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Innovation Award winners revealed at Fi Europe ceremony

The food ingredient industry gathered to discover which companies scooped up first prize at the 2024 Fi Europe Innovation Awards in Frankfurt on 19 November. Discover the full list of winners.

The Innovation Awards celebrate the teams, individuals and companies breaking new ground in the food ingredients industry.

On 19 November, food technologists and R&D professionals from the food and drink ingredient industry gathered to hear which innovations had been selected by the panel of jury members.

There could be only one winner in each category but the quality of innovation was high and, in many cases, the judges offered high commendations to other entries.

Read below to find out the winners of each category.

Health Innovation Category Winner: ADM for its entry ‘ES1 (Bifidobacterium longum CECT 7347) postbiotic’

The jury commented that ADM deserved first prize in this category because its postbiotic “demonstrat[ed] clear health benefits for consumers in multiple food applications”.

Health Innovation Category Highly Commended: Novonesis for its entry ‘Discover your zen with MindAble 1714

Sustainability Innovation Category Winner: AAK for its entry ‘Empowering women in shea’

This entry impressed the judges because AAK demonstrated “depth and scale of impact across the three sustainability pillars of environmental, societal and economic”, they said.

Sustainability Innovation Category Highly Commended: Dossche Mills for its entry ‘Third party verified Terah Standard makes the difference in the journey towards 50% carbon reduction in flour’

Plant-based Innovation Award Winner: Avebe for its entry ‘Say goodbye to flimsy coatings!’

According to the jury panel, Avebe deserved to win first prize in this category because it “identified a key quality challenge and developed a compelling plant-based solution”.

Food Manufacturing Award Winner: GEA Process Engineering for its entry ‘Next generation RAY Plus batch freeze dryers for food applications’

GEA Process Engineering wowed the jury with this freeze-drying technology that “opens new opportunities for products and markets due to reduced operating costs and increased efficiencies”.

Future Foodtech Innovation Award Winner: Cargill for its entry ‘Indulgence Redefined – Confectionery alternative to chocolate in partnership with Voyage Foods’

This entry impressed the jury, who deemed it to be “a revolutionary toolkit to generate confectionery alternatives from multiple feed stocks including waste streams”.

Pet food Innovation Award Winner: Cargill for its entry ‘Modern pet diets require modern ingredients to keep pace with changing consumer demands’

Cargill scooped up this prize thanks to its ingredient that, according to the jury panel, “unlocks the key benefits of vitality and gut health by retaining efficacy through modern pet food processing conditions”.

Dairy Alternative Innovation Award Winner: Bunge for its entry ‘Beleaf Plantery: a sustainable, versatile, and unique fat system to replace dairy fat’

The jury commented that this ingredient was “a unique, versatile and sustainable alternative which demonstrated the key functional characteristics of dairy fat”.

Dairy Alternative Innovation Category Highly Commended: Avebe for its entry ‘The Plant-based Yogurt: Texture takes center stage with PerfectaSOL D600’

Diversity & Inclusion Innovation Award Winner: Agronutris for its entry ‘Shared governance, enabling diversity and inclusion’

The jury panel awarded Agronutris this award for its work in “building a diverse, equitable and inclusive company by design, through transparent shared governance”.

Sensory Innovation Award Winner: Novonesis for its entry ‘Novamyl® BestBite: Discover a perfectly balanced bite’

This entry impressed the jury, who described it as “an enzyme system delivering enhanced sensory quality throughout the shelf life in baked goods”.

The judging panel was chaired by Prof. Colin Dennis, chair of the board of trustees at IFIS and the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF).

The other jury members were Michael Adams, head of product innovation at Campden BRI; João Brites, director of growth and innovation at HowGood; Nicolas Bordenave, research director at INRAE, Sandra Einerhand, nutrition science consultant at Einerhand Science & Innovation; Ian D. Healey, editorial director at Dr. Harnisch Publications; Nick Henson, food product developer; V. Krishnakumar, managing director at Giract; Efi Leontopoulou, manager of scientific and regulatory affairs at EAS Strategies; and Rosemary Maguire, managing director at Essence.