In March 2026, students from the “Startups in the Agri-Food Industry” module took second place at the Growth Alliance Idea Camp in Frankfurt. With their concept Tofuel—a savory, vegan protein bar made from tofu—they impressed the jury and coaches and secured prize money of 1,000 euros.
This marks the second consecutive year that Bonn students from the module have taken home a prize from the Idea Camp. In the summer semester of 2025, Tristan with ReedThink and Charlotte and Ariane with Peelicious won first and third place. Another Bonn team—FactFlow—secured second place in 2025.
The idea for Tofuel originated within the module itself. The team had initially pursued other concepts until the tofu idea tipped the scales: Tofu as a snack on the go is practical but unwieldy—the question “Why not a bar?” became the starting point. What helped at the Idea Camp was the groundwork laid in the seminar: The team traveled to Frankfurt with a finished pitch deck and detailed materials.
“You guys kind of got us so hooked on the idea that we just had to go there. And I think that competitive mindset played a role—that we thought, yeah, let’s give this a try.”
The Idea Camp
The Idea Camp is a free, two-day program organized by Rentenbank and TechQuartier Frankfurt for students interested in starting a business in the agriculture and food sector. It is aligned with the university semester schedule, so that students completing the entrepreneurship modules can continue working on their ideas immediately after the module ends. In addition to the pitch competition, the focus is on coaching, feedback, and collaboration with other teams. According to the student, it was much more exhausting than expected—and at the same time an all-around positive experience that left her wanting more.
Whether Tofuel will become a real startup remains to be seen. However, the feedback at the Idea Camp has motivated the team to pursue the idea further. And that is ultimately the goal of the module: to encourage students to take an idea seriously and test what might become of it.