Food Accelerator Network (FAN)

Food Accelerator Network (FAN)

Offers EIT Food's Food Accelerator Network for agrifood startups across Europe to validate and prepare market-ready products.

Eligibility · EU member states

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Food Accelerator Network (FAN) is EIT Food's flagship pre-Series A accelerator, running September to November 2026 across six European university hubs. Each hub focuses on a distinct agrifood innovation theme: water-smart agrifood at ISOLA (Catania), circular food systems at the University of Helsinki, smart supply chains at Technical University of Munich, biotech ingredients at ShakeUp Factory (Paris), digital farming at Wageningen University, and resilient agriculture at EBRD (Warsaw). The 2026 cohort application window ran from February to April 14, 2026 at 12:00 CET; the cohort was announced in June 2026 and the next application cycle is expected in Q1 2027.

All selected startups receive a €3,000 non-dilutive cash travel grant. At programme close, the top three startups compete for the Tech Validation Prize: €50,000 for first place, €30,000 for second, and €20,000 for third — each distributed as a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) convertible instrument rather than a clean grant. Eligibility requires a registered company in an EU member state or Horizon Europe-associated country including the UK, incorporation in 2016 or later, pre-Series A status defined as revenues at or below €1 million and a team of 20 or fewer people, and a technology readiness level of 4–8. The startup must align with one of the six hub themes. Customer validation and letters of support or intent are preferred but not strictly required by the published criteria.

The programme is a hybrid format combining in-person and online sessions over two to three months. Selected startups receive targeted product development support, commercial validation through expert mentoring, and access to FAN's corporate partner and investor network. Alumni gain ongoing access to the EIT Food ecosystem network. Given the SAFE prize structure, startups should model potential dilution from the Tech Validation Prize alongside the non-dilutive €3,000 travel grant when evaluating the total financial package.