The BIOEAST Slovenia-Croatia Pitching Event 2026 included five pitches: a reusable partition wall, apple-processing residues, corn husks, a drone and a deck of cards. Sound unlikely? Not at all! They showed just how diverse the circular bioeconomy is: 

• KNOFmowa: modular, reusable partition walls made from recovered materials. 
• ReApple™: turning apple pomace into a polyphenol-rich nutraceutical ingredient. 
• VROCHE!: a fun, card-based tool for engaging with sustainability and bioeconomy challenges. 
• Corn Dolly: modular footwear combining corn husks, traditional weaving and circular design. 
• HAWK EYE: exploring drone imaging and data analysis to support monitoring of plant-protection-product use. 

Together, these innovations show that building a circular bioeconomy takes more than scientific discoveries; it also calls for product development, entrepreneurship, design and market knowledge - and, crucially, collaboration across these fields.

KNOFmowa was the winning pitch: it will receive support for taking part in the Pitch Perfect Matchmaking & Networking Event 2026 in Brussels. The others aren't left in the cold, though: all five innovators will have opportunities for one-to-one mentoring with the selection panel and its experts.

The event also looked beyond individual innovations to the wider potential of the circular bioeconomy in Slovenia and Croatia. State Secretary Velislav Žvipelj highlighted Slovenia’s strong biomass potential and the opportunity to create greater value from its biological resources and side streams. He also highlighted the preparation of Slovenia’s draft National Action Plan for the Circular Bioeconomy, developed through BOOST4BIOEAST, which focuses on turning existing strategies into practical implementation.

The BIOEAST Slovenia-Croatia Pitching Event 2026 was organised by ECESP Coordination Group member Circular Change in cooperation with the Slovenian Bioeconomy Hub and BIOEAST HUB Croatia. It was held under the BIOEAST Initiative and the Horizon Europe project BOOST4BIOEAST (now "BIOEASTWIDE") which was developed to support it, in partnership with the 9th International Conference TBMCE 2026 – Technologies & Business Models for Circular Economy.

Want to read more about the event? See the report!