What Foodscale Hub does

Foodscale Hub, founded in 2020 and headquartered in Novi Sad, Serbia, is a privately held Impact Venture Group focused on the Water, Energy, Food, and Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus. The organization operates through four divisions — Research & Innovation (RI), Ventures, Acceleration, and Industry — that collectively serve researchers and academia, entrepreneurs and startups, agrifood SMEs, communities, investors, and policymakers across Europe and selected African markets. A second office in Osijek, Croatia, colocated with Josip Juraj Strossmayer University, extends the firm's Western Balkans footprint alongside its founding partnership with the University of Novi Sad.

The company's technology and product portfolio centers on three digital platforms. FoodSHare, launched in March 2021 within the Ploutos H2020 project, is a free digital platform that matches food donors with 70+ humanitarian organizations and has facilitated the redistribution of over 70,000 kg of surplus food. OpenCallHub is the firm's proprietary platform for managing open calls and cascade funding (Financial Support to Third Parties) across EU-funded projects such as TITAN and ECO-READY. The Knowledge Lake Management System (KLMS), developed through the STELAR Horizon Europe project and released publicly as open source in July 2025, provides FAIR-compliant data collection, governance, knowledge graphs, workflow orchestration, and AI-ready dataset curation for the agrifood sector. ISO 27001 certification (Certificate RS001815) covers information security practices.

The business model is services-led and EU-grant-anchored, not direct SaaS monetization. Revenue streams include (a) professional services from participation in EU-funded research and innovation projects (Horizon Europe, Interreg, CBE JU, BBI JU) covering proposal writing, project coordination, dissemination, and IP management; (b) management and operational fees from cascade funding programs; (c) revenues from acceleration and business support programs such as TITAN and MPowerBIO; and (d) consulting and strategic services delivered through the Industry division to agrifood enterprises. End-user services (FoodSHare, MPowerBIO, TITAN Business Support, Living Lab grants) are offered free to beneficiaries because the underlying capital comes from EU and joint undertaking budgets. The 20+ person team operates inside a network of 150+ ecosystem partners spanning Smart Sensors 4 Agri-food, Bio4Circularity, and the Bio-Based Industries Consortium.

Name

Foodscale Hub

Legal name

Foodscale Hub

Website

https://foodscalehub.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Foodscale Hub is a privately held Impact Venture Group operating four divisions (Research & Innovation, Ventures, Acceleration, Industry) to deliver EU-funded research commercialization, SME acceleration, and consulting services to agrifood and bioeconomy stakeholders across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agrifood Innovation and Consulting Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Special Food Services (7223)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Systems & Value Chain Development for Nutrition (BPADAJAG)

Keywords

• Agrifood innovation services
• EU research project consulting
• Food redistribution platform
• Bioeconomy startup acceleration
• Cascade funding management

Headquarters

HQ city

Novi Sad

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. EU Research Project Participation: Foodscale Hub generates revenue through participation in EU-funded research and innovation projects including Horizon Europe, Interreg, and other programs. They serve as consortium partners providing services such as proposal writing, dissemination, IP management, and project coordination.
2. Cascade Funding Management: The organization manages and distributes cascade funding (FSTP) to external innovators through open calls under EU projects. While the funding goes to third parties, Foodscale Hub earns management fees and operational support from these programs.
3. Acceleration and Business Support Services: Provides acceleration programs, coaching, mentorship, and business modeling services to SMEs, startups, spin-offs, and scale-ups, particularly within academic and research environments.
4. Consulting and Strategic Services: Industry division provides consulting and business modeling services to help agrifood enterprises adopt innovative practices that enhance productivity, efficiency, and sustainability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Foodscale Hub is an Impact Venture Group operating across the Water, Energy, Food, and Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus. It delivers four interconnected service lines through dedicated divisions (Research & Innovation, Ventures, Acceleration, and Industry), including EU-funded research project participation, open call and cascade funding management, SME/startup acceleration, and agrifood industry consulting. The group also develops and operates digital platforms such as FoodSHare (surplus food redistribution), OpenCallHub (open call management), and KLMS (open-source agrifood data management).

Product overview

Foodscale Hub is an Impact Venture Group offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services focused on the agrifood and bioeconomy sectors. The organization operates through four divisions: Research & Innovation (RI), Ventures, Acceleration, and Industry. Core offerings include FoodSHare (a food redistribution platform), OpenCallHub (an open call management platform), and the KLMS (Knowledge Lake Management System) developed through the STELAR project. The group also provides acceleration programs (TITAN Business Support Programme, MPowerBIO) and various resources for startups and SMEs in the agrifood ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FoodSHare: Digital platform for redistribution of surplus food connecting producers with humanitarian organizations, developed as part of the Ploutos H2020 project
• OpenCallHub
• Foodscale Hub Network

