Impact Digests | How can AI ensure food security for 10 billion people?

May 9, 2024 | Ecosystem news

Impact Digests | How can AI ensure food security for 10 billion people?

Image of the Yumane team

Last month, we held our second Impact Forum event, bringing together 5 experts to explore how we can use AI to ensure food security for 10 billion people – in just 60 minutes. Topics spanned from leveraging satellite imagery to cellular analysis to data-driven decision-making. Read on to explore some of the event’s key insights.

Key Takeaways

  • Collaboration counts: Success in agricultural technology relies on collaboration between tech providers, researchers, and farmers.
  • Empowering farmers: Educating and empowering farmers to use AI tools effectively is crucial for adoption.
  • Innovation is essential: Continuous innovation in AI and tech is vital for addressing agricultural challenges and improving productivity.

Matthias Zwingli, Connect AI

Matthias Zwingli outlined key insights into the current landscape of AI and its impact on various industries, emphasising that AI doesn’t replace companies, but enhances the efficiency of those that use it.

He outlined the three use cases that he believes have the greatest potential to enhance food security through AI: 

  • improving crop yield and resistance by understanding and enhancing crop output
  • precision farming to boost food production and conserve resources and
  • industry-agnostic productivity improvements to improve efficiency and reduce time and resources needed.

Mateja Kramar, ETH AI Center

Mateja discussed the role of AI in securing food production from field to fork. She emphasised the importance of focusing on soil health and small-scale farmers, as they contribute significantly to global food production — 80% of the food we eat comes from small-scale farmers.

Mateja stressed the need to bring soil back to life through regenerative agriculture practices with the help of AI. She highlighted how AI can optimise farming practices, improve sustainability, and reduce food waste throughout the supply chain. 

She outlined various AI applications, such as satellite imagery for monitoring farms and predicting harvests, and tracking food delivery to retailers to minimise waste. Mateja also stressed the need for consumer education and awareness to encourage healthier and more sustainable food choices. 

Matthias Graeber, Bühler Group

Matthias discussed how AI can enhance sustainable food value chains by addressing various global crises, including climate change, mounting inequalities, and extreme biodiversity loss. 

He highlighted Bühler’s role in providing machinery for food production and emphasised the importance of optimising to reduce its carbon footprint. Matthias presented examples of AI applications, such as machine control for scaling and optimisation of energy usage in drying processes. 

Matthias demonstrated how reinforcement learning can optimise fan speed and thermal energy consumption, which leads to significant reductions in electricity and CO2 emissions. He also acknowledged that AI is not a standalone solution and emphasised the importance of a broader ecosystem approach and collaboration with partners like the Swiss Data Science Center.

Christopher Keim, Food Brewer & Patrick Albrecht, Fruitful AI

Christopher and Patrick discussed how their companies utilise AI to enhance food production and address global challenges in agriculture and manufacturing to ensure future food security. 

Food Brewer specialises in plant cell culture technology to create edible products such as cocoa and coffee locally and sustainably. The company uses AI in media screening to optimise cell culture growth and select the best formulations for production. 

Fruitful AI focuses on visual inspection systems powered by AI to assess the quality of agricultural products and manufacturing processes. Its technology aids in plant genotyping, quality control in bottling stations, and product inspection, ultimately improving efficiency and reducing operational expenses. 

Integrating AI and agriculture for a sustainable future

The expert presentations were followed up by a Q&A session highlighting several key points about the integration of AI and technology in food production. Topics included: 

  • the role of farmers in the adoption and integration of AI in agriculture
  • the need for collaboration and continued innovation among technology providers, researchers, and farmers. 
  • AI’s ability to provide verification and assurance for farmers in monitoring soil health and crop growth.

The integration of AI and technology in agriculture holds great promise for improving food security, sustainability, and efficiency in farming practices – but collaboration, education, and innovation are key to realising its full potential.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the event! We’re already looking forward to our next Impact Forum event on 21st June on sustainable agriculture. Keep an eye out for more information coming soon!

