Tesco has announced NatureMetrics as the winner of its 2023 Tesco Agri T-Jam Competition, after it presented plans for a new platform to report on biodiversity.
The award sees the company win a fast-track introduction to the Tesco supplier network and a trial with one of the retailer’s supply chain partners.
Now in its sixth year, the Tesco Agri T-Jam pitching event, run in partnership with Leading Edge Only, saw 10 different agri startups present to a panel of Tesco sustainable agriculture and commercial experts, Tesco suppliers and stakeholders to find the most promising agriculture innovation.
The event was dominated by innovations which can contribute to Tesco’s aim of building more sustainable supply chains, including solutions to support on-farm measurement and data analytics to address complex sustainability issues.
NatureMetrics, which was represented at the event by its head of agriculture Tom Ludwig, won the competition for a solution which measures biodiversity using DNA analysis of soil, water, and insects.
The innovation converts complex data into simple metrics which can be viewed through its Nature Intelligence Platform, better enabling users to comprehensively report on biodiversity improvement in their supply chain.
“We are thrilled to welcome NatureMetrics to our network, and to offer them the opportunity to work with our suppliers and experience direct feedback and mentoring from our sustainable agriculture team,” said Tesco head of sustainable agriculture Natalie Smith.
“In an incredibly strong field, Tom Ludwig demonstrated his commitment to biodiversity and really impressed the whole of the judging panel.
“This competition is designed to help us find innovators who can help us build long-term resilience within our supply base, addressing key sustainability challenges so we can continue our progress towards our stretching climate and biodiversity targets. I’d like to thank all of our finalists for taking part – I’m sure there will be more opportunities in the future for these innovators to work with Tesco suppliers.”
Leading Edge Only founder and CEO Scott Sharp said: “We are delighted for Tom and all of the applicants who were shortlisted. This is a life-changing opportunity and it is incredibly exciting to see the level of talent across startups in the agri-tech space. We are confident that we will continue to hear these names as they each make their stamp within the landscape over the next few years.”
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