9 innovative projects present their solutions for the food industry at the Demo Day of the 7th Edition of Business Factory Food

• The Demo Day of the 7th Edition of Business Factory Food was held on 23 September at the Palacio del Carmen Hotel, where startups presented progress made on their innovative solutions.
• The event featured two pitch rounds, a presentation by Valentín García Alcocer (Eatable Adventures), a round table on the challenges of taking innovation from the pilot stage to market, and the presentation of the Best Startup 2026 award.
• The event also served to present the 9th edition of BFFood, whose call for applications is currently open.

Business Factory Food (BFFood), the entrepreneurship and innovation programme specialising in the Galician food industry, held the Demo Day of its 7th edition this week. The event brought together the projects participating in the programme with companies, investors, mentors and other professionals linked to the food ecosystem in Santiago de Compostela.

The Fórum B at the Palacio del Carmen Hotel, Autograph Collection, hosted a day focused on showcasing how the solutions developed by the startups can address the current challenges facing the food industry and move towards market implementation.

The event opened with speeches by Roberto Alonso, Director of the Galician Food Cluster, and Raquel Rodríguez, Director General of XesGalicia. Both highlighted the role of innovation and entrepreneurship as key elements in the development and competitiveness of the food industry. “A Demo Day is a good moment to pause and look at what has been achieved so far. That is what this event is about: finding ways for a project to become a real business opportunity,” said Raquel Rodríguez.

Nine projects presented their solutions

One of the highlights of the 7th Demo Day was the two pitch rounds, during which the projects participating in the acceleration and consolidation phases of the 7th edition presented the progress they had made throughout the programme, as well as the opportunities for applying their solutions in the food industry.

The projects address challenges related to digitalisation, automation, new product development, process innovation, commercialisation, logistics, sustainability, traceability and food safety.

1. Vanetta Food, with Águeda Ubeira: A line of 100% plant-based spreads with a high protein content and a long shelf life without refrigeration. It reinvents classics such as sobrasada and pâté using natural ingredients, creamy textures and intense flavours, designed for flexible and healthy consumption.
2. RUXE (Rumbo Norte Foods), with Joaquín Rivas: A Galician canned food brand incorporating QR technology to connect each product with its origin, recipes, audiovisual content and tourism experiences. Its proposal combines tradition, digitalisation and territorial promotion within a single business model.
3. Liofimar (Innocosta), with Rosa Mary González: Aims to enhance the value of Galician coastal fish through freeze-drying processes. This technique preserves its properties without additives or the need for refrigeration, facilitating its commercialisation in gourmet and healthy food markets, including destinations with logistical barriers.
4. Mareterra Conservas, with Carlos Rodríguez Diéguez: Mareterra offers an innovative line of canned desserts free from gluten, additives and preservatives, made with high-quality raw materials. Unlike traditional refrigerated or frozen desserts, these products have a shelf life of up to four years in a glass jar, reducing transportation, storage and distribution costs.
5. Binarial (Troo4Food), with Rodrigo Randulfe: Development of an affordable mobile robot adapted to the food factory environment. It will be designed to operate in narrow and humid spaces, using resistant materials and special wheels, thereby improving internal logistics and reducing operational risks.
6. Optimuu, with Aina Mena Grañó: An artificial intelligence-based platform for predictive feed optimisation on dairy cattle farms. It collects and interprets field data to improve feed efficiency, reduce waste and promote animal welfare.
7. BOGABOGA Solucións en Rede, with Julio Doamo Vázquez: Develops technological solutions aimed at reducing food waste. Through digital tools, it connects companies within the sector based on principles of transparency, reliable information, exclusivity and respect for negotiation timelines.
8. Agro4Data, with José de Luna Delgado: A technology platform providing personalised agricultural predictions through artificial intelligence. Without the need for proprietary hardware, it enables users to anticipate risks such as frost, pests and water imbalances, helping to optimise crops and agronomic decision-making.
9. Masel, with Román Pérez Mandado: A management platform for the hospitality sector that transforms data into profitable and sustainable actions. It reduces losses through traceability and a dynamic menu, manages no-show reservations through automatic customer charges and optimises staff planning by calculating the hourly break-even point.

From collaboration between startups to market launch

The programme also featured the presentation “Innovating to Scale: What Industry Is Learning from Collaboration with Startups”, delivered by Valentín García Alcocer, VP of Innovation Strategy at Eatable Adventures.

The presentation explored the evolution of the relationship between startups and industry, as well as the key elements for building collaborations capable of generating value and facilitating the integration of new solutions into the processes and business models of food companies.

The round table that followed, “From Pilot to Business: What Does It Take to Scale Innovation in the Food Industry?”, brought together three complementary perspectives from the ecosystem: Maruxa Quiroga, CEO of TasteLab/Sensesbit; Julio Martínez Rumbo, Head of Strategic Projects and Corporate Development at CEAMSA; and Antonio Tornero, Investment Manager at Clave Capital.

The discussion focused on the factors influencing the transition of an innovative solution from the development or pilot stage to effective market implementation, addressing issues such as collaboration with industry, solution validation, funding and the conditions required to support startup growth.

“Best Startup 2026” Award

During the presentation rounds, attendees had the opportunity to vote for the best startup from among the companies participating in the event.

The “Best Startup 2026” award ultimately went to Optimuu and was collected by its founder and CEO, Aina Mena Grañó. The honourable mentions went to Vanetta Food (collected by Águeda Ubeira, CEO and founder), in second place, and Masel (collected by CEO Román Pérez), in third place.

9th edition of BFFood

The event also served as the Info Day for the 9th edition of BFFood, whose call for applications remains open.

Noelia Dosil, Coordinator of the Innovation, Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship Area at the Galician Food Cluster, presented the main new features of the ninth edition, as well as the opportunities and resources that BFFood offers innovative projects seeking to develop and grow their solutions within the food sector.

Interested professionals can consult the call guidelines and submit their applications through the BFFood website. The application deadline for the incubation programme is 7 October, while applications for the consolidation programme remain open until 17 November.

With the celebration of the 7th Demo Day, BFFood continues to strengthen its role as a meeting point for entrepreneurship, knowledge, investment and industry, facilitating the creation of new collaboration opportunities and contributing to the development of a more innovative and competitive food industry.

Business Factory Food (BFFood) is a programme specialising in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in the Galician food industry. It is promoted by the Xunta de Galicia and driven by the Galician Food Cluster, with the support of IGAPE and XesGalicia and the participation of leading companies in the sector.