Maryland Innovation Lab Celebrates Inaugural Cohort Focused on Food Innovation, Prepares for Supply Chain and Logistics Cohort
BALTIMORE, MD – October 23, 2024 –The Maryland Department of Commerce, in partnership with the World Trade Center Institute (WTCI) and U.K.-based innovation specialist L Marks, celebrated the successful completion of Maryland Innovation Lab’s first-ever cohort with a Demo Day in Baltimore last month. This unique public-private initiative was created to foster strategic collaboration between global startups and Maryland-based companies.
Maryland Innovation Lab’s first initiative focused on addressing key challenges within the state’s food sector and included pioneering corporate partners, Pompeian Olive Oil and Sodexo. Five innovation challenge themes were chosen by the corporates, ranging from sustainability and workforce to retail and product optimization. 600 global startups were scouted, with 92 startups from more than 60 countries applying for a spot in the Lab. Following a competitive Pitch Day event in April 2024, six startups were matched with the corporate partners to explore collaborations and validate solutions over 10 weeks.
Pompeian’s Leadership in Sustainability
Among the standout partnerships was one between Baltimore-based Pompeian Olive Oil and an international startup pioneering high-performance biomaterials.
“Sustainability is central to Pompeian’s innovation efforts and joining the Maryland Innovation Lab allowed us to explore technologies that prioritize reducing our environmental footprint while working to set new industry standards,” said Casey Smith, Pompeian’s Director of Innovation. “Thanks to the Maryland Innovation Lab, we’ve secured early access for an R&D pilot, ensuring Pompeian remains at the forefront of sustainability in the olive oil industry.”
Sodexo’s Commitment to Open Innovation
With a history rooted in entrepreneurship since its founding by Pierre Bellon in France in 1966, Sodexo’s open innovation initiatives now span 17 programs across seven regions worldwide.
“Sodexo is proud to be a founding corporate partner for the Maryland Innovation Lab, and we’re excited to see this state-supported program evolve,” said Ariel Olivo, Senior Director of Innovation Partnerships for Sodexo North America. “Integrating emerging technologies is central to our innovation strategy. Through our successful innovation labs with L Marks in both the U.S. and Europe, we’ve gained early access to dozens of cutting-edge startups. It’s remarkable to see the Maryland government actively supporting corporate innovation through this unique lab.”
Cross-Sector Alliance and Innovation Culture
For the corporate participants, the innovation process was not just about the integration of new technologies, but also about managing change within their own organizations. Innovation and change management go hand in hand, requiring flexibility, leadership buy-in, and a willingness to challenge established norms.
During Demo Day, Pompeian and Sodexo shared insights from their innovation strategies and best practices, discussing topics such as AI governance, organizational models for corporate innovation and fostering resilience in the face of change. It’s these productive discussions that the Maryland Department of Commerce envisioned when it created the Maryland Innovation Lab, with the main objective to strengthen economic competitiveness in a rapidly accelerating technological era.
Both Sodexo and Pompeian evaluated a Portugal-based startup, AssetFloow, the world’s first sensorless predictive artificial intelligence software for demand forecasting for retailers and CPG brands.
“We were highly impressed with AssetFloow’s technology, which surpassed similar technologies in the marketplace. The discovery process accelerated a critical cross-departmental evaluation of our current enterprise software and shaped our vision for the next generation of demand forecasting,” said Spencer Geren, Director of Business Analytics at Pompeian. “As AI technologies rapidly integrate across industries and daily life, it’s essential to enact innovation improvements efficiently, and the Maryland Innovation Lab accelerated strategic conversations across departments at Pompeian.”
Background on the State Investment in the Lab
As part of Maryland’s Global Gateway Program, the Maryland Innovation Lab is a first-of-its-kind, publicly subsidized initiative in the U.S. designed to foster global trade, foreign direct investment, and corporate innovation in Maryland’s key industries to strengthen global competitiveness.
Funding for the Global Gateway Program was announced in May 2022 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with $2M in state investments allocated to spur innovation and support Maryland exporters and foreign companies looking to test the Maryland market.
Under the Global Gateway Program, the Maryland Innovation Lab was formally launched by Governor Wes Moore in April 2023.
During his first international trade trip to the United Kingdom as governor, Governor Moore visited Lloyd’s Lab, a global center for insurtech innovation pioneered by L Marks and Lloyd’s of London. Lloyd’s is an insurance and reinsurance market, and operates its Innovation Lab for the benefit of Lloyd’s Market. These insurance companies, often competitors, collaborate as part of the Lab to drive innovation within Lloyd’s and for the benefit of the insurance industry. The Maryland Innovation Lab drew inspiration from this successful model of open innovation for cross-sector collaboration.
Looking Forward: Supply Chain and Logistics Cohort
Building on the momentum of this first cohort, the Maryland Innovation Lab is gearing up for its second Lab, which will focus on supply chain and logistics. Early themes discussed include workforce safety innovation and shipping container tracking.
Daniel Saunders, CEO of L Marks said,
“Innovation in supply chain and logistics is essential as the global supply chain faces unprecedented pressures, complexities, and competition. As cargo volumes continue to rise, businesses must adopt new technologies to build more resilient, efficient, and secure operations. At L Marks, we’ve seen firsthand how innovation can not only improve operational efficiency but enhance safety and wellness for workers. The future of supply chains lies in integrating technology that supports both business growth and the people who keep these systems running.”
Eddie Resende, CEO of WTCI, echoed this sentiment:
“We have one of the top ports in the country in our backyard and a world-class logistics workforce. Maryland has made historic public and private investments in logistics infrastructure, positioning the state as a supply chain leader for decades to come. This cohort will introduce the sector to cutting-edge innovations from startups around the globe, ensuring that Maryland’s logistics providers and workers are well-equipped for global competitiveness.”
Maryland Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson emphasized the importance of this next Lab,
“This forward-thinking program will connect some of the brightest minds in supply chain and logistics to address the challenges ahead. We look forward to the innovative ideas and impactful solutions that will come out of this second cohort.”
For more information on the program, please visit our website: www.marylandinnovationlab.com