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Christina Senn-Jakobsen: 3 key food system challenges and how we can tackle them

May 3, 2024 | Ecosystem news

 3 key food system challenges and how we can tackle them

By Christina Senn-Jakobsen, SFNV Managing Director

“We have an urgent need for speed, scale, and collaboration if we’re to secure a resilient and livable future on this planet.”

Our food systems are responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions and as much as 80% of biodiversity loss. A third of our soil is degraded, our global water budget is under pressure, global temperatures are rising, and the human health crisis is bigger than ever. We’re not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and we’ve already exceeded six of the nine planetary boundaries that keep Earth habitable.

We have an urgent need for speed, scale, and collaboration if we’re to secure a resilient and livable future on this planet. Every day, I have discussions with colleagues across the Swiss and global food innovation ecosystem who are buzzing with ideas and great solutions. But we need to get better at bringing this knowledge together and recognising how collaborative projects can boost our joint impact. Because the issues we’re facing are nuanced. Solutions need to be globally inspired, but locally owned and tailored to each country’s unique challenges.

So where do we start? Here’s my take on three issues where I believe greater collaboration and scaling up the most efficient solutions could really drive measurable impact results. 

  1. Food loss & waste
  2. Unsustainable, unhealthy consumption
  3. Agricultural transformation

Christina Senn-Jakobsen

Managing Director
Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley

Connect on LinkedIn

Food loss & waste

A third of all produced food goes to waste. Globally, 15.3% (valued at CHF 843 billion) of food never leaves the farm, and in 2019, 17% of total food available landed in rubbish bins, from which it goes on to rot in landfills, producing methane gas and furthering the warming of our planet. 

Impact on environmental and human health

If we stopped wasting food we could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 6%–8%, while also reducing land degradation and harm to biodiversity and minimising packaging use. And by diverting food waste to where its needed, we could feed the world. Food produced but never eaten would be sufficient to feed two billion people — more than twice the number of undernourished people globally.

How does this issue differ by region?

Hover your cursor over the image to find out.

How to scale our impact: creating circular solutions

I believe that circular solutions can help businesses reduce costs while improving nutritional value and make it easy and attractive for consumers to make more planet-friendly choices. 

How is Switzerland championing this change?

Here are just a few examples of how Swiss food innovators are innovating to develop circular solutions:

Luya

Luya is transforming Okara – or soy pulp – into juicy, plant-based alternatives.

Upgrain

UpGrain is committed to establishing Brewer’s spent grain (BSG) as the protein and fibre source of the future.

ETH Zurich

ETH Zürich is looking at ways to transform food waste into high-protein animal feed.

SmartBreed

SmartBreed closes nutrient cycles and contributes to environmentally friendly food production. Their insects convert nutrient-rich residual streams from the food industry into valuable proteins and fertilizer.

COOS Change Agency

COOS Change Agency helps municipalities to optimise their local food systems by raising awareness, tackling food waste and improving their supply chains.

ALDI SUISSE

ALDI SUISSE uses an intelligent inventory management system to tackle food waste and offers products close to their expiry dates at a reduced price.

EPFL

EPFL is developing intelligent packaging technologies that tackle food waste while keeping consumers safe.

ECOCASCARA

ECOCASCARA turns coffee farming by-products into healthy, ready-to-drink beverages.

Nestlé

Nestlé aims to reduce nutrient loss across the value chain by, for example, using sorghum side streams as a nutritious ingredient for porridge.

State of Fribourg

The State of Fribourg’s agrifood strategy tackles food waste through its flagship program on biomass valorization

The No. 1 Action! But which part of the value chain can have the most impact?

Project Drawdown says reducing food waste is the number one action the world can take to mitigate climate change before 2050 — but change is needed at every stage of the value chain.

