Mumbai, June 26: Food systems innovation platform Foodwize has launched the third edition of STHIRA 2026, India's Sustainable Food Innovation Challenge, introducing a virtual incubation programme aimed at helping university students transform innovative ideas into scalable solutions for the country's food and nutrition challenges.
Organised in collaboration with the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy, the initiative seeks to move beyond idea generation by providing selected student teams with mentorship, prototype development support and guidance to convert concepts into real-world interventions.
The programme comes at a time when India's food ecosystem faces multiple challenges, including malnutrition, rising lifestyle diseases, climate change, food waste and disruptions in agricultural livelihoods.
Focus On Food Innovation
STHIRA 2026 aims to encourage students to develop practical, locally relevant solutions that address these interconnected issues.
The challenge is open to university students from all disciplines, with participants encouraged to work on themes such as improving nutrition, strengthening local food economies, promoting indigenous food systems, enhancing supply chains and building resilient urban food ecosystems.
Students from fields including sustainability, engineering, design, business, health sciences and urban planning are eligible to participate in teams of two to three members.
A key addition this year is Foodwize's Virtual Incubator for Sustainable Food, which will provide structured support to shortlisted participants for refining ideas, validating concepts, developing prototypes and creating implementation plans.
Programme Expands Student Support
According to Foodwize, the first two editions of STHIRA generated over 200 innovative ideas from more than 300 students representing over 45 universities across 18 academic disciplines.
The initiative also reached students in more than 125 cities and 400 colleges across India. Previous winning projects focused on issues such as hidden hunger, indigenous food revival, rooftop farming, reducing post-harvest losses and converting household food waste into useful products.
"STHIRA sits at the intersection of young curiosity and the complex realities shaping the future of food. Through this initiative, we hope to catalyse youth-led transformation by supporting ideas that are inclusive, rooted in local contexts and capable of delivering long-term impact," said Srijata Sengupta, Co-founder and Partner at Foodwize.
Registrations Open Till July 31
Participants will receive mentorship from experts in food systems, sustainability, entrepreneurship and design, along with certificates, learning resources and networking opportunities. Winning teams will be awarded cash prizes and trophies, while shortlisted teams will receive incubation support to further develop their ventures.
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Registrations for STHIRA 2026 are open until July 31, with semi-final presentations scheduled to be held online in September 2026. The final prototype exhibition will take place in Bengaluru in November 2026.
Through the initiative, Foodwize aims to encourage young innovators to view food not merely as a means of consumption but as a pathway to improving public health, strengthening livelihoods, conserving biodiversity and building resilient communities.
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