Sustainable rice brand Nice Rice has won the inaugural Future of Food competition this week for its work tackling the enormous climate impact of the rice industry.
Rice has the second-highest emissions of any food once land use change, fertilisers, and transportation is taken into account, according to a study published in Nature in 2021.
Nice Rice sources exclusively from Indian farmers who use sustainable rice practices developed at Cornell University to cut their emissions by up to 49%, according to Cornell’s researchers.
They all follow the Sustainable Rice Platform co-founded by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Rice Research Institute to promote sustainable rice farming techniques.
The standard is a playbook of 41 different practices, with points available for each element. All Nice Rice’s farmers have achieved level three, meaning they meet 90% of the points available.
Techniques include alternate wetting and drying (AWD), a method that periodically drains and refloods a field that can use up to 30% less water than traditional methods.
Since launching, Nice Rice estimates its consumers have helped save over 23 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions and more than 63 million litres of water thanks to these farming practices.
The business was launched by former private equity investor Fergus O’Sullivan in May 2023 and has secured listings in Waitrose, Ocado, and independent stores. It won gold in The Grocer’s New Product & Packaging Awards 2023.
In April, it raised £560k to help it grow “a clear, sustainable choice in the rice category”.
The Future of Food competition was set up by Fuel10K co-founder Barney Mauleverer in a bid to transform the food innovation landscape.
“The mega trends of the future – rising sea levels, shifting populations, threats to our economy, farming and climate, even space tourism - are undeniable,” said Mauleverer.
“But the food industry has a unique opportunity to lead the charge in solving these seismic shifts and crises. It’s incredibly inspiring to see so many young, up and coming innovators forging ahead.
“Without the strength of big brands or budgets behind them, they’re making waves, pushing boundaries and showing the incredible talent this industry has to offer. That’s exactly what the Future of Food competition is here to celebrate: their passion, drive and game changing potential.
“This inaugural competition has been even more thrilling – and hopeful – than we could have imagined. All our finalists have the potential to be game-changers. We cannot wait to see where they, and our winners, go from here.”
This week’s silver award went to Seep, a plastic-free cleaning tool on a mission to eliminate one billion plastic items from landfill by 2030. Seep also aims to tackle food waste by transforming food byproducts like corn husks and nut shells into biodegradable, plastic-free scourers.
Dogtooth Technologies won bronze for its development of robots capable of harvesting delicate berry fruits as effectively as human pickers. Dogtooth spent eight years working on its advanced AI to unlock relatively low-cost robotic hardware and now has 70 robots deployed worldwide.
Prizes for bronze, silver and gold include a £10k grant and £20k of bespoke NIQ data, as well as guaranteed time with the Co-op, Ocado and Waitrose.
The other finalists, whittled down from more than 100 entries, also included Blue Turaco Coffee, Bold Bean Co, and More Toddler Meals.
Finalists pitched live to a panel of judges made up of:
• The Grocer editor in chief – Adam Leyland
• Premier Foods CMO - Yilmaz Erceyes
• Bread and Jam founder – Jason Gibb
• Brand Growth Heroes podcaster - Fiona FitzPatrick
• Piper Sandler M&A advisor – Damian Thornton
• Co-op head of commercial – Rebecca Oliver-Mooney
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