pladis bets on food-tech trailblazers from water lily snacks to precision-fermented ingredients

Popcorn made from water lilies, next-generation plant proteins, and fermentation-powered chocolate alternatives may soon appear in snack aisles thanks to a new crop of startups backed by global snacking giant pladis.

The London-headquartered maker of brands such as McVitie’s and Godiva has unveiled twelve startups selected for its 2025 Accelerator Programme, designed to fast-track innovations across food and ingredients. While the cohort spans diverse areas – from sustainable packaging to micronutrients – several companies stand out for their cutting-edge approaches to transforming the ingredients inside future snacks.

Among them is Sun Bear Biofuture, which is engineering novel ingredients using microorganisms and precision fermentation. Though details remain under wraps, the company aims to unlock sustainable, high-performance molecules that could replace animal- or resource-intensive ingredients in food products.

Another participant, Shiru, uses artificial intelligence to identify and develop natural, functional ingredients that can improve taste, texture, or nutrition in food applications. The company’s platform analyzes vast datasets of proteins and molecules to match ingredient functionality with specific product needs, helping manufacturers swap out less sustainable or less desirable ingredients.

Texture is another frontier tackled by MicroLub, which is creating next-generation fat replacements tailored for the plant-based market. As consumer demand for healthier and more sustainable products grows, fat alternatives that replicate the mouthfeel and performance of traditional fats are increasingly in demand.

Fermtech, meanwhile, is turning food industry side streams into valuable new ingredients. Its flagship innovation, Koji Cocoa, is a cocoa powder alternative produced via fermentation, delivering similar taste and functionality while slashing the carbon footprint by as much as 98% compared to conventional cocoa. Such solutions could be crucial as the food industry grapples with the environmental impacts of chocolate production.

Equally ambitious is Kyomei, which is valorizing green crop leaves often discarded during harvest. By transforming this underused biomass into nutritious and functional food ingredients, Kyomei hopes to add value to agricultural supply chains while reducing waste.

On the health-focused side, PulseON Foods is developing legume-based ingredients that aim to mimic certain metabolic pathways linked to satiety and weight management – effects that have gained attention with the rise of weight-loss medications. The startup’s patented technology focuses on gut health and natural appetite regulation, tapping into strong consumer interest in functional and science-backed nutrition.

Adding a snackable twist to the cohort is Just Nosh, which produces Water Lily Pops – a puffed snack made from popped water lily seeds. Offering a texture somewhere between potato chips and popcorn, the product taps into growing consumer curiosity for novel ingredients and healthier snacking options.

The pladis Accelerator, run in partnership with Yıldız Ventures – the innovation arm of pladis’ parent company Yıldız Holding – offers startups access to technical expertise, supply chain insights, regulatory guidance, and real-world product testing. Jennifer Moss, Chief R&D Officer at pladis, described the selected startups as “big ideas grounded in real science and ready to be tested in the real world”.

Alessio D’Antino, Co-founder & CEO of Forward Fooding, which helped source and evaluate the applicants, said the selected companies “truly represent breakthrough innovations that are well aligned with pladis’ mission to revolutionize snacking while addressing wellness and sustainability challenges”.

While the spotlight falls on food-tech innovators, other startups in the cohort cover areas like AI-driven bioactive peptides (Nuritas), sustainable vitamins and minerals (BIOVIT), enzyme solutions to reduce sugar impact (Zya), vegetable-based crisps (Supernatural Foods), and compostable packaging (Pack2Earth).

As the accelerator progresses over the coming weeks, the challenge for these emerging innovators will be translating their scientific breakthroughs into scalable, commercially viable products that fit seamlessly into pladis’ global portfolio – and into consumers’ everyday snacking habits.