Kern Tec’s rise wasn’t a solo effort. The company was selected as an EIT Food Rising Food Stars in both 2022 and 2023, gaining access to mentoring, strategic guidance, industry connections and visibility across Europe’s agrifood innovation ecosystem.
In 2024, Kern Tec’s achievements were further recognised when it won the EIT Food Marketed Innovation Prize in the category of Best Food Waste Reduction Solution. The award highlighted the company’s success in translating circular economy principles into a scalable, market-ready business.
EIT Food’s support helped Kern Tec strengthen its commercial strategy, validate its environmental impact and build partnerships across the food value chain. This support played an important role in accelerating the company’s journey from promising startup to recognised leader in sustainable food innovation.
EIT helped Kern Tec most in connecting us with the lead investor Telos Impact from our Series A, through one of the flagship events in Lisbon.
Luca Fichtinger, Founder at Kern Tec
What’s next
Kern Tec’s roadmap now is about scale: more production capacity, deeper partnerships with manufacturers, and its kernels showing up in more products across more markets. Regulatory pressure on food waste and emissions is only building, and consumer appetite for sustainable ingredients is rising with it. These factors could take Kern Tec from niche upcycler to industry standard.
The company has already proven the concept works. The next test is whether it can scale fast enough to matter.
Europa Monitor is a seasoned News Editor with over a decade of experience in journalism. Known for his editorial expertise and commitment to accuracy, Europa Monitor leads teams to deliver high-quality news content.
