January 18, 2023

Foodleap 2.0 is now available

Community partners have already had access to an early version of Foodleap. Now we are happy to present you an updated version 2.0 of Foodleap. This time it is available to all of you.

What is Foodleap?

A qualified network is essential for the growth of your business. However, finding quality contacts can be difficult and time consuming. There are many conferences to attend and it can be difficult to find that key partner outside of your own bubble. Social media often overwhelms you with possible contacts, but many are not relevant. You simply do not have the time and resources outside of your work.

Foodvalley has created Foodleap, the online agri-food network, based on decades of building a high-end network and extensive experience working in innovation ecosystems worldwide. Now we can share our network digitally to support your growth.

Find and interact

Foodleap gives you the opportunity to find and interact with interesting partners. By simply entering your needs, Foodleap will present you with available contacts, for example by theme, region, technology or type of actor. The platform is not only a search engine, but also a lively place to ask questions and share ideas. It is a great opportunity to discuss previous findings or to reach out to contacts within the Foodleap network. Your most relevant partners are just a few clicks away.

In short, Foodleap allows you to:

  • Find and chat with stakeholders, including their innovation facilities, based on your needs in an easy and accessible way.
  • Be visible so that others can find you and share your offers.
  • Find interesting events and share your own.
  • Openly share your needs on the message board
  • Find news of others about new funding possibilities, trade missions or grants.

Interested? 

Foodleap is easy to join. All you have to do is register and you are ready to go. It takes about 2 minutes.
Over the next month, we will actively add around 400 actors to the platform. This means that not all actors are accessible at the moment.

Questions? Do not hesitate to email if you need assistance registering or have any other practical questions.  Please contact your Community Manager if you have specific questions about community information and/or contacts that you would like to be facilitated.

Protein transition in Gelderland a promising new sustainable industry

According to a monitor developed by The Protein Community and the province of Gelderland, the sector involved in the protein transition has shown above average growth over the past five years. The monitor is intended to provide insight into the economic impact of the protein transition at the national level. 

The protein transition: a sustainable sector on the rise

The protein transition involves restoring the balance in the production and consumption of animal and plant protein (less animal, more plant). Because of the benefits for the climate, natural resources and public health, the transition is high on the government’s agenda. A sector is developing to support this transition that aims to make sustainable protein ingredients, products and technologies available to consumers and the industry. However, there is little data available about the current and future economic value of this sector. The Protein Community (TPC) was founded in 2017 by Foodvalley NL, the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel and Oost NL. The recent celebrations to mark TPC’s fifth anniversary were a good opportunity to gain more insight into this new sector.

Above-average growth in Gelderland

The growth in employment opportunities, the number of businesses and the economic value of the transition were analysed in a pilot project for the province of Gelderland. The analysis was based on TPC’s database of Dutch businesses active in the protein transition, as well as the results of the annual Provincial Employment Survey. The results showed above-average growth for Gelderland: the number of jobs in the identified group of 66 businesses grew from 1,730 in 2017 to 1,920 in 2021, an increase of 11.2%. By comparison, the growth of employment opportunities in all sectors during the same period was 6.9%. Also notable is the added value of protein businesses, at well above €100 million. In Gelderland, the total number of businesses operating in this sector increased by 70% over the past five years to 75 companies in 2021.

More information

Foodvalley NL proud partner LIKEAPRO

Foodvalley NL is proud partner of the €14M EU funded IA project LIKEAPRO, focusing on shifting promising alternative proteins and products from niche to mainstream. LIKEAPRO will make alternative proteins more available, accessible, and acceptable to all population groups and everywhere.

To achieve this, representatives of growers, producers, chefs, retailers, consumers and researchers will work together in a consortium from many disciplines across industries and fields of experience. In the process, practical solutions will be designed in collaboration with consumers. This will happen within 11 living labs and in 4 real-world environments.

Foodvalley NL is responsible for involving the Food Actor Network – processors, ingredient suppliers and retailers.  With a powerful partner network from the TPC community (over 120 participants), we have mobilisation power to make alternative proteins successful. Furthermore, we are engaging related initiatives to team up.

Do you know alternative proteins initiatives with mainstreams potential. Let us know!

Curious what we do to connect the protein frontrunners? Watch this the video of last year’s The Protein Community

 

Questions? Get in Touch


Jeroen Willemsen, Innovation Lead Protein Shift (left)
Leo Koning, Community Manager The Protein Cluster (right)

Congrats to all listed in the Food100 2022! 

On August 31, the list Food100 has been published. Foodvalley NL is proud partner, third year in row. Once again featuring 50 up-and-coming talents under 35 and 50 established food changers over 35.

