Agree, a “BALAB 4 EitFood” startup, is in the final for the Green Alley Award

It is the first Italian startup to get to the final!

After participating in the entrepreneurial training course "BALAB 4 EitFood", the startup Agree presented "Ally", a protective and edible coating of plant origin to extend the freshness of vegetables up to 3 times more, getting the access to the final of the Green Alley Award to be held in Berlin on 28th April. The Green Alley Award, established by the German company Landbell Group, selects the best European startups in the circular economy sector.

In the last 7 editions, no Italian project had reached the final and Agree is the first Italian startup to get to the final, where it will present its business idea in front of an audience of experts in the sector in a 5-minute pitch.

The startup participated in the latest program “BALAB 4 EitFood” organized by the Center of Excellence "For Innovation and Creativity" of the University of Bari and by the Italian hub of EIT Food, where Agree, together with 16 other startups, was able to optimize its business idea that aims to reduce food waste through the circular economy.

The "Ally" prototype is not a common packaging, but a sort of peel that becomes transparent and odorless when in contact with the vegetable; it can be applied to the most common fruit and vegetables which deteriorate rapidly during the distribution phase. The innovative aspect of "Ally" is that it is created from natural components extracted from agricultural by-products, making the Agree proposal a circular alternative to current conservation solutions that are inedible and synthetic.

The startup is made up of: Gustavo Gonzalez (Ph.D. in Materials Engineering), Irene Masante (PhD student in Chemistry and Biology), Arianna Sica (Student of Environmental Economics) and Stefano Ferioli (Msc in Management Engineering).