Celebrating a year of transformation since the Food Chain Innovation Challenge

One year ago, Lineage launched the Food Chain Innovation Challenge (FCIC) with a simple but ambitious goal: to inspire bold ideas that could help tackle one of the most pressing global issues of our time, food waste.

Every year, an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally, representing almost 17% of all food produced. In Europe alone, households throw away nearly 60 million tonnes annually, costing over €130 billion. The US saw food waste that reached approximately 133 billion pounds across retailers and consumers, worth about $161 billion. Food waste and food insecurity are two sides of the same coin, while millions of tonnes of edible food are discarded each year, millions of people still struggle to access nutritious meals. The stakes could not be higher.

The FCIC brought together entrepreneurs, students and changemakers who showed how creativity and collaboration can reimagine the food supply chain for a more sustainable future.

The value the FCIC brought

The Challenge was designed to drive innovation and continuous improvement in the food supply chain, connecting ideas with the scale and expertise needed to make them real. By uniting participants across regions, it proved the power of healthy competition to spark collaboration.

The FCIC showed that innovation doesn’t need to come from the biggest labs or the largest companies. It can come from a student, a startup or a single idea with the potential to scale.

Moreover, the Challenge was a reminder that tackling food waste is a shared responsibility and that when brilliant minds come together, solutions multiply.

Regional highlights and impact

From San Francisco to Amsterdam, the Challenge brought together brilliant minds united by one purpose: to make the global food supply chain smarter and more sustainable. Here’s a look at some of the standout innovations that emerged from each region.

United States (San Francisco)

Winner: Ryp Labs – with StixFresh, a natural, safe formulation that mimics plant defense mechanisms to slow fruit spoilage.

Since winning, Ryp Labs has entered Lineage’s executive-led incubator, accelerating its ability to scale and create meaningful global impact in reducing food waste. Lineage also arranged site visits across its network, including facilities handling fresh produce, helping the team deepen their understanding of the fresh supply chain and refine where their solution can best extend shelf life.

To further support their growth, Lineage connected Ryp Labs with potential customers, shared data insights from its Data Science team and provided a $50,000 investment through Lineage Ventures.

United Kingdom (London)

Winner: Mimica – with the Mimica Bump label, a tactile indicator that changes texture to reveal when food and drinks truly spoil.

This innovation has advanced conversations around smarter labelling and reducing unnecessary disposal.

“Winning the FCIC was an incredible moment for us. It validated that our innovation had relevance beyond retail, that it could play a real role within the wider food supply chain. Lineage’s recognition gave us the confidence to expand our reach, and since then, we’ve set up our first UK factory. It’s helped shine a light on creative solutions that might otherwise go under the radar and showed the industry why collaboration with innovators like us truly matters,” shared Solveiga Pakštaitė, Founder and Director of Mimica.

Netherlands (Amsterdam)

Winner: Barbara Šoštarić – with a visual shelf-life indicator that helps consumers use food in the right order before it spoils.

Barbara’s solution continues to spark important dialogue on consumer behavior and how small, everyday actions can reduce waste.

“Even the simplest idea can make a difference. My project showed that small shifts in behavior, if widely adopted, can ripple across households and communities. Winning the FCIC gave me real confidence in my idea and showed the importance of connection and collaboration in driving it forward. Working with Lineage helped me build valuable networks and keep the conversation going on how innovation and awareness can reduce food waste.” shared Barbara Šoštarić.

Reflections on the Food Chain Innovation Challenge

Together, the regional winners underscored the breadth of talent, creativity and determination working to drive meaningful changes across the food supply chain. The FCIC reminded us, and continues to remind us, that innovation can come from anywhere and even small-scale solutions can deliver global impact.

President of Lineage North America East, Sean Vanderelzen, proudly shared, “The Challenge showed what’s possible when  innovation and collaboration come together to tackle food waste. One year on, we’re still seeing its ripple effects across the supply chain.” 

One year on

As we mark this 12-month milestone, the Food Chain Innovation Challenge continues to inspire progress and spark new ideas, not least within Lineage itself. Within our business, it reaffirms a commitment to advancing innovation and collaboration to build a more sustainable global food system.

“The FCIC was only the beginning. The ideas we saw are shaping a future where the food supply chain works smarter, wastes less and sustains more.” highlights Jeff Rivera, Chief Operations Officer at Lineage.