By connecting generations, the Food100 creates a list of people who together can make an even bigger impact and set an example for many. 

Foodvalley NL stimulates and guides food changers for their innovations on their challenging journey to sustainable and healthy food for ten billion people worldwide​ in 2050.

“The nomination as Food Hero is an important recognition of my work. You feel part of a network. People know how to get in contact and the title creates more awareness.” – Eva Koffeman, Food Hero 2021

And we are happy to see a great number of our partners in de Food100 list:  

We wish all the nominees a great journey towards the spotlight on November 25th when the Food Heroes will be announced. 

 

Food100 is powered by:

Why using a shared facility can be good for your business?

Take for example Dutch pilot run facility AlgaePARC. This facility works with SMEs to develop new technologies that can accelerate progress towards a green, circular economy. For the past ten years AlgaePARC located at Wageningen Campus has served as a shared facility of technology development for microalgae production and biorefinery. Two companies – FUMI and Algreen – have so far been founded based on research carried out at AlgaePARC. Three other SMEs are currently using AlgaePARC’s facilities.

The EU recognises the importance of microalgae in achieving a transition to a green and circular economy, and its REACT-EU programme recently awarded AlgaePARC funding which will enable SMEs to further develop their innovative technologies at this shared facility.

Maria Barbosa, director AlgaePARC explains: ‘AlgaePARC 2.0 will be able to offer access to new screening systems that can select algae strains more quickly, and the facility will also develop a biorefinery unit capable of isolating functional ingredients as well as biomass. Production and testing capacity will also be expanded at the laboratory, pilot and demonstration levels, and innovative sensors will be introduced to enhance product quality’.

The funding application process was supported by the Bioprocess Engineering chair group and Shared Facility Finder.

Sharing facilities, just look at AlgaePARC and the businesses that benefit from its use, is a proven method to make innovation facilities available and cost-effective for both users and facility providers.

Petra Roubos, Manager of Shared Research Facilities at Wageningen and Research and Lead Shared Facilities at Foodvalley NL says: ‘Demand for these facilities is growing, so AlgaePARC needs to make new investments and increase its capacity to host SMEs and start-ups. Roubos emphasises that these organisations are able to accelerate the roll-out of their innovations due to the additional space to test and develop new technologies for microalgae production, biorefinery and product development’.

Roubos continues: ‘Investing large sums into the development phase is a high-risk activity and it is difficult for individual businesses to secure that kind of funding, by sharing facilities businesses get support they need’.

Shared Facility Finder helps businesses and institutes to find the best research equipment, scale up and production, development and testing facilities. When it comes to a new facility Shared Facility Finder advises funding options to help purchase a new facility. Shared Facility Finder is an initiative by Foodvalley NL and Wageningen University and Research. Together we encourage businesses and institutes to use or share facilities.

Shared Facility Finder for free advice

We are happy to help you to:

  • find the best facility for your need
  • include your facility in our range of shared facilities
  • explore the funding options and/or find potential partners to jointly invest in new facility?

Please contact us via facilities@foodvalley.nl or visit Shared Facility Finder.

Free shared facility advice

Please contact us via +31 317 48 79 91 or via email:

Happy Feet on Healthy Food starts pilot during the 4Days Marches of Nijmegen 2022

Today the Nijmegen Marches 2022 officially started. Booster 2021 winner “Happy Feet on Healthy Food” will use this event to do a pilot with several participants.

In 2021 Foodvalley NL developed a Booster Award, powered by Food Innovation Hub Europe, to accelerate the food transition. Three initiatives were rewarded last October. One of the winning initiatives, “Happy Feet on Healthy Food”, aims to support participants of walking events in their nutritional choices. Recovery is of great importance after exercise, especially with the extreme temperatures during the marches this year. During the 4Days Marches of Nijmegen 2022, “Happy Feet on Healthy Food” offers a recovery smoothie to research and support healthy food choices.

The project is a multi-partner initiative of Radboudumc, 4Day Marches organisation, Albron catering & horeca and the IML Walking Association. The Booster Award 2021 acted as an incentive to find multi-partner initiatives that support the reduction and prevention of obesity employing personalised nutrition tools. The winning initiatives received: 30,000 euros each as development budget, 1 year of monitoring, visibility, and access to a large international food network.

About the Happy Feet on Healthy Food Pilot

During the 4Day Marches, walkers can choose two types of recovery smoothie and will fill out a questionnaire about the smoothie. This questionnaire will collect data about their food choices, the recovery smoothie and some personal information. With the Booster 2021 award, the recovery smoothie was developed and information about the participants will be collected. With this information, the project will gain insights in the food choices of the participants and stimulate even more participants to make the healthy choice in the future.

