Meet the finalists of the Igeho Rising Star Award for 2025 

Many startups applied. 15 made it to the public vote. Now just five remain. The 2025 Igeho Rising Star Award is designed to provide emerging companies in hospitality with an opportunity to showcase their businesses, raise awareness of their innovations, and connect with industry professionals.

As Switzerland’s leading international hospitality industry platform, Igeho aims to use this award to drive innovation by offering startups a platform and networking opportunities, in collaboration with Swiss Food and Nutrition Valley. 

So who are the lucky five finalists? We sat down with them all to find out what sets them apart and why they think they deserve to be crowned winners of the 2025 Igeho Rising Star Award.

🐟 Catchfree – Plant-based seafood alternatives

What we do:
Catchfree reimagines seafood – without the fish. We craft plant-based alternatives that deliver the taste and texture of the ocean, without harming marine ecosystems.

Why we deserve to win:
We’re not just offering another alt-protein – we’re tackling one of the most unsustainable sectors in food. Winning this award would spotlight innovation that protects our oceans and supports a more resilient food system.

♻️ Circunis – Digital marketplace for surplus food

What we do:
Circunis is a smart B2B platform that connects businesses with surplus food to buyers who can use it — turning waste into value through real-time, traceable transactions.

Why we deserve to win:
Food waste is a trillion-dollar problem, and we’re solving it with tech that’s easy to adopt and scale. This award would amplify a solution that’s good for both the planet and the bottom line.

🌾 Foodflows – Authentic farm-to-table sourcing with Brazilian growers

What we do:
Foodflows improves how chefs and restaurants source foods from abroad — making supply chains shorter, fresher, and fairer through a collective and innovative platform.

Why we deserve to win:
We’re bringing transparency and trust back into food sourcing and onto menus, addressing the root cause rather than the symptoms of our food system’s issues.

🤖 GoNina – AI-driven forecasting for catering businesses

What we do:
GoNina uses AI to predict demand in catering — helping kitchens order smarter, prep efficiently, and reduce food waste without compromising quality.

Why we deserve to win:
We help caterers thrive in an unpredictable world. With rising costs and high waste, our tech empowers businesses to stay ahead — and that’s the kind of innovation hospitality needs.

🍄 Yumame Foods – Innovative fungi-based food products

What we do:
Yumame harnesses the power of fungi to create delicious, nutritious, and sustainable food — offering a new generation of minimally processed, plant-based products without compromise. 

Why we deserve to win:
We’re not following trends — we’re setting them. Our fermentation-based approach unlocks scalable, tasty, and nutrient-rich plant-based food that can transform how we eat.

Pitching to an expert jury

All finalists will present their solutions on the Igeho 2025 stage on November 18, and answer questions from a jury composed of Swiss leaders in the field.

• Pascal Bieri, Co-Founder of Planted
• Dr Claus-Heinrich Daub, Professor of Sustainable Business Management at FHNW
• Marina Helm Romaneschi, Marketing & Innovation Strategy at Swiss Food Research
• Christine Schäfer, Senior Researcher at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. 
• Rebecca Clopath, an Alpine natural chef
• Christian Gerber, Head of Innovation Management at ZFV.

All 15 start-ups that participated in the public voting for the Rising Star Award will have the opportunity to showcase their innovations to the Swiss hospitality audience over two days at Igeho 2025 in Basel. In addition to the five finalists, the following start-ups will also be exhibiting at the trade fair: Actidot, FoodFor, Hexafed, LOVYÜ, Niatsu, Sanvitafood, Saya Suka, SwissMiso, and TrueFoods.

www.igeho.ch 

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