For the second year in a row, 29 Design Studio, a creative agency specializing in food and agriculture brands, has helped clients find success in the international Grow-NY Food and Agriculture competition.
In 2020, Leep Foods, a grower of premium organic mushrooms, took home one of four third-place $250,000 prizes at the virtual summit.
In 2019, 29 Design Studio’s client RealEats Meals, a premium prepared meal delivery service, claimed the coveted first-place prize of $1 million, which has since led to additional seed funding for the company.
Leep Foods applied for the Grow-NY competition in July 2020 and pitched its business plan in November 2020.
“It is an honor to be a winner,” says Jeff Adair, CEO of Leep Foods. “29 Design Studio has been a true strategic marketing partner and actively engaged in the application process. They absolutely understand where we are going in the future and what our customers want. The result is their ability to help drive growth and reach new markets by capturing our brand and making smart marketing come alive through integrated and creative tactics.”
Maureen Ballatori, founder and CEO of 29 Design Studio, says New York State is rich in food and agriculture innovation. “Like us, Grow-NY is committed to an ecosystem that cultivates bold, high-growth food and agriculture companies. Leep is a great example of a company that is changing their industry. They use organic and soil regenerative farming methods to grow their mushrooms and have created blended mushroom and meat products that are currently available on Thrive Market and are selling out on QVC,” she adds.
29 Design Studio, which is based in Rochester, New York, has expanded its services nationwide as it focuses on food and agtech startups and established brands. Founded in 2007, the agency uses business intelligence, strategic insights and purposeful creativity to create and grow brands in this rapidly growing category.
Last year Leep Foods applied to the competition but was not named a finalist. This year the company made the list against expanded competition from more than 260 applicants from 27 countries and 26 states within the United States. A panel of 30 independent judges comprising the spectrum of food, beverage and agriculture businesses and academics reviewed all the applications. A total of $3 million in prize money was awarded to seven winners including a $1 million top prize, two $500,000 prizes and four $250,000 prizes.
