pladis seeks food-tech partners to tackle sugar, cocoa and changing snacking habits

pladis, the company behind McVitie’s, GODIVA and Ülker, has opened a global search for food-tech start-ups that can help improve the nutrition and sustainability of snacks while preserving taste and texture.

• pladis has opened applications for its second global food-tech accelerator.
• The first program resulted in six proof-of-concept collaborations.
• Applications close on 15 January 2027.

The second year of its Accelerator Programme opened for applications on 3 November 2026, with the business seeking technologies that address reformulation, ingredient resilience and changing nutritional needs. The launch comes as GLP-1 medicines influence eating habits and climate pressures put ingredient supplies under strain.

Tim Ingmire, VP Global Innovation and Technology at pladis, said: “The pressures on food are increasing. The pleasure people expect from it is not. A breakthrough only matters if people want another bite. That’s the challenge we’re putting to the food-tech community: help us find new ways to improve nutrition and rethink ingredients while preserving the flavour and texture people love.”

The search covers several routes to improving snacks, rather than a single ingredient or production technology. Areas of interest include fermentation, enzymatic processing, sensory science and natural alternatives to common additives, alongside approaches to indulgent reformulation.

pladis is also exploring gut health, functional ingredients and personalized nutrition as potential areas for product development. Its interests span changes to existing formulations and technologies that could support new products.

The company cited GLP-1 medicines among the factors changing the market, although its call for applications covers a range of nutritional and ingredient challenges. Its stated focus is on finding ways to improve food without losing the flavor and texture associated with its brands.

The first accelerator attracted around 300 applications from five continents. Twelve start-ups were selected as finalists and received support from 37 mentors drawn from global and regional teams across pladis and its parent company, Yıldız Holding.

That program resulted in six proof-of-concept collaborations, giving the participating businesses an opportunity to explore and validate emerging technologies within a global food company. The technologies included approaches to sugar conversion, cocoa alternatives and the identification of functional ingredients.

Among them was Zya’s Convero enzyme, which the company says can convert up to 30% of sugar into fiber after consumption without changing taste.

Fermtech’s technology addressed a different ingredient challenge, using fermentation to turn food-industry by-products into an alternative to cocoa. Its involvement reflected the accelerator’s interest in ingredient options as well as nutritional reformulation.

Dublin-based Nuritas was another participant. The company uses artificial intelligence and genomics to identify bioactive plant peptides for potential use in functional food ingredients.

The examples illustrate the range of technologies considered in the first year, from an enzyme intended to act after consumption to ingredients produced through fermentation or identified through analysis of plant proteins.

For the second program, up to 12 start-ups will have the opportunity to work with specialists across pladis and access technical and operational expertise. Between three and six could then progress to pilot or co-development opportunities.

Selected companies will be able to draw on that expertise as they assess how their technologies could be used in food production. Progression to a pilot or co-development project is a potential next step for a smaller group of participants.

“Start-ups bring specialist technology and the freedom to challenge assumptions about how food is made. We bring a deep understanding of ingredients, flavour and texture and what it takes to make food consistently at scale,” Ingmire said.

“The interesting bit is what happens when you put those strengths together and turn an exciting technology into something people actually want to eat.”

Participation in the accelerator is free. Applications close on 15 January 2027, and selected start-ups will be announced in early March.

Companies can apply through the pladis Accelerator Programme website or contact acceleration@pladisglobal.com

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