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EIT Food – up to €60,000 for a startup pilot with a large food company

European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) · EIT Food – Proof-of-Concept Co-Financing

EIT Food, Κοινότητα Καινοτομίας του EIT (EIT Food, an EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community)

In plain words

Up to €60,000 for an agrifood startup running a pilot or proof of concept with a large corporate client, e.g. samples, field trials or performance tests. The corporate client separately pays a fee equal to 60% of the project budget. Applications are in English.

Who can apply

Small or micro agrifood startups registered in an EU or Horizon Europe associated country, with at least 12 months of activity and a corporate client with at least €1 billion turnover (or smaller, with proven open-innovation practice).

What it pays for

Lump-sum funding of up to €60,000 for activities strictly linked to the pilot with the client, lasting 1–12 months. 50% paid upfront.

What must be true for you

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  • Startup registered in an EU or Horizon Europe country with at least 12 months of activity.
  • Small or micro company (under 50 staff and turnover or balance sheet up to €10M).
  • Letter of Intent signed by the corporate client and EIT Food.
  • The corporate client pays a fee equal to 60% of the project budget.
  • A score of at least 3.5 in the evaluation.

How to apply

  1. Register on the MyEITFood platform.
  2. Agree with the corporate client and sign the Letter of Intent (EIT Food template).
  3. Prepare a pitch deck, project plan and budget (template) in English.
  4. Submit by 30 Nov 2026, 12:00; you get an answer within 30 days.
  5. If approved, sign the lump-sum sub-grant agreement and receive 50% upfront.

Where to apply: MyEITFood – myeitfood.eu

Deadline

Final cut-off 30 November 2026, 12:00 CET (13:00 Greek time). Applications are evaluated after each cut-off until the budget runs out.

Sources we read

Research notes: Guidelines V3: call budget €1.5M; cut-offs 31 Jul, 30 Sep, 30 Oct and 30 Nov 2026, 12:00 CET (two are labelled 'cut-off 2' in the document); 'up to 60.000€ available per project' (the web page says projects of 'less than €60k in project costs'). Funding goes to proposals above the 3.5 threshold until the budget runs out, so later cut-offs may have little money left. Other EIT Food calls open on 2026-10-17 were for organisations, or only for teams from the Seedbed Venture Catalyst programme. Call open since 16/04/2026 (guidelines V3, 17/08/2026). Proposals come from a single small or micro company; medium-sized firms and teams without a company are not eligible.

See also