Akorn Technology, Inc., an innovator in sustainable post-harvest solutions, has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2025 FoodTech Challenge, a UAE-based competition that brings together the world’s most ambitious food and agriculture startups. Akorn was recognised for its proposal to help small growers reduce severe post-harvest losses and address cold-chain shortcomings.
Organised by the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court and Tamkeen (https://www.tamkeenuae.com), the FoodTech Challenge seeks to identify and scale technologies capable of transforming food production in arid, hot, and increasingly demanding environments.
As announced at the 2025 Clinton Global Initiative Global Meeting, held during the UN General Assembly in New York, the ten finalists were selected from 42 semifinalists, drawn from 1,215 submissions from 113 countries.
“We are honoured to be recognised as a finalist,” said Anthony Zografos, CEO of Akorn. “Our mission is to create practical, nature-based solutions that extend the shelf life of fresh produce without chemicals or single-use plastics. Being part of this initiative validates the global importance of our work.”
A critical challenge: up to 30% of fresh produce is lost after harvest
Post-harvest losses affect farmers worldwide, but they hit smallholders in the Global South hardest. Reducing them through effective treatments is essential to improving grower income and ensuring year-round access to nutritious food.
Traditionally, the post-harvest sector has relied on chemical-based solutions that, although effective, increasingly conflict with tightening global regulations and consumer demand for chemical-free food. Meanwhile, many “natural” alternatives introduced in recent years proved too costly, impractical, or ineffective at scale.
Major retailers such as Walmart and Whole Foods have recently implemented broad chemical bans, accelerating the shift across the global supply chain.
Akorn: bridging the gap between performance and sustainability
Akorn is the first company to successfully combine natural ingredients with proven performance, offering solutions that are effective, easy to use, and cost-competitive, without synthetic chemicals.
“Our patented technology enables us to extract valuable compounds from agricultural byproducts and convert them into natural post-harvest solutions capable of reducing losses by up to 50%,” explained Zografos.
“We have already demonstrated effectiveness on crops such as mango, stone fruit, apples, sweet potatoes, and more.”
Through the FoodTech Challenge, Akorn is developing new formulations tailored to arid conditions, with the UAE serving as an ideal testbed to validate impact and scalability.
A barrier to global markets for small producers
According to Xander Shapiro, Chief Commercial Officer at Akorn, inadequate cold-chain infrastructure and excessive chemical use often prevent perishable products from small growers in the Global South from meeting the strict standards required in high-value markets such as the European Union, the United States, Japan, and Canada.
“The inability to access global markets limits income growth and discourages investment in better farming practices and infrastructure,” noted Shapiro.
“Akorn’s technology strengthens supply chains and improves both quality and economics for Global South producers.”
Next steps
The winners of the FoodTech Challenge will be announced in Q1 2026.
More information: https://www.foodtechchallenge.com/
