Cereal, Europastry’s new bakery and pastry R&D center, has launched Baking the Future, the first startup accelerator in the bakery sector, with the goal of identifying innovative solutions generated by startups from all over the world and to build an open innovation model for the company.
The acceleration program lasts six months and is designed to support entrepreneurs in developing their products, testing product viability in the market and creating new business models, as well as help them to promote their projects.
The five startups selected to participate in the Baking the Future accelerator will be able to access the following:
- Tailor-made work sessions
- A workspace at Cereal’s facilities in Barcelona
- Specialized mentoring sessions with members of the Cereal team who are highly qualified in bakery-related areas (R&D, sales, marketing, etc.)
- Access to Europastry’s R&D Department to not only develop, test, and produce products using the latest technologies but also manufacture on a pilot scale at Cereal’s facilities
- Europastry’s smart capital for improving the concept in its high-tech laboratories
- Access to sensory analyses
- Inspirational sessions and workshops
- Business plan design
- Template for and refinement of the pitch
- Preparatory sessions for Demo Day
- Communication plan
With this open innovation model, Cereal focuses on breaking environmental barriers through more sustainable packaging, reuse of leftovers and recycling; improving the consumer experience through new business models; and new solutions to improve the quality of bakery products and consumer health.
Projects will be accepted until September 5. All projects will be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee made up of a team appointed by Europastry. After the selections have been made, a maximum of 5 startup projects will be notified of their inclusion in the Baking the Future acceleration program, which will begin on September 26 at Cereal in Barcelona.
Demo Day will take place after the end of the six-month program, when the startups will present their projects to a network of private investors and highly qualified experts.
