nir-vana innovation network

The company is based in the south east of Austria and has a long history in agriculture. In 2018 they began to experiment with how to transform their sprouts into shelf-stable snack products. The company is convinced that nature can do more than any dietary supplement or vitamin preparation. That's why they have made it their mission to gently process one of the highest quality raw materials nature has to offer - the sprout. Sprouts are germinated plantlets and at this stage of growth, the concentration of vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals is higher than ever in further plant growth. Enthusiastic about this high-quality raw material, they began to gently process it into natural, healthy snack products. They use mainly 8 types of sprouts: Alfalfa, Wheatgrass, Sunflower, Linseed, Millet, Buckwheat, Rye, Spelt. The cultivation of sprouts requires very high hygienic standards and the following production conditions: > Constant temperature of 20-25°C > Irrigation with water of high drinking water quality > Regular supply of fresh air and exercise to counteract the formation of bacteria and fungi > Seeds specially produced for sprout cultivation As the sprouts are produced in organic quality the EU organic regulation only allows the use of high-quality organic seeds. Once these conditions are met - production can begin. On the one hand, the sprouts are grown in sprouting drums. In this way, the sprouts are already ready for consumption after harvesting and can be used directly. On the other hand, the seeds are spread on substrate (i.e. a rootstock) and then grown. Here, the sprouts must then still be cut off from the substrate before consumption. The substrate used in production is sustainable hemp fibre, which can simply be composted after use. Out of the sprouts they created two different kinds of bars, two different yogurts and two different sproutsshots, which are available in Supermarkets all over Styria. Now they want to expand their company profil even further and are looking for an international partner that produces a sprout production kits. The production set will contain a sprout jar, a lid with sieve and a draining rack. The whole product should be made of susainable or recyclable materials.