ZEULAB SL

Their core work

ZEULAB is a Spanish SME specialized in developing rapid diagnostic test kits for food safety, with a particular focus on detecting antibiotic residues and contaminants in food products. They design portable, accessible testing solutions aimed at making food safety controls available beyond traditional laboratory settings — enabling on-site testing by non-specialist users. Their work spans from initial feasibility (SME Instrument Phase 1) through full commercialization (Phase 2), demonstrating a clear path from R&D to market-ready products.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ZEULAB shows a clear SME Instrument growth trajectory: they started in 2015 with Testforall (Phase 1, €50K feasibility study on food safety controls), then secured the larger TEST4ALL (Phase 2, €797K) in 2018 to fully develop their antibiotic detection technology. In parallel, they joined the FoodSmartphone MSCA network in 2017 as a third party, gaining exposure to smartphone-based analytical methods. The evolution is less about shifting topics and more about deepening and scaling their core food safety testing business.

ZEULAB is scaling from proof-of-concept to market-ready antibiotic detection products, and is expanding into smartphone-enabled portable analysis — expect them to pursue digital diagnostics and broader contaminant screening next.

How they like to work

ZEULAB primarily leads its own projects — 2 of 3 projects as coordinator, both through the SME Instrument, which is a solo-company scheme. Their one consortium participation (FoodSmartphone) was as a third party to an MSCA training network, suggesting they contribute industry expertise to academic-led projects rather than building large consortia themselves. With 8 unique partners across 7 countries, they have reasonable international exposure despite their small project count.

Despite only 3 projects, ZEULAB has connected with 8 partners across 7 countries, largely through the multi-partner FoodSmartphone training network. Their direct coordination experience is in single-company SME Instrument projects, so their consortium-building network is still developing.

What sets them apart

ZEULAB occupies a specific niche: they are not a research lab or university — they are a product-oriented SME turning food safety science into commercially viable test kits. Their successful progression from SME Instrument Phase 1 to Phase 2 demonstrates both technical credibility and business viability, which is relatively rare among H2020 SMEs. For consortium builders, they offer a genuine industry end-user perspective on food safety diagnostics with a track record of translating research into products.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TEST4ALL
  Their largest project (€797K, SME Phase 2) — represents the commercialization stage of their antibiotic control technology, a significant milestone for a small company.
• FoodSmartphone
  An MSCA training network on smartphone-based food analysis — shows ZEULAB's credibility as an industry training host and their interest in next-generation portable diagnostics.
• Testforall
  The Phase 1 feasibility study that launched their H2020 journey — its successful completion directly led to the Phase 2 TEST4ALL scale-up.