YES Media Award for food waste pasta

For eleven years now, the YES Media Award has offered selected mini-companies the opportunity to present their business ideas to a jury of experts from the media industry. This year, the ten most promising start-ups from the YES Company Program had the opportunity to present themselves in the Toni cinema at Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK. The participants not only had to demonstrate their creativity, but also develop and market their products or services independently and present them to an audience.

Stefan Bircher, Producer and Founding Partner at Shining Film, was impressed: "I thought it was impressive how the young people presented themselves. I couldn't have been so convincing when I was 18 or 19." After three hours of judging, the choice fell on Planet Pasta, whose concept aims to help reduce food waste. The team from Biel was surprised by the award: "We are very happy about the win and the experience we were able to gain today."

Now the next phase begins for the young entrepreneurs: together with Stefan Bircher and Maël Bürki, a student on the Cast / Audiovisual Media course at ZHdK, the cinema spot is being realized. It will premiere on May 24, 2025 at the national finale of the Company Program at Zurich Main Station. It will then be broadcast in Swiss cinemas by Weischer.Cinema. "The teams' impressive performances did not make the decision easy for us. That's why we're all the more excited about the finished spot," says Eveline Kneubühl, Director of Operations at Weischer.Cinema Switzerland.

The YES Media Award recognizes the mini-company that shows the greatest potential for successful marketing in cinemas. In addition to the professional spot production, the winners receive nationwide placement in cinemas - a valuable platform for young entrepreneurs who want to present their ideas to a broad public.