Updates from the Nestlé R&D Accelerator since launching in 2019

Jun 3, 2021 | Headline, Member news

Updates from the Nestlé R&D Accelerator since launching in 2019

Since launching in 2019, the Nestlé R&D Accelerator has gathered experts from the company, graduates, students and startups to work together on turning science and innovative concepts into new product solutions.

Nestlé R&D Accelerator Website

The Nestlé R&D Accelerator is a global initiative launched in April 2019 at Nestlé Research in Lausanne, Switzerland. Since then, more than 30 teams completed the R&D Accelerator program by taking product concepts to store shelves in just six months.

"We foster creative entrepreneurship behaviour and provide the teams access to scientific, technical and business expertise, to prototyping and mini-production technologies, and everything that is required for their route to market", says Tom Wagner, Head of Nestlé's global R&D Accelerator initiative.

Nestlé R&D Accelerator Innovative Products

One of the R&D Accelerator's team launched a product building on Nestlé proprietary research identifying new natural bioactive ingredients that can reduce fatigue. They showed that combining micronutrients with a natural olive extract supports muscular energy and allows the body to use its full potential without adding calories to the muscle. The product is currently available in Italy as part of a limited shop test.

The R&D Accelerator has also just launched the first nutritional solution that addresses motivation. The product contains a combination of selected vitamins and the supplement form of a naturally occurring amino acid. The innovative solution promotes the production of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant produced by the body, that has been scientifically proven to be associated with motivation control and energy production. It is sold in France as a food supplement, in selected pharmacies and shops and online platforms.

Another innovative product the R&D Accelerator brought to the market is a superfruit smoothie range that supports immunity, protection and energy. Working with a Swiss start-up founded by two entrepreneurial gastroenterologists, the product contains superfruits selected for their nutrient density and proven health benefits, leveraging the different scientific expertise of the start-up and Nestlé. The team successfully tested the product range in selected supermarkets in Switzerland.

The Mission

Isabelle Bureau-Franz, Head of Nestlé Research, says, "Our R&D Accelerator brings some of our discoveries to the shelves in only six months, helping us to move fast. With great passion and agility, we deliver innovations embracing consumer needs and desires while continuing to broaden and strengthen our scientific work and focus on long-term projects."

Nestlé is extending the R&D Accelerator initiative to multiple markets and across product categories, and more accelerated science-driven innovations are expected to launch soon.

For more information:

More information on
Nestlé R&D Accelerator Website

For Media contact:
Melanie Kohli, R&D Communications
Tel.: +41 21 785 9515

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YASAI: Building The Largest Vertical Farm in the World

Apr 22, 2021 | Headline, Member Highlight, Member news, Uncategorized

YASAI: Building The Largest Vertical Farm in the World

YASAI empowers customers to grow more with less for the health of people, plants and the planet.

Visit YASAI's Website

Headquartered in Zurich, YASAI is a vertical farming service that allows its customers to grow more with less. The startup creates circular food production systems in regions lacking sufficient agricultural resources like freshwater or arable land. Their model drastically reduces the use of pesticides and increases biodiversity by enhancing food production through resource-saving technologies. YASAI replaces food imports and reduces production costs across the value chain by focusing on locality and premium quality.

The idea started with founder Mark Zahran’s Master’s thesis at ETH Zurich. His mission is to feed the world sustainably and contribute to the health of people, plants, and the planet. He sought to integrate vertical farming within the mountainous Swiss landscape. And he saw the opportunity to do so by transforming the La Sarraz quarry into the world’s largest vertical farm.

At YASAI, we imagine a world where everyone is empowered to grow their own plants, a planet of self-sustaining ecocities that form a sea of biodiversity

Mark Zahran

Co-Founder & CEO, YASAI

For more information:

YASAI AG
c/o ETH Zurich
iE-Lab, 4th Floor, STE J16
Stampfenbachstrasse 54, 8092 Zurich

Phone : +41 79 866 10 67

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Farmer Connect Secures US$9M to Bring Transparency to Supply Chains

Apr 20, 2021 | Headline, Member news, Uncategorized

Farmer Connect Secures US$9M to Bring Transparency to Supply Chains

Swiss agritech startup Farmer Connect has raised a US$9M in a Series A investment round.

Farmer Connect Website

An investment led by ITOCHU Corporation, a major Japanese general trading company, resulted in Farmer Connect securing US$9M. The Series A financing comes after significant growth in 2020 when the company’s revenue surged and its roster of clients and partners grew. Their partners include Cooxupé, the biggest coffee cooperative in Brazil, UCC Coffee, Beyers Koffie and The J.M. Smucker Company. Farmer Connect will use the money to develop new solutions for sustainability efforts in coffee and other agricultural sectors. They also plan to build new teams across the world like Geneva, New York City, Singapore and Brazil. ​

Launched in 2019, Farmer Connect offers a blockchain-based traceability platform for the safe storage and sharing of business data. Essentially, this technology connects producers to consumers to empower them and help their business grow. The blockchain-based tech was developed in part by IBM, based on the IBM Food Trust platform.

Investors from Europe and both North and South America participated in the round, along with Farmer Connect’s founding partner, Sucafina.

For more information:

Farmer Connect
Chemin de Blandonnet 8
Vernier, Geneva 1214, CH
Email : media@farmerconnect.com

Or you can also contact them here.

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Migros Adopts Nutri-Score for All In-house Brands

Apr 16, 2021 | Headline, Uncategorized

Migros Adopts Nutri-Score for All In-house Brands

Swiss retailer Migros has announced that it will introduce Nutri-Score labelling on the packaging of all private-label food items.

