The company Þoran, which now develops production of Icelandic quality whiskey from barley, won the first prize in the innovation competition between Matís and Landsbankinn for business ideas in the food and biotechnology industry based on Icelandic raw materials and ingenuity.
The first prize is ISK 1 million from Landsbankinn and important technical advice and facilities to continue working on the idea from Matís. The picture shows representatives of Landsbankinn and Matís together with Birgur Már Sigurðsson and Bergþóra Aradóttir on behalf of the winning idea Þoran - Icelandic quality whiskey.
Other ideas that stood out this time were:
- GeoSilica - Silica suspension as a dietary supplement
- Iceland - beverage and ice cream production from whey
- Barley and kelp pasta - development and production of healthy pasta
Relatives of these four business ideas now have the opportunity to present their idea to investors and continue to work on their implementation with the help of Matís experts.
The innovation competition was entitled "This is something else" and the name refers to a discussion about innovations in business life that often ends with people saying "something else should be done", or to undefined solutions that many people talk about but do not have a name for. This competition creates an opportunity to do "something else".
The members of the competition intend to be a powerful stimulus for the development of small and medium-sized companies in the field of food and biotechnology, with lasting value creation as a guiding principle.
Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, says: “This time, the winners of the competition presented a uniquely fun idea for non-traditional food that has excellent marketing potential. It is gratifying that if it had not been for this competition, we certainly would not have entered into a partnership with Þoran so soon. That fact alone strengthens my belief that the decision of Landsbankinn and Matís to hold such a competition was the right one. It creates a good opportunity for us to create a platform that can become a rich part of increased value creation in the field of food production and biotechnology. "