“We use sensors connected to our own GSM device that transfers the signals up from the field, data is then stored in the cloud and you can view it on the mobile phone“, co-founder Anders Hedberg explains.

The company was launched by Anders Hedberg, a former engineer at Ericsson, jointly with  Johnny Nilsson, who had produced web sites for sugar producers.

While they were doing a mobile app for Nordic Sugar, Anders was asked if he could make sure sugar beets that wouldn’t freeze during winter storage. Then the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) asked him for assistance in measuring data.

“First it was just making sure things wouldn’t freeze. Then it was having the correct moisture in the soil. Then it was humidity measurements”, Anders added.

Sensefarm is currently based in Lund. It lets farmers monitor various factors through their mobile phones, giving them the future potential to avoid over-fertilization, disease, and dehydration, and making sure that circumstances are ideal for their crops.

The technology is even suited for other sectors as well, and the company is in the middle of discussions with Stockholm city council about how Sensefarm can be used to monitor and maintain the city’s flora.

“By measuring all of these factors, you can eliminate unnecessary chemicals and environmental damage. If you measure the humidity outdoors, you can predict when certain diseases will appear, and only use pesticides at those times. It’s not only beneficial for farmers and cities, but also for the environment”, says Anders.

Source: Invest i Skåne

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Foodtech: A Conscious Industry On the Rise

Foodtech is a blanket term of food sciences that aim to effectivize and develop innovative solutions for food growth, cultivation, production, distribution, and processing. Since the industry’s infancy from Nicolas Appert’s food preservation process, Foodtech has grown with sustainability in mind and investments on the rise.

“We need to feed billions of people and the population is growing. So it’s important to invest in various aspects of Food Technology such as nutrition and food processing in order to create a sustainable future.” says Federico Gomez, Programme Director of the MSc in Food Technology and Nutrition at Lund University.

A Region of Innovation

With strong ties between academia, research and business: innovation runs through the veins of Southern Sweden. For the eighth year in a row, Sweden ranks as the number one innovation leader by the European Innovation Scoreboard, and Southern Sweden is highlighted as one of the most innovative regions in Europe.

“The Öresund region is a region of innovation with a high degree of industrialization and support from the State. Innovative ideas and new things are constantly coming out.” says Federico Gomez, Programme Director of the MSc in Food Technology and Nutrition at Lund University.

Considering that 26% of the country’s national agricultural revenues originates in Skåne, perhaps it doesn’t come as a surprise that Southern Sweden and the Öresund region are becoming a hub for Foodtech innovation. So, let’s convert regional innovation into five quantifiable examples of Foodtech startups based in Southern Sweden:

Oatly AB

With their mission to improve the wellbeing of individuals and the planet alike, Oatly AB produces oat-based products enriched with enzymes that turn Swedish oats into nutritious food. Sprung out of research conducted at Lund University by Professor Rickard Öste, Oatly production and development center in Landskrona and has expanded their products to over 20 countries around the world.

Innoscentia

Innoscentia AB reduces food waste through the production of a cheap bacteria sensor that analyzes a product’s shelf life. The accuracy is due to the sensor’s ability to detect the presence of volatile food components that indicate food degradation. Innoscentia was founded by Erik Lindberg and Robin Thiberg in 2015, and has since received funding from Vinnova and LU Innovation as well as won numerous awards such as the EAT-Forum Global Innovation Award in 2016.

Doktorhonung

At the crossroads between Foodtech and Biotech, you’ll find the producer of Swedish super honey: Doktorhonung. As the direct result of research carried out at Lund University by Tobias Olofsson and Alexandra Vásquez, Doktorhunung has unlocked the secret to keep  13 lactic acids bacteria, which previously couldn’t survive outside of the beehive, active in their Swedish raw honey. Their products, H13, has a plethora of health benefits that helps with digestion and to fight harmful bacteria. Doktorhonung is owned by the Swedish biotech company ConCellae AB.

Local Food Nodes

Local Food Nodes has a mission: to make food local again. As an extension of an experiment carried out by Bygdens Saluhall and a Vinnova-financed pre-study, Local Food Nodes promotes local agricultural and economic development by directly linking produce between customers and local food producers through a digital tool. With the help if the platform, customers are presented with an array of local food that they can book and later pick up at designated sites.

Sensefarm

The Lund-based company Sensefarm AB develops tech products which allows precision farming by measuring soil moisture, precipitation and temperature of produce and plants. It all started with the development of sensors to prevent sugar beets from freezing damage, and has since grown to encompass a plethora of crucial factors for the wellbeing of produce.

Honorable mentions:

Simris Alg: The company produces algae-based food supplements and is located in Southern Sweden, but didn’t make the list due to its status as a publicly listed company.

Näraffär / Wheelys: Originating from Höganäs, the Swedish digital self-service store Näraffär has recently been purchased by Lund founded Wheelys.

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Winners from the entire region

A part of the startup section was a startup competition, which had four winners. The winner were from all over the region – both Copenhagen, Lund and Helsingborg. An interesting mix:

• Fieldly – Online-based task management tool.
• Pinstriped – Branding laptop desktops.
• Sensefarm – A precision farming tool.
• Swiftcourt – A new way to settle out of court.

Except that the winner where in different business areas as well as from all over the region, wwo of the winning startups are part of the THINK lean startup incubator – an achievement they were proud of.

Deep dive into the startups

Fieldly:

• Created 8 month ago Daniel Krusenstråhle (previous co-founder at FOAP) and Sven Paulin with office in Helsingborg
• Created an interface in cooperation with construction firms that allows to monitor the construction project
• Workers can download an app to log in and out of work and communicate with their coworkers
• Project manager can see life shipping, progress, pricing etc
• Clients can also oversee the construction process
• Their goal: to be a standard for the industry

“Fieldly has the vision to simplify the work in the industries that have staff on the ground. Our first version is aimed at the construction, plumbing and installation company, and consists of a web interface for staff in the office and apps for field staff. Our aim is to facilitate communication, make time tracking easy and do construction projects even more successful” said Sven Paulin from Fieldly (pictured above)
 

Pinstriped:

• Started in november 2013, based in Copenhagen
• 10.000 sign-ups to their service so far
• Of those are 6.000 users (because it is MacOS only for now, the others are waiting for the Windows version)

Sensefarm:

• Created 2011 in Lund
• Initially consultancy project for Nordic sugar
• Measures temperature outdoor, water, soil
• Helps farmers to farm more economically and ecologically
• Senseform can help cities to save energy, such as: L.A. 10.000 trees planted would lower city temperature by 2-3 degrees

Swiftcourt:

• Started in summer 2013 by law-students in Lund, now based in Helsingborg
• A new standard clause enables plaintiffs to settle out of court, cheaply
• Won the regional finale at Venture Cup
• Just launching the first version of their service

Good luck to all the winners!

Image credit: Marcus Ngo

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