From building waste reduction into production processes to designing waste diversion systems for retail and gastronomy, these are interconnected issues that will require co-creation and legislative enablement.

Governments can establish regulations and incentives that encourage waste reduction across the board, retail and gastronomy can practise better inventory management, and farmers can utilise new tech to better match supply with demand. Consumer behaviour change as a result of education and enablement is critical.

What policy change is needed?

  • Clear nationally-owned strategies that set out tangible objectives that everyone in the ecosystem can rally behind — such as Denmark’s ‘Action plan for circular economy’ and its Think Tank on Prevention of Food Loss and Food Waste – ONE\THIRD .
  • Aligned incentives that reward more circular solutions.

2. Unsustainable, unhealthy consumption

When it comes to diet, I believe that a black-and-white approach isn’t helpful. While many of us are aware of the climate impact of animal product consumption and red meat particularly, the conversation isn’t without nuance and solutions need to be tailored effectively to local contexts. The burden of disease is duel — depending on region and access to quality nutrients, people experience chronic diseases related to undernutrition, such as wasting, stunting, and micronutrient deficiencies, and also of diseases related to excessive calorie intake, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. 

Impact on environmental and human health

Today, twenty of the world’s leading meat and milk producers emit more greenhouse gases than entire industrialised countries such as Germany or France. At the same time, about 10% of the global population regularly go to bed hungry, while WHO recently revealed that more than a billion people worldwide are obese. The World Obesity Federation (WOF) released a report that estimates four billion people will be obese in 2035.

How does this issue differ by region?

Hover your cursor over the image to find out.

How to scale our impact: enabling tasty, affordable and convenient solutions 

Open access, publicly-funded research can help us better understand what consumers are looking for, and policymakers can better regulate how foods are advertised, taxed, and distributed. But ultimately the consumer needs access to a diverse range of tasty, affordable and convenient solutions that make it easier to make healthier and more sustainable choices.

Find out more about how to scale solutions in our latest Impact Digest

How is Switzerland championing this change?

Various Valley partners are working across the value chain to develop new solutions in this space. 

Planted

Planted produces delicious meat from alternative proteins, focusing on the perfect bite and only clean ingredients.

Food2050

Food2050 makes it easy for consumers to see how their meal choices affect their climate impact.

Givaudan

Givaudan provides access to an entire ecosystem of experts, technologies and an integrated portfolio to co-create delicious and authentic plant-based food experiences.

Esmë

Esmë uses a unique stream extraction method of fruits to flavour beverages naturally, with a unique taste and less sugar.

Connie's Kitchen

Connie’s Kitchen is reimagining Switzerland’s favorite condiments, kicking out the sugar, and packing their sauces with organic, nutrient-dense ingredients like whole fruits, veggies, and healthy oils.

The Cultured Hub

The Cultured Hub AG is accelerating the development of sustainable proteins, specifically cultured meat, fish, seafood, and precision fermentation products.

Vege'tables

Vege’tables empowers people to consume food that is good for their health and the environment.

Planetary

By harnessing the power microbial fermentation, planetary sustainably produces food ingredients and materials.

Which part of the value chain can have the most impact?

Companies developing new products have a huge role to play here. Startups are great at spotting emerging trends and developing innovative products to meet new consumer needs, while larger companies are able to scale the solutions that have the biggest impact.

At the same, food service and retail colleagues need to draw on the wealth of research available about how to make healthier and greener choices more appealing. 

What policy change is needed?

  • Policy-level commitment to publicly funded research in this space.
  • A clear legal framework for novel foods.
  • Applying research-backed strategies to adjust regulations and incentives to make unhealthy food less appealing and boost the availability of healthier options. 

3. A need for agricultural transformation

Without farmers, there is no food. Innovation around harvesting, farming techniques, and relevant technologies will help us mitigate the impact of agricultural activities on human and planetary health. We need to use more farming practices that tread lightly on our planet, with less use of chemicals and a greater emphasis on soil health — but we must co-create these changes with the farmers who feed us. 

