During the inaugural Food Disruption Challenge competition at IFT18, six forward-thinking entrepreneurs pitched their companies in hopes of winning a $25,000 grand prize. Renewal Mill, which uses a byproduct of soy milk production called okara to create a gluten-free flour ingredient, was determined the winner.

C-fu Foods, which uses a patent-pending process to develop textured insect protein suitable for a wide variety of applications, was chosen by audience vote as the winner of a $5,000 People’s Choice Award.

Daymond John, a panelist on the popular television show “Shark Tank,” served as emcee of the event.

According to Sumit Kadakia, co-founder of Renewal Mill, the company is “redefining mass market nutrition” by utilizing the nutritious byproducts left over from food processing. With its patent-pending technology, the company takes food waste and produces a variety of nutritious milled products, one of which allows soy milk manufacturers to utilize the pulp left behind to make Pure Okara Flour. The company also has a partnership with Ripple Foods, makers of pea protein dairy alternative products, to capture the split pea starch.

Renewal Mill is striving to be an ingredient company, Kadakia said.

The Future Food Disruptor of the Year winner was chosen by a panel of six judges. The pitch competition judges included Jennifer Bentz, senior vice president of research and development, innovation and insights for Tyson Foods; Jeff Grogg, founder and managing director of JPG Resources; J. Skyler Fernandes, co-founder and managing director of Venture University; John Ruff, IFT past president and former senior vice president of Kraft Foods; Nicole Schumacher, chief marketing officer, PRE Brands; and Natalie Shmulik, chief executive officer of The Hatchery.

The six participants in the pitch event were chosen in a process that spanned several months, featured two elimination rounds and initially drew 65 applicants from around the globe. The six finalists participated in a six-week mentoring program in which each was matched with a mentor and received the benefit of insights shared by several subject matter experts on topics ranging from fund-raising to food processing.

Other companies that participated in the pitch competition included the following:

• Inductive Intelligence, a start-up whose packaging technology makes it possible to safely and conveniently heat foods and drinks in disposable packaging using a wireless phone battery charging device.

• Nebullam, a food technology company that developed a new vertical farming system that employs a combination of high-pressure aeroponics and artificial intelligence.

• Rise Products, which uses a patent-pending process to convert organic byproducts into healthful food products, starting by turning spent barley from craft brewers into flour.

• Re-Nuble, an agricultural technology company that uses an inexpensive, patent-pending process to transform food waste into chemical-free, organic fertilizer for both soil-based and hydroponic cultivation.

IFT is an event hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists, a group founded in 1939 out of the vision that communication among professionals involved in food science and technology was essential to the progress of these emerging disciplines. Today, the organization has members from virtually every discipline related to food science and technology and from more than 95 countries around the world.