Carrefour launches an international competition to help vegan startups grow

The supermarket giants have understood this well, the plates of the future will be more plant-based. To accelerate the food transition in this direction, Carrefour has just launched the Plant-Based Contest, a competition for start-ups and companies. Objective: to stimulate innovation in plant-based foods to make this way of life more accessible to consumers.

Startups around the world have until May 8 to sign up “open innovation challenge” international, as reported vegetarian† Participating companies can compete in 3 categories: “Vegetable products”, “In-store or online marketing concept” and “Innovative service offer”. For the first, candidate companies are invited to offer vegan or vegetarian products. “the most innovative and accessible”with what “healthy recipes” and “taste”or even to offer products “in new product categories not currently covered”we can read in the press release regarding the competition.

Ten finalists will then be selected to present their project at an event to be held in Paris on June 9. Un jury composé de représentantes et représentants de Carrefour, du groupe BEL, des marques veganes The Vegetarian Butcher et Oatly, et d’ONG ou the societies of capital-risque engagées pour le développement d’une alimentation plus végéqueurs cin du vain les déqsignale, League. The winning products are then launched in Carrefour stores and judged by customers, in 1 or more countries of the 9 countries where Carrefour is directly active (France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland, Romania, Brazil, Argentina and Taiwan).

Plants make a place for themselves in mass distribution

With this competition, Carrefour “wants to rely on the creativity of innovative startups to support the adoption of a more plant-based and sustainable diet by as many people as possible”said the group, quoted by vegetarian† In February 2022, the French supermarket chain had already sent a strong signal to vegan entrepreneurs by offering the meat-like products of De Vegetarische Slager in the butchery department of one of its stores. Carrefour was also the first French retailer to market exclusively vegan products under the La Vie brand. Finally, the group has its own “Veggie” range, opened in 2018, which has since expanded to make this way of life “accessible to all”the group said.

There is no doubt that plants are of increasing interest to manufacturers and major retailers. While this is good news for animals, we must nevertheless remain vigilant about the nutritional quality of the products on offer, which are sometimes highly processed, and about the ecological impact of this industrialization of vegan food.

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