HOW DOES IMPACTASTE WORK?
ImpacTaste is a national challenge seeking nonconformist profiles — curious, creative minds who want to boost their professional careers in the exciting and dynamic world of Food Tech.
PHASE 1 – Ideation
The hidden treasure of beer: spent grain
Pitch your idea
Spent grain, the main by-product of beer production, emerges as a versatile and sustainable resource.
It’s so adaptable that it can be reimagined as a food ingredient in bakery products, beverages, or snacks.
Curious to learn more?
We invite you to ideate, innovate, create, and think…
How can the main by-product of the brewing industry be turned into high-value products?
Will you be able to come up with a recipe that includes spent grain as one of its ingredients?
PHASE 2 – Development
Training and Mentoring to Develop Your Idea
From Idea to Action :: Prototypes
The selected projects will develop their MVPs (Minimum Viable Produccts) and validate them in real-world scenarios.
We’ll define the business model, explore new concepts, products, and services — taking them from the initial idea to a final product, including commercialization strategies.
All of this supported by training and mentoring from industry leaders.
Let’s create something new — together. You never walk alone.
Thanks to the knowledge provided by Blendhub, your ideas will be transformed into ready-to-produce recipes.
IMPACTASTE is food-as-a-service, and we put it all at your fingertips.
PHASE 3 – Demo Day
Present Your Project
Enjoy Your Prize
When an idea is good, it deserves to be shown.
At the MEGA Museum by Estrella Galicia, everything will be set up for you to showcase your amazing work.
You’ll also get the chance to meet the team behind Hijos de Rivera — and why not, make great connections!
Every effort deserves its reward — and at ImpacTaste, we know it.
In addition to training, mentoring, and travel, you’ll have the opportunity to gain a major boost for your career: a partner for your project or financial support to keep developing it.
Got questions? Totally normal.
What is IMPACTASTE?
IMPACTASTE is NOT:
🛑 It’s not an event:
IMPACTASTE is a journey — from the moment we introduce you to the challenge, all the way to bringing a real product to life.
Yes, there are in-person events and a final Demo Day where we’ll get to meet, but let’s be clear: this is a full-on process we’ll walk through together.
🛑 It’s not a course:
But it does include training. In fact, there are two well-defined phases.
The first includes workshops to help you understand the challenge ingredient, the food industry, and the basics of business — how to get started.
The second phase is 100% learning by doing. You’ll design a product, bring it to market, and receive mentoring from professionals at Blendhub and Corporación Hijos de Rivera.
🛑 It’s not a class project:
This one might sound obvious, but trust us — it needs explaining.
It’s not about theory, it’s about execution.
You won’t just come up with a name — you’ll register a domain, build a website, and create social media profiles.
You won’t sketch a concept bar — you’ll work with real ingredients, define the weight, packaging, and sales channel.
This isn’t a market research study — you’ll be working with real customers.
🛑 It’s not a job application process:
Yes, there are phases to move through, but IMPACTASTE is not a recruitment process for Hijos de Rivera or Blendhub — although we’re not ruling that out.
If you’ve got talent, we want you on the team.
If your product is good, we’re interested in investing and launching it with you.
What’s the challenge?
In this 2025 edition of IMPACTASTE, our challenge is to explore the use of spent grain in the ideation and development of snack products — both savory and sweet, but always healthy.
Spent grain is an ingredient with great potential in the circular economy, and we’re looking to give it new life through creative recipes and applications.
But it’s not just about coming up with a high-fiber bread, for example. It’s about asking deeper questions:
Where can it be used? In what format? What needs does it meet? What type of consumers is it for? What value does it bring? What packaging should we use? Sales channels? Target customers?
How does the selection process work?
You’ll find all the program phases and dates in the Official Contest Rules, but here’s a quick summary of the process:
a. First, register and submit your application through our website: www.IMPACTASTE.com
b. We’ll review all applications and notify you of the results.
c. If selected, you’ll enter the first phase: a training series with 5 one-hour online masterclasses led by incredible guest speakers.
For example: a recipe development expert from Blendhub, the Global Marketing Director of Estrella Galicia, an expert from Hero, and more — we’ll announce them on our social media.
d. Then it’s time to work on your project! We’ll start the “learning by doing” phase with on-demand mentoring from professionals across several companies.
e. Another round of evaluations — and we’ll keep you posted on how things are going.
f. The top 5 teams will travel to Galicia for the Demo Day. (We’ll cover your travel!)
g. During Demo Day, the awards will be presented — you can find all the details on our website and in the official contest rules.
Are there cash prizes?
Yes! In addition to all the training, hands-on experience, networking, and travel, there are cash prizes, which you can find detailed in the official program rules.
What kinds of ideas or products will we work on?
Potato and tortilla alternatives:
Crispy chips, oven-baked tortillas, and thin crackers with all the flavor and crunch of classic snacks — but in a lighter version.
Perfect to enjoy on their own or paired with something else, ideal for any time of the day.Snacks and bread-based products:
Grissini, breadsticks, rosquilletas, and crackers made with quality ingredients for a crunchy, flavorful bite.
Their light texture makes them perfect for pairing with cheese, cured meats, or dips — elevating any appetizer.Healthy sweets:
Cookies, mini muffins, and biscuits with an irresistible texture and the perfect balance of sweetness and a strong Nutri-Score — with more fiber and less sugar.
Enjoy them with coffee, tea, or simply as a guilt-free treat.
Who forms the teams?
Ideas are selected on an individual basis, and you can develop your project either solo or as part of a team.
Our recommendation? Have at least one person to support you along the way.
That said, teams can have a maximum of 4 people.
There are also some eligibility criteria:
You must not have been born before 1993.
You must not have left university more than 4 years ago.
