After careful review by the WFSCC and the Innovation Council, 19 finalists were announced to advance to the Innovation Draft Day on August 2. From September 3 to 6, the WFSCC welcomed finalists to the distribution centers, stores, factories and offices of Walmart China and industry partners in Shanghai, Beijing and Dongguan, Guangdong province. Through these site visits, finalists gained a better understanding of real-world supply chain operations and stakeholder needs to further refine their final proposals.

The Innovation Pipeline's continued success is supported by the Walmart Food Safety Innovation Council. Established by the WFSCC, the Innovation Council is a group of cross-sector leaders from food and beverage, retail, logistics, investment, tech, trade associations and startup incubators, who guide the direction of the Innovation Pipeline, mentor finalists, and identify potential pilot and investment opportunities on behalf of their organizations. This year, the Walmart Food Safety Innovation Pipeline has attracted more companies and organizations to join as partners, increasing the size of the Innovation Council to 25 members. These leaders bring immense industry resources and insights to the Innovation Pipeline, provide in-depth and tailored advice to finalists and generate more pilot and investment opportunities.

During the event, project leads from each finalist team presented their projects and fielded questions from the Innovation Council. During the pitch session and Q&A, Walmart USA, Walmart China, New Hope Liuhe, Want Want Group, Sustenture/Pacific Insights and Jiangmen drafted eight different finalists (see below), in the areas of biological testing and evaluation, smart cold chain temperature monitoring and management, fruit and vegetable shelf-life extension and mold control technology, digital food quality assessment and food traceability and transparency etc. The above companies and the drafted finalist teams will further discuss pilots and other business opportunities.

? New Hunter Testing and Technology, Inc.

? ZenMeasure Technology (Beijing) Co. LTD.

? EVIGENCE Sensors

? PURESPACE INC.

? Intello Labs Private Limited

? Varcode LTD

? Mininglamp Technology

? The NEOM Company