Impact on environmental and human health

Unsustainable farming practices wreak havoc on the environment — degrading soil and harming biodiversity. The rampant use of fertilisers and pesticides in conventional farming today results in adverse health effects in humans. 

How does the issue differ by region?

Hover your cursor over the image to find out.

How to scale our impact: resetting incentives

We need to reform agricultural support so that it’s in line with food system transformation goals.

It’s often prohibitively expensive for small farms to switch to regenerative practices. They need access to new and affordable tech, and we must support them — financially, legislatively, and otherwise — in transitioning to environmentally and biodiversity-friendly farming systems. 

I believe that the global players can do a lot to make it easier for smaller players to make this shift. 

How is Switzerland championing this change?

A number of Valley partners are pioneering new approaches to allow us to feed the world more efficiently:

YASAI

YASAI builds and manages vertical farms based on circular economy approaches to transform food systems.

Ecorobotix

Ecorobotix reduces the environmental impact and costs of modern farming with innovative energy-saving machines, such as precision sprayers.

Gamaya

Gamaya provides digital agronomy solutions to enable early detection of diseases and weeds to reduce potential crop losses.

AgroSustain

AgroSustain produces a natural coating that extends the freshness of crops by more than 20 days.

UMAMI

UMAMI designs bio-natural ecosystems and combines them with state-of-the-art technology to produce pure food.

Which part of the value chain can have the most impact?

Policymakers can repurpose subsidies and the private sector can innovate for more efficient and less damaging farming solutions, but citizen demand and action is what’ll drive these players to act.

What policy change is needed?

  • Sanctioned support for sustainable proteins to encourage the scale-up of planet-friendly farming practices.
  • Repurposed subsidies that help farmers restore the health of the land, rather than providing farmers with fertilisers and pesticides.

Interconnected challenges require a collaborative effort

The hidden costs inherent to our current food systems — climate change, resource degradation, and the unaffordability of healthy diets, to name a few — are a byproduct of market, institutional, and policy failures. Addressing the three key challenges discussed above can help to mitigate these costs and increase agrifood systems’ value to society.

It’ll take collaboration across all parts of the value chain to transform food systems so that we produce within our planetary boundaries, but we must place the focus on the role of the consumer in driving demand for sustainable, affordable, and healthy food options. The other ecosystem players — retail, industry, policymakers, and so on — need to understand what support they need to shift what lands on consumers’ dinner plates and design their policies and products to make it easier for them to make healthier and more sustainable choices. 

The reward? Transforming food systems will benefit not just environmental and human health, but could also serve up economic benefits worth USD 4.5 – 9 trillion each year. What are we waiting for?

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Givaudan teams up with 5 global startups to transform actionable insights into efficient and delicious alt-protein choices.

Apr 11, 2024 | Ecosystem news, Member news

Givaudan teams up with 5 global startups to transform actionable insights into efficient and delicious alt-protein choices.

Givaudan TW Startup Challenge

Valley partner, Givaudan has launched a Plant Attitude Challenge, inviting start-ups to show how to decrease costs of one of their alt-protein recipes, while ensuring a delicious consumer experience. The contest brings to life 10 pathways to more affordable, sustainable alt-protein products from recent white paper developed together with UC Berkeley.

Five alternative protein start-ups from around the world will join Givaudan’s ‘Plant Attitude Challenge’ on April 17th and pitch how their solutions can decrease costs on one of their standard recipes by up to 20% while still ensuring a delicious and nutritious consumer experience.

Start-ups taking part in the Challenge will also articulate how they address the insights from Givaudan’s recent white paper with UC Berkeley: ‘10 Alternative Protein Pathways: Opportunities for Greater Efficiency.’

