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Eighteen finalists, including three from the Rochester area, have been selected in the first round of the state’s Grow-NY food and agriculture innovation competition.
Competitors must present their business plans for consideration in a competition to win a top prize of $1 million. Additional prizes of $500,000 and $250,000 will go to runners up.
The finalists include eight companies from the Finger Lakes region, two from other countries, and seven from other states. They each get to make a pitch for their company at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit to be held at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center Nov. 12 and 13.
The businesses must be located in Central New York, the Finger Lakes or Southern Tier regions or be willing to relocate or expand to the 22-county region.
The Rochester area businesses include Perfect Granola of Victor, Ontario County; RealEats, a meal subscription service based in Geneva, and Re-Nuble, a company that turns vegetable waste into fertilizer. Re-Nuble is headquartered in New York City, but its founder, Tinia Pina, said the company just signed a lease for a production facility in Rochester’s Eastman Business Park.
“Each winning company is poised to make a tremendous impact on our Upstate economy and will be fueled, not only by the prize funds, but also by the tremendous array of resources only Upstate New York can offer,” said Tom Schryver, executive director of Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement.
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