FOOD BOOST CHALLENGE 2025:
ARE YOU ENTICING YOUNG PEOPLE TO MAKE HEALTHIER FOOD CHOICES?
Eating healthier, with lots of fruits and vegetables, is good for people and the planet. But how do you do that when you are tempted by fast sugars and fast food on every street corner?
That is why it is up to you! Do you have the perfect idea to help young people eat healthier? So for tasty healthy food choices with more vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, grains and legumes, but with less meat, fish, dairy and egg? Then take part!
The Food Boost Challenge 2025 is looking for pioneering ideas that will make the choice to eat more plant-based and healthier food easier, more appealing and, above all, more fun. Do you have the best idea? Then you and your team could win €5,000 and create a healthy breeding ground for your career. Do you have the best idea? Then you and your team could win €5,000 and create a healthy breeding ground for your career.
FOR EXAMPLE, DO YOU THINK OF A...?
- ingenious concept for a hotspot frequented by young people, such as supermarkets, sports clubs, school or university canteens, railway stations, but also festivals or cinemas. And that your idea will make healthier food choices easier, more fun or hipper?
- new channel or presentation method, for instance in school or sports canteens, in public transport or in supermarkets, that makes it faster and easier for young people to choose healthier food, e.g. based on vegetables, fruit, nuts, soy or legumes?
- new tasty and attractive product or product concept to make young people eat vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, grains and/or pulses more often?
- tech solution, such as an app or other tool, or do you have another great idea to improve the eating environment of young people, making it easier for young people to make that healthier choice to eat more plant-based?
… then we have a great track for you for the next few months! In it, you will further develop your idea, from concept to product, in collaboration with leading companies and organisations!
WHY CHALLENGING ADOLESCENTS?
Young people know best what helps them. So also what changes in the eating environment are needed to make it easier to make that healthier choice. Now Therefore, after two successful editions, we are continuing the Food Boost Challenge movement! This time with the theme: more plant-based, healthier food choices.
WIN 5,000 EUROS AND KICKSTART YOUR CAREER
The partnering companies and organisations are eager to guide talents with good ideas to a winning concept. If your idea blows the professional jury away, you can look forward to this:
- € 5,000 prize money for the winning team (professional jury)
- € 500 prize money for the team that wins the audience award
- extensive media exposure during the finals
- and of course the introduction to and collaboration with a whole range of great companies and organisations. They will definitely want to recruit you after graduation!
For all participants, this challenge will be unforgettable. You will collaborate with our partners from the business world and the social field, gain access to an extensive network and become pitch king or queen!
YOUR IDEA AS THE SOLUTION?
Why this challenge? Because it is desperately needed for a healthy future! Research shows that human and planetary health are strongly linked. A healthy diet, with less animal products, is a boost for protecting life on earth. And that, in turn, contributes to the health and well-being of everyone. Currently, about 19% of young people aged 17-20 are overweight. Healthy nutrition is an important factor in growing up healthy. But in our current food environment, this is quite complicated.
Unhealthy temptations are everywhere: croissants from the supermarket for breakfast or snacks, snacks from the vending machine instead of a piece of fruit and chips and burgers after exercise. A win-win diet: a more plant-based diet, using fewer or no animal products, ensures that both young people and the planet stay healthy.
The Food Boost Challenge 2025 is all about that! How will we entice young people to make more plant-based, healthier choices?
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR...
Then consider…
- Ideas that encourage eating vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grain cereals and water, because there is a lot of room for improvement there!
- Innovative ideas that can make a difference (on a large scale)
- A team with passion, knowledge and drive to make the most of this challenge
PLEASE NOTE: on 31 DECEMBER 2024 at 23.59h your team’s registration must be in. You can register via the registration form. You will find this entry form on this page from 1 November 2024. Registration closes at midnight on 31 December 2024. From all applications, we will choose about 10 teams with the best ideas to develop further.
CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
- You are taking a course at a Dutch educational institution (MBO, HBO or university) or you graduated maximum 2 years ago.
- You are studying and living in the Netherlands.
- You are at least 16 years old and not older than 28.
- You have a team with a minimum of two and a maximum of six team members (does not have to be from the same educational institution).
- You are willing to share and publish the idea: around the finals, you and your team choose to develop the idea further yourself, or to make the idea available after the finals for further development by partners and/or educational institutions.
- The team, at least one member, is always available during the dates mentioned below.
THE FUTURE OF YOUR IDEA
Ahead of the finals, a pitch of each team’s developed prototype will be recorded. Please note that these pitches will be viewed by industry professionals and your pitch, with your concept or ideas in it, will be shared with others. Keep sensitive unique and technical details out of the application and pitch, if you don’t want to share them (yet).
To make it easier for as many young people as possible to choose a healthier diet, we think it is very important that your idea can actually be implemented. Therefore, your team will in any case remain the owner of your submitted concept or solution until the finals. In the run-up to the finals, your team will indicate whether you want to continue working on the idea, or whether you want to hand it over and make it available for further development by trainers and/or partners.
JOIN US
Want to join us, or receive more information and updates? Leave your details via the contact form or email info@foodboostchallenge.nl or follow us on social media.
THE ROUTE TO SUCCESS
The Food Boost Challenge is divided into five stages: From research to ideation and from concept development to first prototype. And if possible, we continue with implementation after the final. This way, you literally work on a healthier diet of future generations!
SAVE THE DATES
01-11-2024: Challenge open for applications
31-12-2024: Deadline for applications
20-01-2025: Finalists will be announced
13-02-2025: Co-creation matchmaking meeting
13-03-2025: Follow-up co-creation meeting
10-04-2025: Pitch training
15-05-2025: Final with pitches for professional jury and audience
EXPLAINER: THE FOOD BOOST CHALLENGE IN 2 MINUTES:
WHO IS ORGANISING THIS CHALLANGE?
The Food Boost CHallenge 2025 is an initiative of:
The Food Boost Challange 2025 is organised in collaboration with:
The Food Boost Challenge 2025 is supported by:
Partners of the Food Boost Challenge 2025 will be announced in the run-up to college year 2024/2025.
JOIN US!
Want to join us, or receive more information and updates? Leave your details via the contact form or email info@foodboostchallenge.nl or follow us on social media.