Startups Developing Swiss Epigenetic Testing and Plant Proteins win 40’000 each
05.09.2019
Genknowme offers epigenetic testing to enable patients adapt to a healthier lifestyle while PlantedFood makes animal-free 'meat' using plants. Venture Kick's support and coaching will be used to refine their businesses, develop and commercialize their services and products over the next six months.
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 GenKnowme, co-founders Sébastien Nusslé and Semira Gonseth
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 Planted co-founders Pascal Bieri and Lukas Böni
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GenKnowme: Swiss epigenetic testing for lifestyle and environmental factors and quantify their impact
Lausanne University Hospital’s Semira Gonseth and Sébastien Nusslé developed their business idea during postdoctoral work at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley, where they investigated the epigenetic links between cancer and lifestyle risk factors. GenKnowme aims to be Switzerland’s first startup to offer epigenetic testing to quantify how patients’ lifestyles and environments impact their health. The tests’ actionable answers will let patients make healthy choices.
www.venturekick.ch/Genknowme
Planted Foods: plant proteins for meatless consumers
Sixty billion chickens are grown and killed annually. Planted makes animal-free 'meat', using plants instead of chicken. Lukas Böni, Pascal Bieri and Eric Stirnemann, food scientists from ETH Zurich and the University of St. Gallen, aim to offer consumers a sustainable and cruelty-free alternative to meat, and diversify consumer choices from gluten- and soy-based foods. The team's proprietary extrusion process converts protein and fibers from yellow split peas into a structure that mimics chicken. The ETH spin-off already sells its produce to restaurants ranging from a casual Vietnamese banh mi eatery in Zurich to a 15-Gault-Millau-point restaurant in Lucerne. The team plans its own production facility, and to expand its product range to 'beef' and 'fish'. Venture Kick financing would mainly be used to maximize exposure to market, plan out essential mid-term production scalability and add production and market know-how to the team as needed.
venturekick.ch/planted
Lausanne University Hospital’s Semira Gonseth and Sébastien Nusslé developed their business idea during postdoctoral work at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley, where they investigated the epigenetic links between cancer and lifestyle risk factors. GenKnowme aims to be Switzerland’s first startup to offer epigenetic testing to quantify how patients’ lifestyles and environments impact their health. The tests’ actionable answers will let patients make healthy choices.
www.venturekick.ch/Genknowme
Planted Foods: plant proteins for meatless consumers
Sixty billion chickens are grown and killed annually. Planted makes animal-free 'meat', using plants instead of chicken. Lukas Böni, Pascal Bieri and Eric Stirnemann, food scientists from ETH Zurich and the University of St. Gallen, aim to offer consumers a sustainable and cruelty-free alternative to meat, and diversify consumer choices from gluten- and soy-based foods. The team's proprietary extrusion process converts protein and fibers from yellow split peas into a structure that mimics chicken. The ETH spin-off already sells its produce to restaurants ranging from a casual Vietnamese banh mi eatery in Zurich to a 15-Gault-Millau-point restaurant in Lucerne. The team plans its own production facility, and to expand its product range to 'beef' and 'fish'. Venture Kick financing would mainly be used to maximize exposure to market, plan out essential mid-term production scalability and add production and market know-how to the team as needed.
venturekick.ch/planted