2022 Winners

2022 Grow-NY $1,000,000 Winner

2022 $1 Million Dollar winner ProAgni receives their award from Richard Ball, Commissioner, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
ProAgni

ProAgni

Lavington, Australia

ProAgni, a startup that develops a revolutionary range of supplements and feeds for livestock that lowers methane emissions, was awarded nearly $2.5 million from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research as part of the Greener Cattle Initiative in October 2023. In the summer of 2023, ProAgni partnered with Austrianova to further develop its line of shelf-stable probiotics for cattle feed. The company has plans to raise a Series A in 2024 to continue scaling the shelf-stable probiotic.

2022 Grow-NY $500,000 Winners

Craft Cannery Contract Manufacturing

Craft Cannery

Bergen, NY

Craft Cannery has purchased a new, larger processing facility and added an in-line metal detector that scans sealed products, expanding the volume and type of contract manufacturing of sauces, dressings, and marinades that the company is able to produce.

Hempitecture

Hempitecture

Ketchum, ID

Hempitecture creates biobased insulation that makes construction projects more sustainable, healthier, and higher performing. In the summer of 2023, the company opened the first industrial hemp manufacturing plant in the United States, established a New York State Workforce Rehabilitation Program, and signed a lease on a NYS-based plant. In the fall of 2023, they signed a contract with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for $1.1 million to fund production of their loose-fill insulation.

2022 Grow-NY $250,000 Winners

Labby

Labby

Cambridge, MA

Labby’s technology provides rapid, accurate, and affordable solutions for dairy farms. The startup participated as one of six finalists in Cohort 6 of the Luminate competition, won a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant, and was named to AgriTech Capital’s 10 companies to watch in 2023.

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea Plant-Based Kitchen

Rochester, NY

Sweet Pea is a plant-powered kitchen creating transformative paths to wellness by combining plant-centric meals with nutrition coaching. The startup has been busy in the Grow-NY region, working with the Rochester Institute of Technology to redesign its packaging and engaging with the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech to help grow their business.

Vivid Machines

Vivid Machines

Toronto, Canada

Vivid’s X-Vision system captures the visible and chemical details of every plant across an entire crop to manage growth and predict yield. Since securing $250,000 in 2022, Vivid Machines closed a $4.3 million seed round and expanded deployment of their Vivid systems to 23 new orchards spanning from Washington to Nova Scotia and New York.

Zalliant

Zalliant

Amsterdam, NY

Zallliant is working with Grow-NY region manufacturers to produce up to 5,000 of their boluses a month. This provides improved decision making and management to dairy farmers through its Internet of Things (IoT) and intelligence technology.

The 2022 Grow-NY Finalists

These 20 food and ag startups hail from across the globe and pitched their business plans at the Grow-NY Summit on Nov. 15-16, 2022, as they competed for $3 million in prize money.

  • Botaniline
    Botaniline
    2022, Finalist
  • Craft Cannery
    Craft Cannery
    2022, Finalist
  • Dynamic Air Cooling (DAC)
    Dynamic Air Cooling (DAC)
    2022, Finalist
  • Edenesque
    Edenesque
    2022, Finalist
  • Forte Protein
    Forte Protein
    2022, Finalist
  • Hago Energetics
    Hago Energetics
    2022, Finalist
  • Hempitecture
    Hempitecture
    2022, Finalist
  • Humatico
    Humatico
    2022, Finalist
  • KEHO
    KEHO
    2022, 2023, Finalist
  • Labby
    Labby
    2022, Finalist
  • Mi Terro
    Mi Terro
    2022, Finalist
  • Norwhey Brewing
    Norwhey Brewing
    2020, 2022, Finalist
  • ProAgni
    ProAgni
    2021, 2022, Finalist
  • Seneca Farms Biochar
    Seneca Farms Biochar
    2022, Finalist
  • Sweet Pea Plant-Based Kitchen
    Sweet Pea Plant-Based Kitchen
    2022, Finalist
  • Tomgrow
    Tomgrow
    2022, Finalist
  • Unnico Food
    Unnico Food
    2022, Finalist
  • Vivid Machines
    Vivid Machines
    2022, Finalist
  • We Are The New Farmers
    We Are The New Farmers
    2022, 2023, Finalist
  • Zalliant
    Zalliant
    2022, Finalist
Botaniline
Botaniline
Botaniline

Buffalo, NY
Botaniline creates ground proteins that are lower in salt, saturated fat, and calories, by utilizing plant-based ingredients to replace some of the meat, producing flavorful, more sustainable meat products.


Botaniline website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Craft-Cannery
Craft-Cannery
Craft Cannery

Bergen, NY
Craft Cannery takes cherished recipes from your kitchen to the shelves of grocery stores, restaurants, farmers markets and beyond, specializing in the contract manufacturing of sauces, dressings, marinades, and more.


Craft Cannery website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
DAC
DAC
Dynamic Air Cooling (DAC)

Elblag, Poland
Dynamic Air Cooling (DAC) is an environmentally-friendly air conditioning and refrigeration technology that uses no synthetic HFC coolants and features no thermal emissions, bringing a breakthrough cooling technology to fight climate change.