Challenge finalists include Eat Typcal (Brazil), Meatless Kingdom (Indonesia), Eternal (U.S.), Juicy Marbles (Slovenia), and BVeg Foods (India). These five companies will present their pitches at a live virtual event on April 17th, with both public and jury voting, and the winner will go on to collaborate with Givaudan on their innovation idea.

Flavio Garofalo, Global Director, Culinary & Plant Attitude, Givaudan, said: “We created the Plant Attitude Challenge to inspire companies to translate the 10 pathways from our recent white paper into cost effective alt-protein innovations that don’t compromise on all the things that delight consumers—including taste, mouthfeel, visual appeal and nutrition. We strongly believe that collaboration and strategic partnerships are key to success in alt-protein, and by teaming up to share knowledge, expertise and resources, we can innovate and get products to market more quickly.”

The winning start-up will collaborate with Givaudan, which offers a global ecosystem of protein hubs and alt-protein experts, as well as state-of-the art digital technologies and an integrated portfolio of solutions.

Expert jury members will include:

  • Flavio Garofalo, Global Director Culinary & Plant Attitude, Givaudan
  • Sudhir Joshi, Professor, University of California Berkeley
  • Beatriz Jacoste Lozano, Director KM ZERO Food Innovation Hub
  • Jolene Lum, Head Business Development, Nurasa

The live Plant Attitude Challenge event on April 17th is open to the public, and every participant will have an opportunity to vote for their favourite start-up innovation. Registerhere and download the white paper, ‘10 Alternative Protein Pathways: Opportunities for Greater Efficiency’ here. 

About Givaudan

Givaudan is a global leader in Fragrance & Beauty and Taste & Wellbeing. We celebrate the beauty of human experience by creating for happier, healthier lives with love for nature. Together with our customers we deliver food experiences, craft inspired fragrances and develop beauty and wellbeing solutions that make people look and feel good. In 2023, Givaudan employed 16,260 people worldwide and achieved CHF 6.9 billion in sales with a free cash flow of 13.3%. With a heritage that stretches back over 250 years, we are committed to driving long-term, purpose-led growth by improving people’s health and happiness and increasing our positive impact on nature. This is Givaudan. Human by nature. Discover more at www.givaudan.com

About Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing

Powered by innovation and creativity, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing aims to shape the future of food by becoming the co-creation partner of choice to its customers. Built on its global leadership position in flavours and taste, the Company goes beyond to create food experiences that do good and feel good, for body, mind and planet. With an expanded portfolio of products across flavours, taste, functional and nutritional solutions and a deep knowledge of the food ecosystem, Givaudan’s passion is to collaborate with customers and partners to develop game changing innovations in food and beverage. This is Givaudan. Human by nature. Learn more about how we are shaping the future of food at www.givaudan.com/taste-wellbeing

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Swiss innovators Givaudan and Bühler join forces with MISTA to open a new extrusion hub

Apr 6, 2024 | Ecosystem news

Swiss innovators Givaudan and Bühler join forces with MISTA to open a new extrusion hub

Inauguration of new extrusion hub at MISTA Innovation Center in San Francisco.
Valley partners Givaudan and Bühler have teamed up with MISTA to open a state-of-the-art extrusion hub at the MISTA Innovation Center in San Francisco. The opening of this new facility advances MISTA’s capabilities in driving food innovation and highlights Givaudan’s and Bühler’s commitment to supporting food system transformation.

This collaborative effort between Givaudan and Bühler offers companies the opportunity to conduct innovative and effective product development trials for their extruded products. Equipped with a 30mm twin-screw Bühler extruder, the hub enables both high moisture extrusion, such as plant-based meat production, and low moisture extrusion, including snacks and cereals. Unlike smaller benchtop extruders, the results obtained at the facility can be translated to full-scale production equipment. With an output of up to 50 kilograms per hour, companies can now explore new possibilities in product development with ease.