Migros Website

This week, major Swiss retailer Migros announced that it will put Nutri-Score on the packaging of its own-brand products. Nutri-Score is a colorful evaluation system that allows consumers to discover at a glance the nutritional quality of a product. Hence, simplifying food selection on a daily basis. Additionally, Migros is now offering nutritional value reporting on its online platform. This step makes it the first Swiss retailer to act in a very comprehensive and methodical manner for greater transparency.

Read the full press-releases in German, French and Italian. 

Learn more about the Nutri-Score evaluation system:

Watch video in German:

Watch video in French:

Watch video in Italian:

For more information:
Migros
Limmatstrasse 152
Zürich​, Zurich, 8005
Switzerland

Phone : +41 44 277 21 11

Migros Website

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Innoterra, Formerly Pioneering Ventures, Aims to Transform the Global Food Ecosystem

Apr 7, 2021 | Headline, Uncategorized

Innoterra, Formerly Pioneering Ventures, Aims to Transform the Global Food Ecosystem

Innoterra aims to produce and supply high-quality, safe and traceable food from farm to fork in a sustainable, farm-friendly way.

Visit Innoterra’s Website

Swiss-Indian incubator of agriculture, food and technology businesses, Pioneering Ventures, has set up a new corporate entity: Innoterra. With a footprint in 14 countries, Innoterra provides products and services to 65,000 farmers. It also serves around 1.5 million consumers daily through fully traceable, high-quality food products, including farm produce and milk products.

Formed to transform the global food ecosystem, Innoterra is committed to creating value for all stakeholders with its impact-driven purpose. To fulfil this mission, the company is creating an integrated platform to connect the entire agri-food value chain. The data-driven technology platform provides farmers access to tech solutions from AI, big data and analytics to on-ground tech-integrated farm tools for traceability and monitoring. It also integrates knowledge sharing and easy access to affordable finance. The platform aims to build a community of connected stakeholders, driving economies of scale and benefiting each stakeholder from collective resources and expertise.

Innoterra’s Mission

Innoterra CEO, Ron Pal, said, “As food security and sustainability is becoming an important global challenge, we must critically question the status quo of the industry and the entire food ecosystem… We see our company as an integral part of the food ecosystem and view our role as an orchestrator with the mission to provide consumers access to healthier and more sustainably produced food while empowering farmers and other stakeholders in the system.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of Innoterra India, Akshaya Kamath, said, “While developing and rolling out our platform, we will continue to scale up our food operations in India and further expand our sourcing and distribution footprint in regions such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe and China… Our efforts enable us to sustainably supply high quality, traceable products around the year to the addressable adjacent markets with a population of close to three billion people.”

All five subsidiaries of Pioneering Ventures will now be under Innoterra: Desai AgriFoods (formerly Desai Fruits and Vegetables), Samaaru, Farmlink, Milklane and Innoterra Tech (formerly Lateral Praxis).

For more information:

Innoterra AG
Baarerstrasse 18
6300 Zug
Phone : +41 44 508 05 35

Or you may also contact them here.

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Nestlé Launches Bio-Based Packaging For Infant Formula

Mar 23, 2021 | Headline, Member news, Uncategorized

Nestlé Launches Bio-Based Packaging For Infant Formula

Nestlé will soon launch bio-based lids and scoops made from sugar cane and its byproduct for its paediatric nutrition products.

Nestlé Website

A range of Nestlé’s nutrition products for infants and children will soon launch with a newly innovated packaging. This comes after the introduction of bio-based lids and scoops made from 66% and 95% sugar cane respectively. They also have similar properties and functionalities as conventional plastic without compromising the high level of hygiene and freshness required. The bio-based lids and scoops complement the metal-based tin can, which is the most recycled material in the world. These certified plant-based packagings are also recyclable in countries with recycling facilities for polyethylene (PE).

Nestlé Products with Bio-Based Packaging

In 2020, Nestlé Nutrition's NAN infant formula in the new packaging materials was introduced in Hong Kong. These will be available in other markets globally from 2021, including for other brands such as BEBA and GUIGOZ.

Meanwhile, Wyeth Nutrition is launching the new bio-based packaging for its brands SMA, LITTLE STEPS, S-26 and ILLUMA.

Nestlé Health Science is also introducing the new packaging material for its Althéra, Alfaré, Alfamino, Modulen and Peptamen Junior brands. These brands are part of its global range of paediatric food for special medical purposes.

Commitment to Innovation and Sustainability

Thierry Philardeau, Head of Nestlé Nutrition, said, “Nestlé continues to push the boundaries of science to provide nutritional solutions for children, and we are putting that same passion into pioneering new packaging that is good for our planet.”

Meanwhile, Ryan Carvalho, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer for Nestlé Nutrition, said, "The development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions plays an important role in our journey to net-zero… while ensuring that our products maintain a high level of safety and quality."

Nestlé Health Science CEO Greg Behar said, "We are pleased that Nestlé Health Science’s paediatric range is our first product group to include the new bio-based lids and scoops: new solutions for a new generation."

Nestlé is a founding member of the Bioplastics Feedstock Alliance. The association aims to encourage the production of bioplastic feedstocks in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner.

For more information:

Nestlé Suisse S.A.
Rue Entre-deux-Villes 10 1814 La Tour-de-Peilz Switzerland
Switzerland
Tel: +41 21 924 51 11

You can also reach them here.

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