A Food Tech Startup from Porvorim, Goa Just Won "Food Tech Startup of the Year" at Startup Mahakumbh
- Vishal Robertson
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 23 hours ago
When most people think of Goa, they think of beaches, casinos and holidays. Not food tech. But tucked away in Porvorim, a small team has been quietly building something that just put Goa on India’s food innovation map. A brewing startup that helps people make their own healthier drinks at home has now won the “Food Tech Startup of the Year” award at Startup Mahakumbh 5.0 in Delhi.
For us at MyOwnBrews, this win is bigger than a trophy. It’s proof that serious food-tech can be built from Goa, for India and the world.
Why Goa? And why Food-tech?
Goa has everything you’d expect a food-tech hub to have. Incredible food culture. A rich tradition of home brewing and fermenting. A strong sense of community around food. My co-founder and I are both strong believers that innovation can come from Goa. And we personally wanted better drinks. Not the sugar water + chemical flavours we get in bottles.
To fix this, we turned to the traditional knowledge of home brewing and fermenting. Why not let everyone make their own healthier drinks (bozzy and non-boozy) at home instead?
This in turn led us to our permixes and DIY brewing kits. Simple ingredients and process with affordable equipment. This allows families, cafés and resorts make their own fizzy, probiotic drinks, natural fruit wines, meads, ciders and craft beers. Using only natural ingredients and live cultures.
So, instead of paying for water, sugar and preservatives in a bottle. You brew what you drink. Control the ingredients. And reuse your own bottles.
Why the "Food Tech Startup of the Year" award matters for Goa?
Winning “Food Tech Startup of the Year” at Startup Mahakumbh is a big validation of this idea. It puts a small Porvorim-based venture on a national stage and sends a clear message: Goa is no longer just a consumer of food innovation; it’s a creator.
For Goa’s startup ecosystem, this matters because:
It shows you don’t have to move to Bengaluru or Mumbai to build a nationally recognised food-tech company.
It proves that Goan founders can compete and win in high-impact sectors like food, health and sustainability.
It highlights that Goa’s policies, mentors and communities are beginning to support deep, long-term innovation—not just seasonal businesses.
We’re proud that this award sits alongside several other wins for Goan startups. Together, they tell a different story about Goa: not just a tourist destination, but an emerging innovation state.
A very Goan kind of innovation
At MyOwnBrews, we’ve always believed that the most powerful ideas are the ones that feel obvious in hindsight.
Goa already knows fermentation. Wines and homemade pickles have been part of our everyday life for decades. Turning that traditional knowledge into simple, modern brew kits just made sense.
The result is a product that feels:
Goan in spirit: rooted in home, community and hospitality
Modern in execution: designed for quality and consistency
Sustainable by default: lower waste and fewer plastic bottles
Fully customisable: more control over what goes into your glass
In a state that is already grappling with waste, lifestyle diseases and the environmental cost of tourism, this kind of quiet, practical innovation feels especially relevant.
An invitation to Goa (and beyond)
We’re building MyOwnBrews from a small corner of Porvorim, but our ambition is global. If Goa can export food, music and culture to the world, why not also export a better way to drink healthier drinks?
For us, this award is not a finish line; it’s an invitation.
To Goan cafés and restaurants that want to serve better, fresher drinks with a Goan story behind them.
To hotels, homestays and resorts that want to give guests something more interesting than another bottled cola.
To schools and colleges that want to introduce students to fermentation, food science and sustainable entrepreneurship.
To local media that want to tell the story of a Goan startup building original food-tech, not just importing trends from elsewhere.
If you’re a Goan publication, café owner, educator or simply someone who cares about what goes into your glass, we’d love to hear from you.
The next wave of Indian food tech might not be bottled in a factory at all. It might be quietly brewing on your kitchen counter, right here in Goa.
Follow us on Instagram: @myownbrews
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