Edition 2022: Personalised Nutrition for All Challenge

The 2022 edition is called “Personalised nutrition for all”. Again, it is a call to action to find innovative solutions to reduce obesity and malnutrition in Europe. This year, six winners will be awarded €30,000 to further develop their solution, opening the possibility for further funding by EIT Food and go to market support. Multi-stakeholder groups are invited to submit their Personalised Nutrition ideas. Winners will be announced on 16/17 October, just after World Food Day.

Launch Bean Deal in the Netherlands

Today, 56 Dutch organisations committed to the national Bean Deal, as this Green Deal Protein-Rich Crops was playfully named. The aim of the Bean Deal is to stimulate the cultivation, processing, and consumption of protein-rich crops in the Netherlands. This enhances the earning power of the farmers, contributes to the protein self-sufficiency, and adds to the sustainability of farming.

National Protein Strategy

The deal is part of the National Protein Strategy, which was launched in 2020 in the Netherlands and to enhance its protein self-sufficiency.

Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Staghouwer signed the Deal and is enthusiastic: ‘By means of this Green Deal, we are putting our shoulders under a major challenge. It is now important that we turn our signs into deeds. Together with all parties, we can turn crop cultivation into a healthy economic model and valuable for soil and biodiversity.’

Bean Deal

The Deal was preceded by a broad stakeholder consultation which led to a focus on leguminous crops, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, a large and agriculturally important family of flowering plants for food. We are talking about beans and pulses, such as faba beans, lupine, soy and chickpeas, which can be used in pure or processed form in a wide variety of high-demand food products, or just plain on your plate.

This Bean Deal encompasses 43 efforts of parties along the entire chain, from farmers to caterers, and crop breeders right into the curricula of schools.

Marjolein Brasz, Managing Director of Foodvalley NL and Chairwoman of the Steering Committee of the Green Deal Protein-Rich Crops: ‘Even working on this deal already catalysed changes along the chain. It made farmers unite, farmers work together with caterers, processors with retailers. And with great result: farmers united in a production organisation the Dutch Protein Farmers, a Dutch faba burger was introduced and a coalition between a small protein farmer and a diary giant got smitten’.


30 Years

In 1992 the EU government agreed upon acquiring access to the North American market by EU financial institutions, in exchange for giving up the production and trade of protein-rich crops. One day to the next, Dutch (and other European) farmers had no protection and faced an in advance lost challenge to compete with cheap and often less sustainably produced imports from outside the EU.

Henk Janknegt, Chairman of the Dutch Protein Farmers’ Association and one of the signatories: ‘Many farmers are eager to grow these nitrogen-fixing crops, just like the farmers back then. We are aware of the value of rotational crops for soil, biodiversity, and yield-increase. But cultivation is still not economically sustainable. 30 Years after the Blair House Agreement, the Dutch growers hope that the Green Deal Protein-Rich Crops, in cooperation with the government and the chain, will make cultivation economically appealing again.’

Chain optimisation

Breeders such as KeyGene and Limagrain are also participating in the deal. Together with research and educational institutes such as the Louis Bolk Institute, Wageningen University & Research and Universities of Applied Sciences HAS and Aeres, they are working on the development of new varieties that thrive better on Dutch soil. They are also working on products that better meet the current needs of processors and consumers. An enhanced processing infrastructure requires long-term commitment; ideally, cultivation, processing and consumption are located close together. This deal is constructed for the next ten years, the least.

Consumer appreciation

The Bean Deal focuses on higher consumer appreciation and recognition. To this end, participating parties such as Rabobank, Compass Group, Hutten, Udea/Ekoplaza and the World Wildlife Fund encourage and simplify the inclusion of plant-based proteins on the menu for the Dutch society.

More information

Booster 2021 winner ‘Ready to (h)eat meals tailored to gut, genes and guidelines’ ready for take off

Booster award 2021 was an incentive for initiatives that support the reduction and prevention of obesity employing personalized nutrition tools. The objective of the Booster 2021 was to surface ideas for partnerships within the Food Innovation Hub Europe. Candidates are multi-partner initiatives that submitted ideas, activities, and offerings in the field of obesity reduction. One of the 2021 winners is Ready to (h)eat meals. Meals tailored to gut, genes, and guidelines. “With the booster we are able to pioneer in the field of personalised nutrition, which brings us valuable information for future applications.” The Booster 2021 is developed by Foodvalley NL to accelerate the food transition and is powered by Food Innovation Hub Europe.

