July 2, 2020 (Renens, Switzerland) – MassChallenge Switzerland, part of MassChallenge‘s global network of zero-equity startup accelerators, today announced a partnership with General Mills to support the food industry leader’s strategic commitment to identifying and collaborating with emerging startups that have the potential to create widespread impact in the food and agtech space.

“Working with MassChallenge over the last five years in the U.S. opened our perspective on how to work with technology startups in general,” said Olaf Gruess, Technology Manager & Global Connector – R&D for General Mills. “We now want to find more efficient ways of working together and identify innovative solutions that will allow us to produce food our consumers love.”

General Mills’ One Global Dairy platform in Vienne, France will lead this partnership with MassChallenge Switzerland. General Mills will work directly with startups in MassChallenge Switzerland’s 2020 cohort and in its global alumni network to co-develop or apply their innovative solutions and technologies to General Mill’s products and processes. In turn, startups will benefit from General Mills’ deep industry expertise, resources, potential partnerships and market access, all while helping create better products and an improved consumer experience across the value chain.

By partnering with MassChallenge Switzerland, General Mills will also have the opportunity to participate directly in the accelerator as mentors, judges, or speakers – exposing its team to the startup environment which could advance internal development while fostering an entrepreneurial spirit within the company.

“We’re pleased to welcome General Mills to the MassChallenge Switzerland family of partners. This amazing network is dedicated to help high potential startups improve their businesses and make an impact,” said Matt Lashmar, Managing Director MassChallenge Switzerland. “Today we see an already-stretched global food supply chain under pressure, and partnering with corporations such as General Mills, will allow startups to experiment and test new business models and products, and scale their innovation faster, thereby bringing value to society.”

Since 2016, MassChallenge Switzerland has been a leader in helping startups across Europe grow their businesses, annually accelerating 90+ early stage startups while taking no equity or fees. MassChallenge Switzerland provides startups with access to top corporations, world-class mentoring from industry experts, curated resources, and up to CHF 1M in equity-free prizes. For the 2020 accelerator program, MassChallenge Switzerland is staying true to its mission of bringing people and organizations together: to mitigate public health risks associated with COVID-19, the program will begin virtually in July using online meetings and networking software to enable high potential startups to solve problems and stimulate economies.

About General Mills

General Mills is a leading global food company whose purpose is to make food the world loves. Its brands include Cheerios, Annie’s, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Häagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, BLUE and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2020 net sales of U.S. $17.6 billion. In addition, General Mills’ share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1.0 billion.

About MassChallenge

MassChallenge is a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators. Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Rhode Island, Switzerland, and Texas, MassChallenge is committed to strengthening the global innovation ecosystem by supporting high-potential startups across all industries, from anywhere in the world. To date, more than 2,400 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $6.2B in funding, generated more than $3B in revenue, and created more than 157,000 total jobs. Learn more about MassChallenge at masschallenge.org.

MassChallenge Switzerland Partners

Barry Callebaut, Bühler, Nestlé, GEA, Givaudan, Swiss Economic Forum, Inartis Foundation, Südzucker, Amcor, Philip Morris International, Canton of VAUD (Economic Promotion), Canton of VAUD (Board of Higher Education), General Mills, Mazars, Kellerhals – Carrard, Reuteler & Cie, Federation International de I’Automobile and EIT Food