McVitie’s and GODIVA owner launches global search for technologies that can improve nutrition and strengthen ingredient resilience without sacrificing taste.
Can snacks have improved nutrition and become more sustainable without losing the taste and texture that make people want to eat them?
That is the challenge pladis, the company behind McVitie’s, GODIVA and Ülker, is putting to food-tech start-ups around the world as it opens applications for the second year of its global Accelerator Programme.
Food manufacturers face a rapidly shifting landscape. GLP-1 medicines are changing eating habits, climate pressures are straining ingredient supplies and expectations around nutrition are rising. But for pladis, new technology will only succeed if the food still tastes good.
Tim Ingmire, VP global innovation and technology at pladis, said: “The pressures on food are increasing. The pleasure people expect from it is not. A breakthrough only matters if people want another bite. That’s the challenge we’re putting to the food-tech community: help us find new ways to improve nutrition and rethink ingredients while preserving the flavour and texture people love.”
pladis is looking for technologies that could improve nutrition or make snacks more sustainable without making them less enjoyable. That includes new approaches to indulgent reformulation, flavour and texture – from fermentation and enzymatic processing to sensory science and natural alternatives to common additives. It is also exploring how developments in gut health, functional ingredients and personalised nutrition could shape the next generation of products.
The first pladis Accelerator attracted around 300 applications from five continents. Twelve start-ups were selected as finalists of the programme, benefiting from the expertise of 37 mentors from across pladis’ and Yıldız Holding’s global and regional teams. The programme led to six proof-of-concept collaborations, demonstrating how emerging food technologies can be explored and validated within a global food business.
The technologies involved ranged from Zya’s Convero enzyme, which the company says can convert up to 30% of sugar into fibre after consumption without changing taste, to Fermtech’s fermentation of food-industry by-products into an alternative to cocoa. Dublin-based Nuritas, meanwhile, uses artificial intelligence and genomics to identify bioactive plant peptides for potential use in functional food ingredients.
Up to 12 start-ups will have the opportunity to work with specialists from across pladis, accessing technical and operational expertise and with three to six potentially progressing to pilot or co-development opportunities.
Ingmire added: “Start-ups bring specialist technology and the freedom to challenge assumptions about how food is made. We bring a deep understanding of ingredients, flavour and texture and what it takes to make food consistently at scale.
“The interesting bit is what happens when you put those strengths together and turn an exciting technology into something people actually want to eat.”
Participation is free. Applications open on 3 November 2026 and close on 15 January 2027. Selected start-ups will be announced in early March.
Start-ups can apply at pladisglobal.com/our-impact/pladis-accelerator-programme or contact acceleration@pladisglobal.com.