Nimble, fast-to-market, passionate, and ready to drive positive change, startups are disrupting every aspect of the food & beverage industry. Small companies represent an endless resource for innovative ideas that can help established brands adopt new technology and reconnect with consumers. The question is not should you work with smaller companies, but how?

Nina Meijers and Anne Greven are trying to answer that question. They manage FoodBytes!, a global pitch competition where innovative food & beverage startups share their ideas with investors and industry leaders. More than 2,000 mission-driven companies have applied to the FoodBytes! platform, giving Nina and Anne a front-row seat to the latest trends in sustainable innovation. In this episode, they tell us why large companies should partner with would-be disruptors, and highlight the most interesting and impactful innovation themes they’ve seen so far.