Community Member of the Month: Verrano

As part of our ongoing series highlighting TechQuartier community members, we spoke with Manuel Siskowski, Co-Founder of Verrano — a Frankfurt-based food innovation startup that’s rethinking how root vegetables are processed and enjoyed. A participant in both the Growth Alliance program and the first edition of Hessen10, Verrano is making waves in the clean-label food space.

Tell us the story of Verrano – what do you do exactly, and how did you find your way to it?

At Verrano, we’ve developed a novel curing process for root vegetables. This technology allows us to create entirely new, clean-label food products that highlight the natural characteristics and delicate flavors of the ingredients themselves.

Our co-founder Max, a trained chef, initially developed the process out of pure curiosity — experimenting with how traditional curing methods could be applied to vegetables. That curiosity evolved into a unique food innovation and ultimately, into Verrano.

What led you to join TechQuartier? What do you like most about being a Community Member?

We’re deeply rooted in Frankfurt, so being part of TechQuartier felt like a natural fit. It gives us a home base in the city — a place to exchange ideas with fellow founders and connect with potential corporate partners.

We’ve also had the opportunity to join two accelerator programs through TechQuartier — Hessen10’s first edition and the Growth Alliance program, powered by Rentenbank and TechQuartier. Both programs gave us incredible access to mentors, networks, and investors, helping us accelerate our growth and refine our business model.

Any exciting news or projects you’d like to share?

Yes — our pilot plant in Gießen is now fully operational, which marks a major milestone for us. It allows us to steadily increase production and test new variations of our products on a larger scale.

On top of that, one of our proudest achievements so far is that a two-Michelin-star restaurant has started using our products. For a young startup like ours, that’s both a great honor and a strong validation of our approach to quality and innovation.

You’ve been part of both the Hessen10 and Growth Alliance programs — how did these experiences influence Verrano’s journey?

These programs were truly transformative. Being selected among other promising startups gave us exposure, structure, and strategic guidance at a time when we were scaling fast.

The mentors and fellow founders we met there were invaluable — they challenged our ideas, helped us refine our value proposition, and opened doors to potential partners. We’re really grateful to be part of such a vibrant ecosystem here in Frankfurt and Hesse.

In three words: what are the key topics that spark a good conversation with you?

Food. Football. Frankfurt.

About Verrano

Founded in Frankfurt, Verrano specializes in innovative food technology based on a proprietary curing process for root vegetables. Their clean-label products emphasize natural flavor, sustainability, and culinary creativity. The team, led by Manuel Siskowski and Max, combines culinary expertise with technical innovation to reshape the future of plant-based food. Verrano also was awarded push! – a scholarship for startups in Hessen from Starthub Hessen and HTAI.