Fabio Campanile, Global Head of Science and Technology, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing, highlighted the company’s commitment to plant-based alternatives, innovation, and the importance of partnerships. “Adding extrusion capabilities at MISTA expands our vast innovation network and further demonstrates our commitment to the alternative protein space. We believe that by working together and leveraging our collective expertise, we can continue driving the development of the food industry to deliver sustainable and delicious food experiences for consumers around the world.”

The hub at MISTA is the latest addition to the Global Innovation Network being built by Givaudan, Bühler, and others, further solidifying the collective dedication to driving innovation and supporting its customers worldwide. Other innovation facilities include Givaudan’s Zurich Innovation Centre, the Protein Innovation Centre in Singapore, and the Tropical Food Innovation Lab in Brazil.

The hub launch coincided with the bi-annual MISTA in Action programme, held at the end of March. This event brought together industry executives, leaders, and start-up companies from around the world to network and explore the latest collaborative advances in the food industry. Attendees included representatives from consumer-packaged goods companies, ingredient players, equipment manufacturers, service providers, and premier funding companies in food tech.

During the event, Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler, delivered an inspiring keynote speech, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and technological advancements in shaping the future of the food industry. “Collaboration is key to building a sustainable future for food with the goal of feeding the expected 10 billion world inhabitants by the year 2050. The MISTA facility demonstrates that these collaborations provide real results. The partnership with MISTA, Givaudan, and Bühler is providing a world-class technology platform for food innovators to develop and scale the protein sources that will sustainably nourish the world’s growing population,” said Ian Roberts.

“MISTA acts as a catalyst for companies to discover, integrate, and evolve new ways of working that will help power their innovation engine and accelerate the transformation of the food system,” said Scott May, founder and Head of MISTA. “Through the nodal network, unique collaborations, access to new technologies and domain expertise, MISTA empowers companies to re-imagine innovation and drive positive change for companies and the industry. We are confident the addition of extrusion capabilities will help generate and accelerate many of the great-tasting food solutions needed to ensure a sustainable food future.”

 

About Givaudan

Givaudan is a global leader in Fragrance & Beauty and Taste & Wellbeing. We celebrate the beauty of human experience by creating for happier, healthier lives with love for nature. Together with our customers we deliver food experiences, craft inspired fragrances and develop beauty and wellbeing solutions that make people look and feel good. In 2023, Givaudan employed 16,260 people worldwide and achieved CHF 6.9 billion in sales with a free cash flow of 13.3%. With a heritage that stretches back over 250 years, we are committed to driving long-term, purpose-led growth by improving people’s health and happiness and increasing our positive impact on nature. This is Givaudan. Human by nature.Discover more at www.givaudan.com

About Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing

Powered by innovation and creativity, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing aims to shape the future of food by becoming the co-creation partner of choice to its customers. Built on its global leadership position in flavours and taste, the Company goes beyond to create food experiences that do good and feel good, for body, mind and planet. With an expanded portfolio of products across flavours, taste, functional and nutritional solutions and a deep knowledge of the food ecosystem, Givaudan’s passion is to collaborate with customers and partners to develop game changing innovations in food and beverage. This is Givaudan. Human by nature. Learn more about how we are shaping the future of food at www.givaudan.com/taste-wellbeing

About Bühler

Bühler is driven by its purpose of creating innovations for a better world, balancing the needs of economy, humanity, and nature in all its decision-making processes. Billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies as they cover their basic needs for food and mobility every day. Two billion people each day enjoy foods produced on Bühler equipment; and one billion people travel in vehicles manufactured using parts produced with Bühler solutions. Countless people wear eyeglasses, use smart phones, and read newspapers and magazines – all of which depend on Bühler process technologies and solutions. Having this global relevance, Bühler is in a unique position to turn today’s global challenges into sustainable business.

As a technology partner for the food, feed, and mobility industries, Bühler has committed to having solutions ready to multiply by 2025 that reduce energy, waste, and water by 50% in the value chains of its customers. It also proactively collaborates with suppliers to reduce climate impacts throughout the value chain. In its own operations, Bühler has developed a pathway to achieve a 60% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scopes 1 & 2, against a 2019 baseline).

