Deadline Date: November 17, 2025
The EIT Food Innovation Prize 2025 recognises impactful marketed innovations that have achieved commercial success through EIT Food-supported projects or programmes.
Focus Areas: The prizes will be awarded to impactful innovations which have reached the market and have achieved a level of commercial success. The categories include Market Excellence Innovator, Rising Innovator Award, Student Innovator Award, Impact Innovator Award, Global Reach Innovator, Tech Pioneer Award, and Women in Innovation. Each category celebrates innovators demonstrating leadership, commercial success, measurable impact, resilience, and future potential.
Organised by EIT Food in Leuven, Belgium, the Innovation Prize aims to reward the success of organisations that have brought their products or services to market following support from EIT Food initiatives between 2022 and 2025. Each category winner will receive a prize of €10,000, with the total prize pool amounting to €70,000. Applications are open to all eligible organisations within EU or Horizon Europe countries that have participated in EIT Food projects or programmes.
Applicants are required to demonstrate that their product or service has reached the market and is related to work developed through EIT Food support. Both current participants and alumni are eligible, provided their marketed innovation has generated at least €10,000 in sales revenue or demonstrates clear market traction.
Submissions will undergo an eligibility check and evaluation based on four key criteria: Impact, Novelty, Commercial Traction or Potential, and Leadership and Resilience. Each entry will be reviewed by a panel comprising internal and external experts chaired by the Chief Impact Officer, ensuring fairness and transparency. Applicants may appeal evaluation results within five days of receiving their outcome if procedures were not followed as outlined.
Winners will benefit from extensive visibility across EIT Food’s communication channels, including news features, media promotion, and opportunities to present their innovation at EIT Food-organised events. In addition to financial rewards, the recognition aims to enhance credibility, improve online visibility, and open doors to new collaborations and investment opportunities.
Successful applicants will proceed through an onboarding process to validate their legal and financial status, followed by the signing of a Prize Agreement. The award will be transferred directly to the recipient’s bank account, with winners bearing responsibility for any related costs or taxes.
The EIT Food Innovation Prize 2025 stands as a platform to celebrate innovation leadership and sustainable business impact across the European agri-food ecosystem, recognising organisations that continue to transform the food sector through creativity, resilience, and measurable outcomes.
For more information, visit EIT Food.
