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Firms from New York among 20 finalists in this year’s Grow-NY competition

Empire State Development and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement have announced the 20 finalists in this year’s Grow-NY competition, an international food and agriculture business competition. Winners will be named at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit in Binghamton, which is set for mid-November. The 2022 event (seen above) was held in Syracuse last November. (Photo credit: Grow-NY competition)

Businesses from Ithaca, Buffalo, Geneva, Poughkeepsie, and three from New York City are among the 20 finalists in the fifth year of the Grow-NY competition.

Grow-NY is an international food and agriculture business competition focused on “enhancing the emerging food, beverage, and agriculture innovation cluster in Upstate New York,” per a Wednesday announcement from Empire State Development (ESD).

Besides the New York companies, the finalists also include companies from the United Kingdom, India, Canada, Chicago, Los Angeles, and from the Georgia communities of Kennesaw and Peachtree Corners.

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The competition is funded through New York State’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative and administered by Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA). Winning companies will be required to make a positive economic impact in the Grow-NY region, which is comprised of 22 counties located in Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier regions.

A panel of 30 judges reviewed all the applications to determine the top 20 finalists that will pitch their business plans at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit which is set for Nov. 14-15 in Binghamton. Grow-NY will award a total of $3 million in prize money to seven winners. This includes a $1 million top prize, two $500,000 prizes and four $250,000 prizes.

Finalists