Gallardo's Poda Foods winner of Pitch Oregon for edible cricket production
Startups in the fields of edible crickets, the Internet of Things and durable women’s gear won this year's Pitch Oregon competition.
The annual pitchfest hosted by the entrepreneurial support organization TiE Oregon was revamped this year with a more statewide bent. Now called Pitch Oregon, the event featured nine companies at different stages of life — concept, seed and mature — vying for a $5,000 cash prize plus smaller prize packages for the each stage winner.
The $5,000 prize went to Poda Foods, an edible cricket supplier, that has been garnering attention around Portland for the last several months.
CEO Yesenia Gallardo said the company wants to make Portland the center of the emerging cricket protein market. She noted in addition to Poda there are several other edible cricket companies within different parts of the market that are either already in Portland or looking to move here.
Portland food has a cache, she said, and the food industry watches what happens here.
