Highlights from Food-X NYC

In many ways the demo day of Food-X, the food accelerator in Lower Manhattan backed by the SOSV fund, was unique. Food-X is on a mission to scale change throughout the food system. This first food business accelerator empowers early-stage food companies through funding, mentorship, access and network.Firstly, while presenting the second cohort, totaling 26 companies, founder Tong Shen announced the formation of Food-Y in January: the strategic collaboration with FreshDirect, the New York-based leader in food delivery services.Secondly, almost all companies presenting at the demo are “tech-enabled” but not “food-tech” as founder Tong Shen pointed out and thus signaled a new bread of entrepreneurs: people passionate for food first and foremost. Technology enables certain elements but is often not core and thus different to “food-tech” ventures.Here are the most interesting concepts and globally applicable ideas. The description is provided by the companies.Cookmood (@cookmood_ny) – Cookmood allows people, bloggers and chefs to give real time cooking classes to hundreds of people at the same time, helping them to have extra income.Forkyoo (@forkyoo) – Home cooks generally lack the time and skill to easily put together restaurants quality meals in the comfort of their own kitchen. Forkyoo partners with local restaurant to bring the novice home cook the best menu recipes & pre-prepped ingredients, directly from the chef’s kitchen. Yummchef (@yummchef) is a similar service starting in Manhattan.Crema (@getcrema) – Today Indie Coffee shops have one big enemy: Starbucks – as they cannot compete with the marketing budget. Crema, a simple app, combines all specialty coffee shops onto one platform and enables customers to find, order and support local shops.Givn Water (@givnwater) – Givn Water is a premium one for one North American spring water infused with good karma. Every bottle of Givn Water sold funds one day of clean water for a person in need. It is seriously good water that consumers can feel good drinking.TRUEnergy (@_TRUEnergy) - A made-with-organic beverage that has natural green tee extract, electrolytes, vitamins and antioxidants. It allows people to feel good and perform better without sacrificing healthy ingredients for performance benefits.Wakati (@wakatidesign) – With a small solar panel of just 3 Watts, Wakati creates a sterilized micro climate that dramatically increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables for smallholder farmers in developing countries.Bizzy Coffee (@bizzycoffee) – Bizzy is an organic, sugar-free and shelf-stable cold brew coffee, all without the use of preservatives or pasteurization.Booster AG Tech (boosteragtech.com) – Booster delivers agronomic data to eighty percent of the world’s farms to help double their yields.Chugachaga (@chugachaga) – Chugachaga is the world’s first organic, 100% wild harvested chaga iced tea. It is a dense rich superfood that holds high concentration of free radical scavenging antioxidants and immune strengthening polysaccharides.