iFoodbag receives coveted €1.7M SME instrument grant from the European Commission

– The unique carrier bag innovation could bring major savings to the food industry

iFoodbag's unique carrier bag has now been awarded a substantial grant from the European  Commission's Horizon 2020 SME instrument programme. Thanks to its innovative technology and the product's significance to the grocery industry, iFoodbag will receive financial support consisting of €1.7M during a two-year period, entailing that the company will work with a project budget of €2.5M in the development of its second generation carrier bag.

November saw the launch of iFoodbag's water-resistant carrier bag, designed to protect chilled and frozen groceries for up to 24 hours. Now, the Swedish company is taking the next step out into Europe, in order to present and further develop its unique product. The company has at its disposal a project budget of €2.5M to assist in its European expansion, after recently being awarded a grant of €1.7M through Horizon 2020, the EU Commission's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, and its novel SME instrument programme. The objective of the programme is to work with and support scientific breakthroughs which can lead to new possibilities to improving people's lives across the globe - something which the European Commission believes that iFoodbag has the potential to do. This faith in the company and its product is shared by Zaz Ventures, who assisted in drawing up the funding application together with the team at iFoodbag.

– We can't overstate what an achievement it is to be awarded this grant, especially considering that only three per cent of all applications receive financial support. The award is a seal of credibility, as it is a very selective programme in which only the best of the best are selected. The programme is also the pathway to reaching future partners and investors, as the European Commission is developing a networking community around the SME instrument winners. We think that iFoodbag's concept has the potential to revolutionise food deliveries. Our funding application ranked first out of 62 applications submitted at this deadline, and iFoodbag is one of the only two companies to have been awarded funding in the food area, states Xavier Aubry, founder of Zaz Ventures.

iFoodbag's production budget for its second generation product will now be five times larger than its budget for the original carrier bag last winter. The thinking is that the second generation of the bag will be even more environmentally-friendly, will keep its contents chilled for even longer and will be even cheaper to produce. The fact that the innovation is focussed on new opportunities on the market and is relevant for challenges currently facing the EU is a part of the reason why the company was awarded such a large grant. The proposal shows that the relevant resources are in place to ensure the success of the project and to develop the company's operations in the best possible way, such as personnel, equipment, network and more, which was further motivation for the awarding of the grant.

– Our concept, our team and the timing are three reasons why we obtained this grant. This development has come around at just the right time, as the European Commission realises the importance of working to create a sustainable world, which coincides completely with what we want to achieve with our flexible packaging solutions. With generation two, we are putting our efforts into such things as improving the cost-effectiveness of the carrier bag, that more people should be able to afford to shop online, the environmental impact and reducing both CO2 emissions and food waste. Of course, it is extremely gratifying and a real badge of honour to receive this validation that our technology is good and that we are considered a company to watch in the future, states Karl Fallgren, CEO and founder of iFoodbag.

For further information please contact:
Karl Fallgren, CEO and founder of iFoodbag AB
Phone: +46 76 163 47 03
E-mail: karl.fallgren@ifoodbag.se

Gustaf Graah-Hagelbäck, Inmema PR
Phone: +46 70 719 34 84
E-mail: gustaf.graah-hagelback@inmema.com