Best Food Founder 2019: air up secures lucrative TV advertising deal from ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator at Anuga conference
The Start-up investor and Hack AG honour the most innovative food start-up founder at the Anuga
air up will receive a TV advertising budget valued at 250,000 Euro
Munich, October 8, 2019. air up, a start-up providing the world's first drink bottle to deliver flavour through scent, is the winner of the Best Food Founder 2019 pitch event. The start-up faced tough competition across two rounds to secure a media deal valued at 250,000 Euro for the ProSiebenSat.1 Group channels and the chance to gain a foothold in the German market through TV advertising. ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator and Hack AG, one of the leading manufacturers of bakery and confectionary goods, held the first pitch competition Best Food Founder 2019 on October 8th at the world's largest produce trade fair, the Anuga, in Cologne. The competition is aimed at founders from the food industry and rewards the most innovative start-up and their business idea.
Six finalists took to the stage to present their business models in short pitches before a jury comprised of experts from the food and media industries. Managing Director of ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator Dr. Fabian Heuschele was joined by the CEO of Zentis Karl-Heinz Johnen, Kuchenmeister's CEO Hans G nther Trockels and investor and Olympic weightlifting champion Matthias Steiner to form the expert jury. Peter Hack, CEO of Hack AG, moderated the event.
Decision live on the Culinary stage at the Anuga
In addition to air up, a further five start-ups pitched their business models before the jury and a live audience. Happy Cashew produces plant-based alternatives to milk products. Kolonne Null creates high quality alcohol free wines and sparkling wines. PLANT B is a plant-based drink containing a high fruit percentage and beneficial almond protein. SWARM Nutrition develops innovative foods using functional and sustainable insect protein. Zveetz produces provide low sugar sweet treats with their desserts, yoghurts and fruit gums.
In the first round, candidates are teamed in pairs to go head-to-head and deliver their short pitches for a place in the final. In the first Semi-Final, Kolonne Null took on SWARM Nutrition, followed by Zveetz against Happy Cashew, whilst in the last round air up and PLANT B battled for the final spot. The jury delivered their verdict, naming Kolonne Null, Happy Cashew and air up as the finalists. In the finale the three remaining start-ups were asked to spontaneously answer questions from the jury. air up delivered the most convincing response and prevailed in the finale against the competition.
Simon N esch, Co-Founder of air up: I am thrilled. I didn't know what awaited me this morning and the fact that I can now stand here as the winner is such a huge opportunity for our company and our team.
Dr. Fabian Heuschele, Managing Director of ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator: air up is for me the competition's most innovative start-up because the product itself displays true innovation. The start-up advances the food and beverage industry and their business model is very promising. We are looking forward to supporting air up with TV advertising across our broad range of channels and to drive their growth moving forward.
Peter Hack, CEO of Hack AG: This year's winner was selected as the company perfectly meets the contemporary needs of the food and beverage industry and propels the market forward with their innovation. As a result of the success of, and positive response to the event, we look forward to hosting the competition again with the ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator team in 2020.
About ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator:
ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator is one of Europe's leading start-up investors. Accelerator invests in B2C start-ups offering products and services designed for the mass market and have established business models with a substantial amount of initial revenue. Start-ups receive a media package starting at 1.5 Million Euro (including TV, Special Ads, Online Video, Influencer Campaigns or Addressable TV), which helps them to achieve their growth potential. In addition to media services, Accelerator offers its start-ups a mentoring program, office space in Berlin and access to the entire ProSiebenSat.1 Group network - one of the leading media companies in Europe.
About Hack AG
Hack is one of the most successful corporations in the manufacturing of bakery and confectionary products. The company is based in Kurtscheid in Germany's Westerwald region and is a family owned business in its third generation. The company's idea is clear: the combination of traditional baking craftmanship and modern convenience. Under the umbrella of Hack AG there are six subsidiaries that specialize in various areas of the business.
About air up
air up has developed the world's first drink bottle that can add flavour to water using different scents. When drinking from the air up bottle, scented air is mixed with the water. The air is transported to the brain's scent receptors through the pharynx, where it is perceived as taste. The result: a beverage free from sugar, calories and unhealthy additives.
About Happy Cashew
Happy Cashew is a young company creating handmade, plant-based alternatives to milk products that are both healthy and full of flavour. The key ingredient: Cashews that are packed full of minerals, vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids. As Europe's first producer of vegan cheese alternatives made from cashews, from the very beginning Happy Cashew was committed to a handmade production process that is strictly based on techniques used in traditional cheese production.
About Kolonne Null
Kolonne Null was founded in Berlin in 2018 by artists and entrepreneurs Phillip and Moritz. With the f
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
Best Food Founder 2019: air up secures lucrative TV advertising deal from ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator at Anuga conference
