GOT QUESTIONS?
WE’VE GOT ANSWERS.

Entries open on 1st June 2026. Enter by clicking 'Register to attend.' It’s free to enter. Last submissions will be accepted by Friday 25th September so get cracking!

Round 1 is a short series of questions that will include a bit about you or your company. We then want to hear about your idea and your vision of how it will work. This needs to be approximately 500 words. Closing date: 25th September 2026.

If you are selected to go forward as a finalist, then you will be invited as an entrant to the final event at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday 19th November 2026 from 12pm until 5pm. The space will be available in the morning for you to setup.

This leads you to Round 2. This round will require you to present your idea from a 3x3m space in the Great Hall of the RGS. You may use any form of media, prop, costume, dramatisation… to bring your entrepreneurial vision to life. Judges will then circulate and view your pitches.

All 16 finalists will be invited to present a 1 minute elevator pitch on stage - this is your moment to tell the audience why your brand is the Future of Food!

Judges will then decide on the most effective pitches and the winner of ‘Future of Food’ will be crowned and presented with the top prizes!

This is an entirely FREE event for entrants and attendees. There should be no financial barrier to contribute to such an important theme. Other than the time to prepare and your transport to the event, there is no cost.

This event is a not-for-profit event and has been philanthropically supported in its organisation.

The winner will be awarded a grant, a certificate and a gong for their efforts.

Finalists will each have mentorship to finesse their pitch and get to deliver it to some of the industries most influential stakeholders and each .

Other discretionary prizes will be awarded by partners of the Future of Food. In 2025 these amounted to over £100,000 value.

Follow our Linkedin for prize announcements as we near the event date.

Doors open for the 16 finalists in the morning on the 19th November at the Royal Geographical Society.

Each team will have a 3x3 pitch station to get ready. Teams will man their stations whilst judges and guests circulate, navigate and listen.

We will hear from acclaimed speakers across the various industries, from food to sustainability to artificial intelligence.

Then, finalists, attendees and judges will meet in the impressive seated auditorium to hear from the 16 highly acclaimed individuals who will share their own insights into the Future of Food from their own diverse perspectives. This could be land, sea, air and possibly even space!

Following this, judges will preside and a popular vote will be cast. The top three teams will be announced. Questions from the audience are encouraged, along with any opportunities for debate.

At 4:30pm, the winner of Future of Food will be heralded with the prizes. All finalists will receive a certificate and much recognition on our social media pages and amongst the food industry.

JUDGING CRITERIA

These are some of the things they will be looking out for:

What’s the problem? - Pitches need to clearly demonstrate the problem they are solving or the opportunity they are making the most of - any evidence of this will help. Time scales for success should be within the next 5-20 years or so.

Impact on Society - A key measure of a successful idea will be the impact the idea will have on society or communities in the future.

Why will it work? - They will be looking to see if you have considered success factors but also potential roadblocks concerning the viability and commerciality of the idea. Include assumptions or citations where you can, to back up your thinking.

How scalable is it? - Another important consideration is the scalability of the idea. This can either be the size the idea itself can have or the behavioural change it influencers on others to adapt or change. It doesn’t need to be the next unicorn - it could be a pressure brand disrupting and influencing change in much bigger companies.

Perfect your pitch - Finally, judges will be looking for well-thought-through and delivered pitches. If you are selected as one of the 16 finalists, you will need to prepare any form of media can be used to bring your idea to life and engaging with the judges will be important.

For Round 1, there isn’t any support but the use of AI or any other source is perfectly fine - it’s here to stay and we should use it… but also… how can you make your pitch stand out?

The 16 Finalists will be offered mentorship to perfect their pitch before the event and questions about the day can be answered too.

If you have any problems or queries, you can email alice@futureoffood.org.uk

In short, you can’t. But much like Dragons Den, Sharktank and any other pitching or even awards event what you are really saying is that you are going to deliver the idea - where other others may not have the skills, charm or tenacity to do so.

Many ideas are not completely original ideas - perhaps ‘borrowed’ and adjusted. It’s the actual doing that is then the toughest part of all.

If this is not a good enough answer for you then the event may not be for you - however, any positive influence you may have shaping the future of food that you can support - we’d love to have you along.

The idea here is to shine a spotlight on the challenges and opportunities ahead and get early thinking for solutions underway.

Absolutely! Isn’t every opportunity with an audience just that?

Whilst it is not designed to be an investment pitch event - we want to encourage debate and discussion - undoubtedly if your idea turns heads you may find follow-on interest.

Think Dragons Den meets Tedx meets Model UN!

We have seating for 700 and we are hoping for quality, engaged food and drink enthusiasts from all corners of the industry.

Invites will reach retailers, press, suppliers, distributors, large corporates, group influencers, investors, M&A advisers and all manor of suppliers to the industry.

All can enter but you ideal entrants should be Seed to Series A (£500k-£20m+)

You should be UK or have a strong focus on UK, all nationalities are welcome. The founder must come should you reach the finals.

You might be a business or friends team (up to 4) or an individual.

The event is free to enter and attend in the hope of being as inclusive as possible for this important challenge.