Products and services

• FoodSHare A digital platform for redistribution of surplus food that connects agricultural and industrial producers, distributors, and retail chains (donors) with humanitarian organizations and food banks (recipients), enabling automated and digitized food donation processes. Free for all users.
• OpenCallHub A digital platform for managing open calls and cascade funding (Financial Support to Third Parties) across EU-funded projects, providing streamlined submission, evaluation, and selection processes for equity-free funding opportunities.
• Knowledge Lake Management System (KLMS) An open-source data management platform for the agriculture sector providing a FAIR-compliant environment for data collection, governance, and processing. Integrates MinIO-based data storage, metadata catalogues, knowledge graphs, and workflow orchestration tools to support AI-ready datasets and cross-institutional collaboration.
• TITAN Business Support Programme An 18-month acceleration programme for SMEs selected through the TITAN Open Call, providing expert guidance in financial management, marketing, intellectual property, and international collaboration. Includes equity-free pilot funding (e.g., €156,330 per pilot) and is delivered under the TITAN Project Consortium.
• Agrifood Industry Consulting Services Consulting and business modeling services delivered by the Industry division to agrifood enterprises, helping them adopt innovative practices, sustainable technologies, and improve productivity, efficiency, and sustainability.
• Acceleration and Business Support Services Acceleration programs, coaching, mentorship, and business modeling services for SMEs, startups, spin-offs, and scale-ups in the agrifood and bioeconomy sectors, including programs such as MPowerBIO and BioeconomyVentures funded by EU bodies.
• EU Research and Innovation Project Services Participation as consortium partner in EU-funded research and innovation projects (Horizon Europe, Interreg, CBE JU), providing services such as proposal writing, dissemination, IP management, ecosystem building, and project coordination for research institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70,000+ kg of surplus food redistributed to humanitarian organizations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Bio-Based Industries Consortium (BIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership advancing innovation and sustainability in the agrifood sector and beyond. BIC is a European consortium promoting bio-based industries.
• Bio4Circularity (B4C)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on research, driving innovation, and accelerating transition to circular economy in the bio-based value chain.
• Smart Sensors 4 Agri-food (SS4AF)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with 40+ experts driving the digital transformation of the agri-food industry across Europe.
• University of Novi SadcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research and innovation collaboration with the university located near the headquarters.
• Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in OsijekcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch and innovation collaboration at the new Osijek location.
• TITAN Project ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development Partner€1.25M open call for food supply chain innovations. Foodscale Hub powers the Open Call Hub and Business Support Programme for TITAN.
• Farmtopia Project ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHorizon Europe project (Sept 2023 - Aug 2026) with 22 partners from 12 countries. Foodscale Hub leads Open Call activities and oversees communication, dissemination, and exploitation.
• STELAR Project ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHorizon Europe project developing Knowledge Lake Management System (KLMS). Consortium of 9 partners from 5 countries. Foodscale Hub leads dissemination, exploitation, and communication activities.
• BioeconomyVentures ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development Partner€1.5M project awarded by Bio-Based Industry Joint Undertaking. 9 partners from 6 EU countries for 30 months to establish bioeconomy sectoral network.
• MPowerBIO Business Support ProgrammemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness and investment readiness programme for bioeconomy SMEs. Funded by Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU). Foodscale Hub supports program delivery.
• Ploutos Project ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerH2020 project focused on rebalancing agrifood value chains. FoodSHare platform developed as part of this project for surplus food redistribution.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bioenterprise: Canadian agrifood innovation accelerator providing commercialization services, advisory, and capital connections to agri-tech startups and SMEs. Comparable to Foodscale Hub's Industry and Ventures divisions in serving agrifood entrepreneurs with growth support.
• Village Capital: Global impact venture firm running accelerator programs with corporate and foundation partners. Comparable to Foodscale Hub's Acceleration and Ventures divisions in serving impact-oriented startups and SMEs.
• StartLife: Wageningen-based agrifood and foodtech accelerator supporting early-stage startups with funding readiness, mentorship, and access to corporate partners. Directly comparable to Foodscale Hub's Acceleration and Ventures divisions in scope and customer profile.
• FoodValley: Dutch food innovation cluster bridging research, industry, and government to accelerate agrifood innovation. Comparable to Foodscale Hub's role as a regional ecosystem orchestrator with university and industry partnerships.
• Impact Hub Network: Global impact venture network operating innovation hubs, acceleration programs, and consulting services. Highly comparable business model to Foodscale Hub's Impact Venture Group structure with multiple divisions serving entrepreneurs, researchers, and corporates.
• EIT Food: Europe's leading agrifood innovation community, funded by EIT and Horizon Europe, connecting research, industry, startups, and policymakers. Directly comparable to Foodscale Hub in mission, funding sources, and target customer segments across the European agrifood ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Too Good To Go: Leading European food surplus platform connecting businesses with surplus food to consumers. Partial overlap with Foodscale Hub's FoodSHare platform in the food redistribution space, though Too Good To Go is consumer-facing and much larger scale.
• Olio: Food sharing app that connects neighbors and local businesses to share surplus food. Comparable to FoodSHare in mission of reducing food waste through digital platforms, though Olio is consumer/mobile-first and operates at significantly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Plug and Play: Large global innovation platform with vertical-specific accelerator programs including agrifood and sustainability. Comparable in operating model and accelerator offerings but at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Regional players

• FareShare: UK-based food redistribution charity operating a national network to redirect surplus food to communities. Comparable to Foodscale Hub's FoodSHare mission of food redistribution, though FareShare is operationally focused rather than a digital platform.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/foodscalehub
• Facebookfacebook.com/foodscalehub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foodscale-hub
• Instagraminstagram.com/foodscalehub

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Foodscale Hub