TERRA, a food and agriculture accelerator, recently kicked off its fourth cohort, partnering 13 innovative food and agriculture startups with a consortium of the industry’s most influential companies: Beta San Miguel, GrainCorp, Griffith Foods, OSI, Meat & Livestock Australia and Tate & Lyle.
 
TERRA began in 2016 with founding partners RocketSpace, a Silicon Valley, Calif.-based external innovation consulting company, and Rabobank, a provider of financial services in the food, agribusiness and beverage industry, with the intention to fuel groundbreaking transformation in food and agriculture in order to advance the well-being of people and the planet. TERRA’s collaborators initially covered a range of innovation areas, including supply chain optimization, food traceability and transparency, waste reduction and novel ingredients such as alternative proteins to increase production efficiency and meet changing consumer preferences. From Griffith Foods’ investment into upcycling startup Regrained and superfoods startup Kuli Kuli to GrainCorp and TE-FOOD’s blockchain for beer, TERRA has brought to life tangible successes for both corporates and startups to stimulate potential growth beyond the program.
 
Now, TERRA collaborators hope to test more specialized applications and products within these areas, such as high-tech, biodegradable packaging or generating edible ingredients from air’s upcycled carbon dioxide via newly accepted startups Corumat Inc. (U.S.) and Kiverdi (U.S.). Rounding out the fourth cohort are:
 
Altum Technologies (Finland): Uses a software-guided power ultrasound to remove fouling from industrial equipment with no production stoppages and no toxic chemicals.
Burlap & Barrel (U.S.): Sources unique, beautiful spices for professional chefs and home cooks. 
ClearLeaf S.A. (Costa Rica): Designs and commercializes innovative pre- and post-harvest solutions that protect the environment and optimize farmer profits.
Digested Organics (U.S.): Converts organic waste into clean water, concentrated co-products and renewable energy.
Phyto Corporation (South Korea): Creates the future of food with Salicornia, a plant grown by seawater.
Shameless Pets, LLC (U.S.): Sources edible, safe and nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste.
SnapDNA (U.S.): Executes rapid food safety testing through pathogen analysis.
Stem Sugar (U.S.): Produces natural, sustainably sourced sugars directly from plant fibers.
SwissDeCode (Switzerland): Helps food and feed manufacturers transform contamination threats into sustainable opportunities.
The Better Meat Co. (U.S.): Provides innovative plant protein formulas for foodservice providers and meat processors to make their meat, in a word, better.
Yarok Microbio (Israel): Develops a fast microbiological testing system for the fresh food industry to protect consumers and safeguard producer interests.
 
These startups were chosen from more than 300 startup applications from more than 50 countries. With their corporate collaborators, they will design and implement pilot tests over the next six months, focusing on a designated business challenge.