Empire State Development and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement have announced the 20 startups selected as finalists in the seventh round of the Grow-NY food and agriculture business competition. The annual event, which will award $3 million in prize money this year, is designed to support economic growth in Upstate New York. Funding comes from New York State’s Upstate Revitalization Initiatives—Finger Lakes Forward, CNY Rising, and Southern Tier Soaring—as well as Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation.
Finalist startups are required to commit to expanding jobs, partnerships, or operations within a 22-county region in Upstate New York.
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Each year, the Grow-NY food and agriculture competition attracts top-quality startups and talent from around the world to Upstate New York. Through continued support from New York State, these Grow-NY innovators will create jobs and generate new investments that will drive economic growth in Central New York, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier for years to come.”
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball stated, “Grow-NY is integral to growing and enhancing New York’s agricultural economy, highlighting the diversity of our industry by featuring emerging businesses focused on critical areas, from high-tech solutions on the farm to food safety. I congratulate the finalists selected today and look forward to the next steps of the competition.”
This year’s competition drew applications from 270 startups across 41 countries. U.S.-based entries came from 31 states; 53 applicants were based in New York State. Nearly half of all applicants had a female founder, while over two-thirds included a founder from a culturally diverse background.
A panel of 40 judges with expertise in agribusiness, economic development, capital access equity, food systems, and entrepreneurship selected this year’s finalists. These companies will now enter a 10-week accelerator program focused on business development.
The list of finalists includes companies developing products such as biodegradable crop protection foam (Brekland), AI-driven agrochemical spraying (DeepAgro), plant-based proteins (Ergo Bioscience), health-focused frozen soups (Finger Foods Farm), methane mitigation for farms (Frost Methane), regenerative fava bean foods (Full of Beans Kitchen), surplus food rescue technology (Knead Technologies), algae-based printing inks (Living Ink Technologies), biodegradable packaging materials (Medium Well Technological Solutions), carbon-negative feedstocks (Mothership Materials), precision nutrient management tools (Picketa Systems), smart hive pollination services (PollenSmartHiveLtd), upcycled baking ingredients (Renewal Mill), wastewater ammonium recovery systems (Roca), menopause-focused nutrition products (Seen Nutrition), plant-based dairy alternatives (Shire’s Naturals), heat-absorbing shade panels (ThermoShade), insect larvae bioproducts for animal health (Trebe Biotech), fruit-infused whipped creams (Whipnotic) and recyclable bio-epoxy resins made from vegetable oils (ZILA BioWorks).
During their time in the accelerator program leading up to November’s summit in Canandaigua, NY, finalists will receive mentorship tailored by industry experts familiar with regional opportunities. They’ll also gain business development assistance aimed at refining their market strategies and regional plans; connect with local partners; visit potential sites; meet investors; and get pitch coaching.
Jenn Smith, Program Director for Grow-NY said: “The Grow-NY competition operates at the intersection of innovation, agriculture, and economic development. Our team spends months searching for novel food and ag startups making valuable changes to our food systems that could thrive and create opportunity in Upstate NY. We’re excited to facilitate their deep connections in the region over the next couple of months and look forward to sharing their pitches with the public in November.”
The upcoming Grow-NY Food & Ag Summit will take place November 12–13 at Canandaigua. It features live finalist pitches before judges recognized nationally for their expertise; a symposium discussing regional opportunities; networking roundtables hosted by ecosystem leaders; expert luncheons organized by Farm Credit East; as well as a student startup contest.
Seven winners will share $3 million: one top prize of $1 million; two awards worth $500,000 each; four prizes valued at $250,000 each. Winners are set to be announced during closing ceremonies at the summit.
Registration is open for both virtual and in-person attendance at https://cvent.me/E10znv . Further information about updates can be found at grow-ny.com , while details about Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement are available at crea.cornell.edu .
These efforts align with broader strategies across Upstate regions:
– In the Finger Lakes area (“Finger Lakes Forward”), investment focuses include photonics manufacturing alongside agriculture ([details](https://esd.ny.gov/finger-lakes-forward)).
– Central NY’s “CNY Rising” plan emphasizes global market opportunities ([details](https://esd.ny.gov/cny-rising)).
– The Southern Tier strategy targets workforce attraction alongside business growth ([details](https://esd.ny.gov/southern-tier-soaring)).
Empire State Development serves as New York’s primary economic development agency supporting job creation statewide through initiatives like these competitions while overseeing Regional Economic Development Councils ([about ESD](https://esd.ny.gov/about-us)).