DAC website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Edenesque
Edenesque
Edenesque

Kingston, NY
Edenesque curates clean, simple, and delicious artisanal plant-based milks that foster health and nutrition, made with whole ingredients that support and strengthen bodies without any fillers or additives.


Edenesque website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Updated Forte-Protein
Updated Forte-Protein
Forte Protein

Trumansburg, NY
Forte Protein uses a plant-based technology to produce a broad spectrum of meat, fish, and dairy proteins without the need for animals, eliminating the carbon footprint involved in animal agriculture.


Forte Protein website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Hago-Energetics
Hago-Energetics
Hago Energetics

Camarillo, CA
Hago Energetics uses innovative decarbonization technology to convert animal and agricultural waste into green hydrogen and biochar.


Hago Energetics website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Hempitecture
Hempitecture
Hempitecture

Ketchum, ID
Hempitecture is on a mission to create healthy, energy-efficient building materials that positively impact people and the planet by capturing carbon dioxide and replenishing farmland. Its biobased insulation makes construction projects more sustainable, healthier, and higher-performing.


Hempitecture website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Humati
Humati
Humatico

Mysłowice, Poland
Humatico technology creates high quality organic fertilizer from any available organic raw materials, including agricultural waste, algae, sapropel, peat, and brown coal.


Humati.co website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
KEHO
KEHO
KEHO

New York, NY, USA
KEHO makes complex science deliciously digestible, curating savory snack bars that are keto-friendly and 100% plant based. With no sugars, sweeteners, or artificial flavors or colors, KEHO packs up real food for real lives.


KEHO website

Categories :
2022, 2023, Finalist
Labby
Labby
Labby

Cambridge, MA
Labby’s technology provides rapid, accurate, and affordable solutions for dairy farms, leveraging AI-enabled optical sensing for raw milk testing that delivers instant insights to your fingertips.


Labby website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Mi-Terro
Mi-Terro
Mi Terro

City of Industry, CA
Mi Terro is helping to protect the environment by upcycling agricultural waste and engineering it to replace plastic in the food, packaging, and fashion industries.


Mi Terro website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Norwhey
Norwhey
Norwhey Brewing

Ithaca, NY
Norwhey transforms New York state’s yogurt byproducts into a delicious, Nordic twist on hard seltzer by responsibly capturing and fermenting excess whey from the production of strained yogurt and turning it into sustainability you can taste.

Categories :
2020, 2022, Finalist
Pro-Agni
Pro-Agni
ProAgni

Lavington, Australia
ProAgni ProTect is a revolutionary range of supplements and feeds for livestock that lowers methane emissions from sheep and cattle without the use of antibiotics, decreasing a producer’s environmental footprint without increasing costs.


ProAgni website

Categories :
2021, 2022, Finalist
Seneca-Farms-Biochar
Seneca-Farms-Biochar
Seneca Farms Biochar

Odessa, NY
Seneca Farms Biochar’s technology produces biochar, pyroligneous acid (wood vinegar), and activated carbon at scale, sequestering carbon, reducing dependency on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and optimizing financial outcomes.


Seneca Farms Biochar website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Sweet-Pea
Sweet-Pea
Sweet Pea Plant-Based Kitchen

Rochester, NY
Sweet Pea is a plant-powered kitchen creating transformative paths to wellness, combining the benefits of its plant-centric food meal service and nutrition coaching to help people to sustain a healthy life.


Sweet Pea website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Tomgrow
Tomgrow
Tomgrow

Tel Aviv, Israel
Tomgrow provides a programmable growth medium that can be customized for specific crops and plants, enabling plants to access water and nutrients on demand and combatting the wastefulness and environmental impact of traditional growing.


Tomgrow website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Unnico
Unnico
Unnico Food

Mamaroneck, NY
Unnico Food offers plant-based yogurts and creams that taste and feel like a yogurt, but are jam-packed with probiotics and fortified with fiber, creating a vegan, dairy-free treat that tastes as good as it is for you.


Unnico Food website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
Vivid-Machines
Vivid-Machines
Vivid Machines

Toronto, Canada
Vivid X-Vision system captures the visible and chemical details of every plant across an entire crop from bud to harvest to manage growth and predict yield, and provide means for early diagnosis of pests, diseases, and nutrient deficiencies.


Vivid Machines website

Categories :
2022, Finalist
We-Are-The-New-Farmers
We-Are-The-New-Farmers
We Are The New Farmers

Brooklyn, NY, USA
We Are The New Farmers brings the benefits of microalgae straight into smoothies with its fresh, frozen, farm-grown spirulina cubes that are packed with dense micronutrients and loaded with antioxidants.


We Are The New Farmers website

Categories :
2022, 2023, Finalist
Zalliant
Zalliant
Zalliant

Amsterdam, NY
Zalliant’s IoT and artificial intelligence technologies provide value and efficiency to farmers through improved decision making and management.


Zalliant website

Categories :
2022, Finalist