Tesco has named AgroSustain the winner of the early-stage category of its 2026 Agri-tech Challenge following a live final at its headquarters.
The Swiss agri-tech company has developed an innovative sealing technology designed to strengthen plant resilience and protect crops. The technology, named Tornado, forms an invisible physical barrier on the plant surface using edible ingredients, helping crops withstand challenging growing conditions including drought and salinity.
By protecting plants from environmental stresses, the technology aims to reduce crop losses, support higher yields, and reduce reliance on conventional treatments.
The win secures AgroSustain fast-track introductions to Tesco’s supplier network, as well as a trial with one of the retailer’s supply chain partners.
The expert judging panel also named Herd Advance as the winner of the late-stage category.
Herd Advance’s automated livestock management technology, Stockman, is designed to make cattle monitoring and handling safer, easier and more efficient. The system captures key health and performance data, including weight, water intake and temperature, in real time as cattle drink, while allowing farmers to remotely draft and move animals between pens without the need for manual handling.
By giving farmers greater insight into their livestock and reducing handling and stress for cattle, Stockman aims to address labour, health and safety challenges while supporting more efficient and sustainable beef production.
Herd Advance will receive specialist mentoring from one of Tesco’s key supplier partners, as well as a trial in Tesco’s beef supply chain, helping the business test its technology.
The announcement comes as a growing number of UK farmers are turning to innovation to increase farm efficiency and profitability. Tesco’s annual Greenprint survey of British farmers in its supply chain found 58% have introduced an innovation in the past year, up from 46% in 2025. Many see a clear role for innovation in strengthening their businesses, with 83% agreeing it can improve farm efficiency and 72% agreeing it can improve profitability.
Yet many are still facing significant barriers to introducing innovations on their farms. Three-quarters (76%) of those surveyed said getting innovation onto farms is challenging or very challenging. 72% want government and retailers to make more funding available for innovative farm technology, while 48% want subsidised opportunities to trial new approaches, up nine percentage points year-on-year.
Claire Lorains, group quality, technical and sustainability director at Tesco, said: “The farmers we work with are telling us innovation has a critical role to play in helping the industry become more productive, efficient and resilient. But a promising idea will only make a meaningful difference if there is a practical and realistic path to implementing it on farm. That’s especially true in a year when British farmers have faced challenging conditions, including record heat and widespread drought.
“The Agri-tech Challenge is just one way we are supporting farmers in finding and developing the agri-tech that will help secure the future of the industry. I want to congratulate AgroSustain and Herd Advance and we are very excited to work with them.”
Olga Dubey, CEO and co-founder at AgroSustain, said: “Winning the Tesco Agri-tech Challenge is a fantastic recognition of our technology and validates the strong need for it within the UK. We hope this opportunity will help us bring our technology to a much larger audience, helping British agriculture to become more sustainable.”
Jilly Grant, CEO and co-founder at Herd Advance, said: “It’s fantastic to be recognised through the Agri-tech Challenge, particularly alongside so many other exciting innovations and companies. We’re really excited about the opportunity to access Tesco’s supply chain and partners, and ultimately to demonstrate Stockman on farms and showcase the benefits it can deliver for producers and the wider supply chain.”
Both winners will also receive direct access to Tesco’s Sustainable Agriculture & Fisheries team and connections with relevant supplier partners through Leading Edge Only.
Jayden Halliday, CEO at LEO, added: ”This year’s finalists showcased an impressive range of technologies aimed at addressing some of agriculture’s most pressing challenges. Congratulations to all of the finalists for reaching this stage, and especially to AgroSustain and Herd Advance on their well-deserved success. While tackling different challenges, both innovations demonstrated strong potential to deliver meaningful impact across the agricultural sector. We’re excited to see how the opportunities provided through the Tesco Agri-tech Challenge help accelerate the development and adoption of these promising solutions.”
