FoodTech® Grand Sud brings together an ecosystem that is very favorable to the emergence and development of foodtech and naturality start-ups based on plants. Supported by the Innov'Alliance cluster, France's leading food/wellness/naturalness cluster, FoodTech® Grand Sud brings together all the players in the agricultural, agrifood, health food, ingredients and food supplements sectors, as well as their technological solution providers, particularly for agritech or consumer use, in an area covering the Corsican community, the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur region and the old Languedoc Roussillon region. Within an enlarged community of more than 70 start-ups throughout the Innov'Alliance cluster's territory, the FoodTech® Grand Sud network brings together some forty of them which can rely on a very dense multidisciplinary network of partner companies, five universities and engineering schools, research organizations, including several INRAE centers, agricultural experimentation centers, a nationally recognized agrifood technical center (CTCPA) and many complementary support structures to meet the different needs of startups.
FoodTech® Grand Sud is based on a territory with major differentiating arguments for the deployment of its startups across the entire value chain, from the plant to processed products and consumers. This allows them to develop, test and market their innovations in unique conditions. The Agritech sector can thus offer its biosolutions and digital and robotic solutions to increase the sustainability of flagship plant productions: forestry, citrus growing, olives, market gardening, viticulture, aromatic and medicinal plants, rice, durum wheat.... In addition to its field crops, the FoodTech® Grand Sud region is characterized by a significant activity of under cover agricultural production but also sees many innovative initiatives flourish in terms of indoor cultivation, bioconversion, upcycling, transformation of biomass and co-products as part of a cross-sectoral offer to the cosmetics industry, dietary supplements, flavors and fragrances - 10% of the turnover of the aromatic industry (Arkopharma, L'Occitane, Givaudan, IFF, Mane, Robertet . ..). Agrifood startups rely on regional production to meet societal expectations in terms of consumption: more local, more plant-based, more circular, more ecological for more naturalness. In addition, the region has a very high level of expertise in the field of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence, with one of the four Interdisciplinary Institutes of Artificial Intelligence in Sophia Antipolis. Finally, the start-ups in the FoodTech® Grand Sud network benefit from strong institutional support, for example, at the heart of the Naturalité Regional Interest Operation and several annual funding committees, supplemented by regional investment funds.
The FoodTech® Grand Sud ecosystem, supported by Innov'Alliance cluster, offers a complete innovation cycle support to foodtech companies in its territory to accelerate the development of their new products and services and their access to market. Startups in the FoodTech® Grand Sud network can rely in particular on the Innov'Axelere program to benefit from personalized support over 12 months with access to mentors, experts and financial players. In addition to the many networking opportunities, the Innov'Alliance cluster also offers startups in its FoodTech® Grand Sud network webinars dedicated to their problems, an open innovation offer and connections with contractors, market research services and technological or competitive intelligence, and funding rounds with its banking partners. The FoodTech® Grand Sud network can also rely on the skills and infrastructures of the cluster in the field of consumer and sensory studies (focus groups, consumer studies, expert panels, usage tests, surveys, etc.). FoodTech® Grand Sud also has the mission to represent and promote this ecosystem and its players through activities (dedicated events, trade shows ...) on its territory and at national and international level in partnership with other foodtech networks.
