From climate-positive seaweed to smarter kitchens and upcycled soy, this year’s Circular Gastronomy Challenge highlights ideas shaping the future of food.
The winners of the Circular Gastronomy Challenge were announced last week marking another milestone for Sweden’s leading innovation program focused on transforming the food system through restaurants. Organized by Circular Gastronomy, the competition attracted close to 50 nominations this year, prompting the jury to recognize excellence across three distinct but equally vital fields.
The awarded projects span climate-positive seaweed processing, intelligent resource optimization in professional kitchens, and a novel approach to producing Swedish soy from agricultural by-products. Throughout 2026, the winners will receive tailored innovation support, expert coaching, and strategic communications to help turn ideas into scalable, real-world solutions.
“Never before have we seen such a strong and diverse field of nominations,” said jury chair Per Styregård. “It confirms that restaurants are a crucial arena for accelerating change towards a more circular and resilient food system.”
Among the winners is Kobb, founded by Cajsa Torell in Glommen, which develops ready-to-use food products from Nordic seaweed cultivated without freshwater, fertilizers, or arable land. In Skellefteå, Sarah Holmkvist Arnason’s Brigade impressed the jury with a cloud-based kitchen operating system that transforms menus into precise purchasing lists, workflows, and task distribution—reducing waste while freeing time for culinary creativity. The third award went to I rest my case, created by Lisa Ö Grennberger at Stillinge Gård, where residual products from pea and wheat cultivation are upcycled into an umami-rich Swedish soy and further refined into flavor-packed crumbs.
The awards ceremony was held at the Stockholm headquarters of Vasakronan, a long-standing partner of the initiative. All three laureates now enter an intensive development phase aimed at bringing their solutions to market and amplifying their impact across the restaurant sector and beyond.
