Startup support

Viikki Food Design Factory (VFDF) has substantial experience and knowhow in providing the relevant type of support and expertise to agrifood startups (especially with founders with a background in science) including, e.g., value proposition definition, go-to-market strategy design, sales and marketing support, piloting opportunities, and investor relations.
Data for Farm Value global challenge with FAO

Viikki Food Design Factory together with the Office of Innovation in FAO launched the Data for Farm Value Global Challenge, a global call for startups farm-level data to drive sustainable, inclusive, and scalable agrifood solutions. Deadline for applications is August 25, 2025, and the challenge program will run from September to December 2025.
 
EIT Food Accelerator Network – Helsinki Hub

In 2025 VFDF runs the EIT Food Accelerator Network (FAN) Helsinki Hub operations, entailing the tech and commercialization support for 10 European startups, including corporate matchmaking, tech validation, project development, and investment readiness coaching.  
Germinator pre-incubation programme

In 2021-2024 Viikki Food Design Factory developed and ran the pre-incubation programme Germinator for pre-startup teams and early startups developing innovations for food systems transformation.  

Through the Germinator, VFDF has helped 16 teams, facilitated the birth of 5 startups, generated licensing cases and provided essential support for several startups.