With a business model focused on the decontamination of vacuum-packed foods – developed using Cold Plasma technology, the result of a partnership between the Faculty of Food Engineering at Unicamp (FEA) and the Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics (IFGW) - The Team Plasmáticos won the Unicamp 2020 Challenge. The final took place this Thursday, June 18th, and was broadcast online by the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency to an audience of almost 300 simultaneous viewers, totaling an audience of almost 400 people during the event.
Reverson Fernandes Quero, a PhD student in Analytical Chemistry at Unicamp, represented Plasmáticos in a six-minute pitch, followed by questions from the evaluation panel. Two more members form the Plasmáticos team: Lhwan Philippe Silva, who is majoring in Physics at Unicamp and Paulo Augusto Gradiz do Nascimento, majoring in Agricultural Engineering at USP-ESALQ. The team had the support of the academic mentor and also the inventor of the technology, professor Anderson Sant'ana (FEA), and the business mentor Murilo dos Santos.
The event was recorded and is available to view on Inova Unicamp YouTube. Since the Business Model Workshop, all activities of the Unicamp 2020 Challenge have been adapted to be carried out in person, and with the grand final this was no different.
“I am very happy with the result we achieved with the 10th edition of the Unicamp Challenge. When we decided to maintain business model competition even in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, we needed to adapt the format so that it could be done online. Carrying out the Challenge was really a challenge, but the choice to maintain the program was the right one and very rewarding”, said Professor Newton Frateschi, executive director of the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency, at the opening of the event.
The winning team of the 2020 Unicamp Challenge was announced by the rector of Unicamp, professor Marcelo Knobel. “It is a joy to be able to participate in this event that has already become traditional. It's really amazing what everyone has done here. Unicamp is a model in Brazil and Latin America, and even in the world when it comes to creating new opportunities in new businesses. We have very strong contact with our daughter companies, an ecosystem that develops more every day”, said the dean.
The Plasmáticos team was chosen by the evaluation panel, made up of Lidiane Oliveira, who is director of R&D for Latin America at Solvay, Cláudio Castanheira, who is general director of Clarke Modet Intelectual Property, Virgílio Marques de Souza, founder of FM2S Consultoria, Brenda Kutnikas Gildin, from Anjos do Brasil, Magnus Varassin Arantes, founder of LM Invest, José Muritiba, executive director of ABStartups, Omar Branquinho, president of Campinas Tech and Oswaldo Fernandes, founder of Baita Aceleradora.
In addition to the Plasmáticos team, the team also stood out in the final of the Unicamp Challenge. Natural Thymus, which was the public's favorite, like the best pitch. Natural Thymus developed a business model for a patent developed in collaboration between FEA, the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Unicamp (FCA) and the Multidisciplinary Center for Chemical, Biological and Agricultural Research (CPQBA). Focusing on the healthy bakery market, Natural Thymus' proposal is to develop and sell a thyme oil-based preservative for breads and cakes. The technology based on microencapsulation has the benefits of increasing the shelf life of the product by 30 days, antimicrobial action and the absence of aftertaste in the final product.
Nurse and entrepreneur Geisiquel do Nascimento Miranda represented Natural Thymus in the pitch. Also part of the Natural Thymus team are the associate professor in Education at Unesp, Arilda Inês Miranda Ribeiro, Bruna Guedes de Melo, who is a master's student in the postgraduate program in Food Technology at Unicamp, Bruna Lago Tagliapietra, who is a doctoral student at postgraduate program in Food Technology at Unicamp and entrepreneur Vanessa Camargo Ribeiro. The team had the support of academic mentor Marta Duarte, who is a researcher and director of CPQBA, and business mentor, Tiago Dias, who is a marketing specialist at Bayer in the United States.
See pitches from all finalists on Inova Unicamp YouTube.
The sponsors of the 10th edition of the Unicamp Challenge are: neuralmind, FM2S, Solvay Group, ClarkeModet e Speed Accelerator.
The supporters of the 2020 Unicamp Challenge are: Incamp, City Hall of Campinas, Campinas Center, Brazil-Germany Chamber, Creative Space Castle, Venture Hub, Campinas Tech, Entrepreneurial League, Facamp Entrepreneurship Center e Angel Education.
