diversification, resilient agriculture, and agrifood biotechnology.

Practical tip. Review your current venture builder milestones to ensure your planned activities match the eligible expenditure examples, such as IP securing or prototype batch testing, and align your budget template precisely with the deliverables specified by your partner venture builder.

How to apply

Proposals must be prepared and submitted online via the official EIT Food open calls portal. Applicants are required to consult the Call Guidelines document prior to drafting their proposal.

The submission package requires the completion of an official Excel budget template and adherence to the draft lump-sum contract conditions. Applicants must submit their documentation well before the final closing deadline of January 27, 2027.

Applications are submitted on the donor’s page: eitfood.eu.