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Meet the participants of the Food Pioneers Program 2026

  • 4 days ago
  • 2 min read

The Food Pioneers Program 2026 has officially kicked off! Last week, we opened the program with an inspiring first day at Energy Up in Zeewolde, where we welcomed 20 food entrepreneurs into a new edition of the program.


Over the coming months, they will work on growing their businesses through workshops, coaching, sparring and new connections. Everything builds towards the pitch event, where they will present their businesses to a jury of experts and a relevant audience from the food sector and possibly secure a share of the €240,000 in growth capital.


Meet the 2026 participants

This year’s cohort brings together a strong mix of founders, products and growth stages. Different categories, different business models and different routes to market, but one clear shared mindset: these entrepreneurs are ready to accelerate their growth.


These are the 20 participants of the Food Pioneers Program 2026:

  • Bo&Co Drinks | Karin Gefken

  • Chardy’s | Jeroen Aarts & Duncan Chard

  • Chocobytes | Anna Hajrapetian

  • DEVISMAN | Ingrid Jonker-Visman

  • Eese | Frederique Lemoine

  • FatCamel | Marlou Verhoeven

  • Fil Foods | Layth Massoud

  • Fou Food Lab | Ivana Mik

  • Fungitown Mushrooms | Alan Grommers

  • Insectenhouderij Verkaik | Sander Verkaik

  • Leah’s Brood | Leah ter Berg

  • Mati | Elisa Leeser & Suza Zeegers

  • Mothers Kitchen Almere | Naveen Gopi

  • Nommaste | Madhavi Sahu & Arvind Sankaran

  • Nooda | Steven Bos

  • Simple Protein | Rutger Smids

  • The Oh Collective | Winxi Kan

  • Weeknight Hero | Nicole McMahon

  • Weijnschenk | Tim Weijnschenk


Working towards the pitch event

The Food Pioneers Program runs for six months and combines workshops, coaching and community. Throughout the program, we bring participants together in sessions on growth, product-market fit, finance and free publicity, alongside deeper sessions such as In the Mind of the Buyer. The program concludes with a live pitch event on 8 October 2026. During the finale, participants will present their businesses to a jury of experts and a relevant audience from the food sector.


New in 2026 is the program’s development into a full incubator. During the finale, participants get the chance to secure part of €240,000 in growth capital, divided across 3 to 5 startups. That means the program is not only about knowledge, coaching and network, but also about creating real growth opportunities at a stage where access to capital is often still difficult.


Stay tuned

Over the coming months, we will share more from the program as this cohort works towards the pitch event. Want to stay informed about the Food Pioneers Program 2026, ask a question, or be the first to hear when registration for the pitch event opens? Fill out the form on this page.


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