Food entrepreneurs get their own reality show

Production is underway on a new reality web series that will cover food start-ups.

The 12-episode Meallions will premier on YouTube in October and conclude in Singapore, where finalists will have to sell their products on street markets.

It will begin in India and feature 15 Asian start-ups pitching their ideas for new food products with the ultimate goal of breaking into the global market. The entrepreneurs will live together for for first nine episodes as they compete for a spot in the semi-finals.

Ivan Sidorok, co-owner of one of Russia’s largest food companies, NGMK, devised the show and will appear as a mentor for the novice entrepreneurs.

Mabius Food Startup Centre, founded by Sidorok in 2014, will act as a professional expert, helping select start-ups and mentors to take part in the series and in shaping the show’s content and format. 

The main idea of ‘Meallions’ is to bring food start-up communities together around promising food industry markets, to inspire global cooperation among entrepreneurs from large developing regions, and to identify business enthusiasts who have the courage to dream big and help them realise their potential,” said Sidorok. 

I’m sure that the future of niche products are ideas that come ‘from below’. It’s the young people without much experience in FMCG but who have a unique vision—not the big R&D departments of large corporations—that will set the hottest trends in the food industry, and as a result, create a driving force for global markets.”