Ready to (h)eat meals tailored to gut, genes and guidelines is an initiative that will create a one-stop shop to order your personalised meals. The meals are in line with your personal nutrition recommendations and based on your microbiome, DNA and personal preferences and needs. In addition, it will engage people in an entertaining and educational experience. It is a multi-partner initiative of Foodvalley NL partners Verdify and Eatch as well as Omnigen, MyMicroZoo and University of Antwerp.

Ready for take-off

The first six persons have signed up to participate in a fully-personalised nutrition program. The aim is to lower barriers for healthy eating and obtain proof of concept for the approach. Step one of the experience is to collect samples for DNA- and gut microbiome analysis. With the results the participants can create a personal nutrition profile that enables them to get recipes that are fully tailored to their nutrition requirements and taste preferences. For a period of four weeks, the participants will be encouraged to eat according to the personalised recipe suggestions. In the last week, they will also receive freshly-made meals at home, created by an automated kitchen. After this period, another gut microbiome sample will be taken to evaluate potential changes. The impact on barriers for healthy eating of the personalised nutrition program will be determined as well.

All participants are under supervision of a dietitian or nutrition expert. If this is also something you want to offer your clients, we still have two spots available for dietitians or nutrition experts who want to collaborate on this program. A leaflet with more information for the participants can be found here. In case you have questions, remarks, or want to collaborate as a dietitian or nutrition expert, please reach out to jennifer@verdifood.com.

Edition 2022: Personalised Nutrition for all Challenge

The 2022 edition is called “Personalised nutrition for all”. Again, it is a call to action to find innovative solutions to reduce obesity and malnutrition in Europe. This year, six winners will be awarded €30,000 to further develop their solution, opening the possibility for further funding by EIT Food and go to market. Multi-stakeholder groups are invited to submit their Personalised Nutrition ideas. Winners will be announced on 14 October, in advance of World Food Day.

Supporting Dutch entrepreneurs in developing their skills to accelerate

Every step of an entrepreneur’s journey is a step into the unknown. Having access to valuable resources and unique facilities, communities of peers, coaches and capital is crucial in converting innovative ideas into scaling businesses. Foodvalley NL’s objective is to help entrepreneurs get access to whatever they need in order to become successful and accelerate their innovations.

Foodvalley NL partnered with the ‘Landelijke ROM’s’ and their Business Innovation Program Food (BIP Food). Dutch (also non-tech) innovative companies and companies with innovative business ideas can apply. So SME’s (MKB) with innovative ideas as well.

Foodvalley NL partnered up with BIP Food

With supporting the BIP Food start-ups and/or SME’s can sharpen their focus on promising ideas and how to translate them into concrete new revenue models. These innovative companies are active in the agro-food sector in the broadest sense. These include agriculture and horticulture, the food processing industry, data and technology companies and (logistics) service providers.

Calling all innovative entrepreneurs (start-up and SME)

In 10 sessions, entrepreneurs are trained to engage with customers, develop products, strengthen impact, build a business model, create a team and enhance collaborations.

The Business Innovation Program Food also facilitates interactive sessions for entrepreneurs to translate theory into practice. They receive practical assignments and are coached, one-on-one, by business developers from the relevant Regional Development Agency (Regionale Ontwikkelings Maatschappij).

Practical information

  • The programme starts on 7 September 2022 and ends in mid-November 2022.
  • Participation in the programme is free of charge, but a lot is expected of you.
  • The meetings take place every week on Wednesday morning.
  • Are you enthusiastic and do you have a good feeling about the programme? Register now for the Business Innovation Program Food.
  • More info: Business Innovation Program Food | Oost NL (in Dutch)

F&A Next 2022; Transformation of Global Food Systems

On 18-19 May, more than 500 of the world’s leading tech start-ups, scale-ups, investors and corporates in food & agriculture will attend the annual F&A Next summit at Wageningen Campus and online. Are you attending the summit? Please do not hesitate to pay us a visit at our stand and get acquainted.

Accelerate Innovation

As proud ecosystem partner of this summit, Foodvalley NL looks forward bringing the agrifood tech community together. F&A Next is a two-day summit that aims to accelerate innovation for a sustainable food & ag value chain. In its 7th edition, F&A Next will zoom in on the Transformation of Global Food Systems. The urgency to radically transform our food chain is increasing. Capital investment in food & agri is growing at an unprecedented rate.

But are investments in technology and innovative business models contributing to more sustainable food production? What is still needed to meet the SDGs in 2030? Renowned experts and industry leaders share their thoughts and insights. Special topics include the role of impact investors, the need for regenerative farming, the future of proteins, food & agri innovation in emerging markets, and changing consumer preferences.

Missed this year’s edition of F&A Next? There is always the 8th edition to look forward to.

Confidental Infomation