Our AFOODS Innovation PICE PELUS was selected by the Sial Innovation jury. And we were delighted to be able to present prototypes of this African product and Black-owned innovation to the thousands of people attending SIAL Paris 2024. But we had to make it clear once again: The core values on which AFOODS Group is built are non-negotiable. Even if this means that we have to give up our participation in the Start-Up Area of the world’s largest food fair. AFOODS distances itself from participating in the SIAL Paris 2024 Startup Village due to Racial discrimination.
African Products and Black-owned Innovation at the SIAL Paris 2024
PICE PELUS is an innovative new creation from AFOOD Group, the result of years of research and development, and will be launched in Spring 2025. It is a healthy creation whose components consist mainly of cocoa fruit parts that are by-products/waste from chocolate production and are fully edible: cocoa bean shells and cocoa fruit juice.
The cocoa shells can easily be used as a base for drinks. But to make them edible without destroying their high fibre content, they have to be processed in an innovative way. To do this, we have combined traditional African methods with European processing techniques. We wanted to present the Minimal Viable Product made of PICE PELUS and other upcycled innovations to the thousands of visitors at SIAL 2024. However, due to a racist situation we will stay away from the Startup Area.
SIAL Paris Startup Village and racism
In June 2023, we submitted an application for participation in the 2024 SIAL Paris Startup Village, which has been accepted. In the meantime, the SIAL Paris partner responsible for organizing the SIAL Paris Startup Village has changed the original conditions to allow the participation of a Swiss-based company in the cocoa sector. Apart from the fact that this company does not even see itself as a start-up (and in fact relies on its established status for its marketing), this company propagates discrimination and racism, among other things. This has led our founder, a Black entrepreneur and founder of MOA madeof.africa, which works in Switzerland as MOA Foundation to combat racism, to report this company and its founder to the competent authorities for amongst other incitement to discrimination and racism.
We reported this fact to those responsible for organizing the 2024 SIAL Paris Startup Village. However, we realized that not only are our concerns not taken seriously, but the fault and misbehavior is being looked for in us, and the attempt is made to tell us how we should behave – we should not be in hiding (in response to our rejection to face the company that promotes racism), instead we should be promoting Africa.
Our AFOODS values are non-negotiable
As a Black-owned Startup with zero tolerance for racism or the promotion of racist imagery via the dissemination of images that favour racism, we do not feel safe in the SIAL Startup area as long as this company is present. The values on which AFOODS Group is built, our dignity and our safety are non-negotiable. We have therefore decided to stay away from participating in the SIAL Paris 2024 Startup Village.
