Plug and Play Japan To Launch Food & Beverage Program in June 2022
Plug and Play strengthens support for open innovation in the rapidly growing sector “Foodtech”
TOKYO, JAPAN, March 2, 2022 -- Plug and Play Japan KK. (Japan office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, CEO & Managing Partner, Japan: Phillip Vincent, Hereinafter "Plug and Play Japan''), is pleased to announce that we will move from the Brand & Retail program to be a Food & Beverage Program starting from June 2022 in response to the recent growth of the Foodtech market, as well as the growing interest and need for collaboration among major companies and startups.
According to Pitchbook, a U.S.-based financial database company, global investment in the Foodtech industry totaled $28.8 billion at of the end of September 2021. This is an 85% increase compared to 2020, and this growth is expected to continue in 2022 and beyond.
The business environment surrounding the global market has been changing at unprecedented speed in recent years such as the changes in customer behavior under the influence of COVID-19, the rise of social awareness of SDGs, or the crisis of food shortage because of the population growth. Those changes have increased the needs for major companies to search for new businesses and to collaborate with startups in Foodtech. In addition, the number of domestic and international startups in this area is on the rise which is reflected in the fact that many of the startups we have selected in the Brand & Retail program were related to the Foodtech.
Through the growing needs and response to the market trend, Plug and Play Japan has decided to revamp the "Brand & Retail" program into the "Food & Beverage" program in order to promote co-creation between corporate partners and startups with cutting-edge technologies in the Foodtech sector by providing support in line with their current demand.
This program will be officially launched at the "Summer/Fall 2022 Batch" program starting in June 2022.
The Food & Beverage program will provide comprehensive support for open innovation from upstream to downstream of the value chain in the following areas.
<Food & Beverage Focus Areas>
● Wellness: Realizing people's health through food
○ Personalized food and supplement
○ Visualization of health condition
● Experience: Providing new customer experience regarding food
○ Delivering the user-centered purchasing experience
○ Expanding customer experience with five senses
● Sustainability: Reducing environmental impact in the Food & Beverage sector
○ Technology for extending food preservation
○ Innovative food products (food substitutes) / Packaging technology
● Digital Transformation: DX in the traditional industries
○ DX in the distribution process
○ Automating operations
About Plug and Play Japan
Plug and Play Japan was established in 2017 as a subsidiary of Plug and Play which is a global innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley. Our major strength is to provide "Consortium-type Programs with our extensive global network" and support startups through “Venture Capital Investment”.
By working closely with 45+ official corporate partners, Plug and Play Japan supports Japanese and international startups to scale their businesses and to enhance collaboration with industry-leading corporations.
Plug and Play HP: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/about/
About the accelerator program in Plug and Play Japan
Plug and Play Japan provides accelerator programs to accelerate innovation by connecting Plug and Play Japan's corporate partners with Japanese and international startups. Through these programs, corporate partners are able to connect with participating startups with technologies and services that could accelerate their innovation activities. For startups, they have the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of major corporations.
Summit (so-called Demo Day) is the final step of the accelerator program where startups give pitches outlining their results from the program. It is a great opportunity to get the latest updates on innovative technologies, meet cutting-edge startups, and develop new business partnerships.
Company Overview
Company: Plug and Play Japan KK
Founded: 2017/7/14
Address: Shibuya Center Place 3F 1-16-3, Dogenzaka, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Representative: Phillip Vicent
URL: http://japan.plugandplaytechcenter.com/
Inquiry regarding this Press Release
Plug and Play Japan KK
The person in charge: Megumi Shoei
TEL: 050-5474-2808 / Mail: press-japan@pnptc.com