While much of Europe’s startup spotlight has recently fixated on digital disruptors and AI-powered platforms, steady progress is taking place in the fertile, green hills of northern Spain.
EIT Food’s Bilbao Campus Experience (BCE) is cultivating a different kind of innovation – one rooted in the soil, science, and systems behind what we eat. At the heart of this initiative lies the idea to bring global agrifood talent to Bizkaia, plug them into an advanced innovation ecosystem, and give them the tools to scale in Southern Europe and beyond.
Organised by EIT Food, the EU’s food innovation initiative, and hosted at the BAT (B Accelerator Tower) in Bilbao, the programme looks to redefine how post-accelerator support can drive global impact in sustainable food and agriculture.
With the backing of the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, BCE stands as a model for how public-private partnership and local infrastructure can magnetise international startups to a specific region.
Tailored growth, not off-the-shelf advice
Around 80% of BCE’s curriculum is bespoke, crafted around the individual needs of each startup. The goal is to address specific post-acceleration hurdles: from refining go-to-market strategies to building partnerships with key industry players.
Selected startups spend three to four weeks in November immersed in the Basque Country’s agrifood ecosystem, not only benefiting from mentorship and training but actively collaborating with players like Eroski, Biolan, and Conservas Arroyabe.
Beyond borders: the startups making waves
The programme has drawn participants from Poland, Serbia, Argentina, France, the Netherlands, and beyond – highlighting its international pull.
Startups in the latest cohort represent a cross-section of agrifood ingenuity:
- MiFood (Poland): One of the standout participants in the late 2025 cohort, MiFood is innovating robotic systems for agriculture tech and aims to slash labour costs by 50% and cut CO2 emissions by 30% – all while reducing crop loss.
- Veles Sense (Serbia): Specialising in precision agriculture, their platform provides real-time crop and environmental analytics, fuelling smarter, more sustainable farming decisions.
- Food 4 You (Argentina): Exploring microbial ecosystems for natural food preservation, this startup is paving the way for clean-label, chemistry-free shelf life solutions.
- Happeaz (France): Makers of high-quality, plant-based foods, this company uses local sourcing and minimal processing to deliver flavour without compromise.
- BeeSage (Netherlands): Combining DeepTech and environmental science, BeeSage helps beekeepers detect early signs of threats to their colonies, supporting both biodiversity and food production.
And BCE isn’t just a stopover – several alumni have decided to lay down roots in Bizkaia.
These include Nannobubbles Europe (Hungary), whose nano-bubble preservation technology offers a scientifically advanced solution to food waste; Atfield Technologies (Serbia), which delivers vineyard intelligence through dense canopy climate sensors that help optimise cultivation; Bluana Foods (Italy), innovators in molecular gastronomy producing “vegetable sashimi” that mimics seafood while protecting marine ecosystems; Preservashield (Poland), creators of an edible, invisible coating that extends the shelf life of fresh produce; and Genky (France), which upcycles winemaking by-products into non-alcoholic elixirs that combine sustainability with functional food benefits.
Bizkaia: a gateway, not just a backdrop
The Basque Country’s appeal to startups goes beyond picturesque landscapes and pintxos. Its strategic location on the Atlantic Corridor provides startups with direct access to Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American markets – key growth areas for food innovation.
Add to that a rich industrial tradition, a collaborative research network, and government-backed sectoral support, and you have a landing pad primed for scale.
Alumni such as Genky, Nannobubbles, and Atield have reported that the relationships built during the programme, whether with local producers or academic labs, have outlasted the experience itself.
From digital beekeeping to vegetable sushi, the startups of the Bilbao Campus Experience are showing that agrifood innovation isn’t just about tech – it’s about rootedness, relevance, and readiness to grow.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/01/how-eit-foods-bilbao-campus-experience-gives-agrifood-startups-a-unique-edge/
