Support

merck-future-of-food's provider logo

The Frontier of Food

Analyze the food market and forecast unmet consumer needs!
Broaden your horizon: Use the challenge to understand a complex challenge of the world population and try to come up with a targeted market analysis of the food market and specific unmet consumer needs.

  • 🏁
    Congratulations Team U Ferment, well deserved victory!
  • 🏆  
    €10.000
Brief
Important details
Submission
Timeline

⌛ Timeline

✅ 10/01/2018: Start University Battle

As of this day you will have the opportunity to establish your own university-internal team on our platform or to join an existing team. With your team you can develop your customer needs sketch and hand it in on our platform until 11/15/2018.

 

✅ 11/16/2018: Finalist decision

During this week we will together with Merck decide which 8 teams handed in the best solutions. These 8 teams will be invited to a bootcamp in Darmstadt with Merck.

 

✅ 11/23/2018: Bootcamp at the Innovation Center

To not only develop a great solution, but also enhancing your personality we organized a boot camp in Merck’s Innovation Center in Darmstadt for you. Merck will give you extensive feedback, selected experts from various areas of expertise (innovation, media, pitch) will show you how to furthermore advance your solution, firm your team and prepare you for the final event in Darmstadt.

 

✅ 11/23/2018-01/18/2019: Elaboration Phase

After the boot camp the elaboration phase kicks in. Your team will get a time frame of eight weeks to develop your strategy into a marketable solution based on your identified trends and unmet consumer needs. Starting this phase, you will receive extensive feedback from selected professors from your university or college helping you to refining your solution. Moreover, every finalist team will be granted a mentor from Merck through ekipa answering your outstanding questions.

 

✅ 01/24/2019: The final event: Let’s pitch!

The big day has come! You are travelling to Darmstadt with your team to present your elaborated solution not only to Merck, but also in front of a selected jury. If your solution ranks as one the best and you can pitch it chances are good that you will be the winner at the end of the day. Money prices and other rewards are waiting for the best teams!

 

✅ 01/25/2019: Prize day!

The winning teams are invited to meet us in Frankfurt! At the Battle-ending ceremony the best teams and universities will get an extra round of applause. Moreover, the teams have the chance to get their prices live on stage and enjoy a nice evening in Frankfurt!

© 2018- 2025 ekipa GmbH. All rights reserved.