Bühler spends up to 5% of turnover on research and development annually to improve both the commercial and sustainability performance of its solutions, products, and services. In 2023, some 12,500 employees generated a turnover of CHF 3.0 billion. As a Swiss family-owned company with a history spanning 164 years, Bühler is active in 140 countries around the world and operates a global network of 105 service stations, 30 manufacturing sites, and Application & Training Centers in 25 locations. For more information go to www.buhlergroup.com

About MISTA

MISTA’s mission is to transform the global food system to meet the needs of the future…an abundant future that nourishes and delights people and planet. We are a global nodal network and innovation platform consisting of members ranging from large, established companies to new food technology start-ups. We practice curated collaboration by bringing companies together in a trust-based ecosystem to work in new ways, inspiring innovative, regenerative solutions that accelerate the changes required to solve challenges facing our global food system.
For more information go to www.mistafood.com

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Teaming up for impact: ZFV Group on their partnerships with Yumame, Steasy and Food2050

Mar 27, 2024 | Ecosystem news, Headline, Member news

Teaming up for impact: ZFV Group on their partnerships with Yumame, Steasy and Food2050

Image of the Yumane team
Backed by more than 125 years of history and 200+ meeting places across Switzerland, the ZFV Group (ZFV) offers a treasure trove of knowledge in the fields of hospitality and catering. They use this not only for their own business, but also to make it easier for food sector startups to break into the market. From investments in new products to initiatives such as a jointly developed meal plan system, ZFV is synonymous with equal partnerships.

Valley partners Steasy, FOOD2050, and Yumame have all been advised and assisted by the ZFV Group. The ZFV team is sure of one thing: we can only achieve true change through collaboration. This is why the company is constantly on the lookout for new partnerships and start-ups with which to innovate and co-create.

Yumame: Partnering with innovative producers

In its own restaurants as well as in cafeterias and staff restaurants, ZFV’s focus is on balanced and climate-friendly food. Whether it’s with innovative recipes from ZFV’s own climate-friendly kitchen, totally new concepts (like Flavour Kitchen or Green Kitchen Lab), or menus that feature more than 50% vegan and vegetarian offerings, ZFV relies first and foremost on diverse partnerships with innovative producers – including Valley partner Yumame Foods AG.

The startup produces sustainable food based on mushrooms and fermentation techniques, with a focus on local and environmentally-friendly practices. These newcomers attracted the attention of ZFV’s F&B team, who were enthused and impressed by its products. Yumame has now become ZFV’s first catering partner — and they’ve already dished up their first recipes in the Green Kitchen Lab at the University of Zurich. This includes the innovative “Farm to Table” research project, which ZFV is implementing jointly with the Zurich University School of Management and Law and Zurich University of the Arts, where Yumame will be featured as an important part of the culinary offer.

FOOD2050: Enabling more climate-friendly choices

ZFV values transparency about the effects of its food highly, and aims to inspire its guests with enthusiasm for an environmentally-friendly and balanced diet. Start-up and Valley partner FOOD2050, founded in 2021, pursues the same aim. The company was in the process of developing a meal plan system and seeking a partner to co-create with.

Won over by FOOD2050’s vision, ZFV became its strategic partner in 2021, and they jointly implemented the meal plan system for the first time at the University of Zurich in 2022. Together, they further developed the initial pilot project and implemented it in 2023 at the Swiss Museum of Transport and in three other ZFV locations. A digital menu and meal plan now highlight the climate impact of individual menus directly to guests, and its food profiles offer detailed information about individual dishes, including portraits of the ingredients’ producers. The partners now plan for FOOD2050 to be part of all ZFV businesses by the end of 2024.

“Innovation means keeping one’s eyes open, constant scrutiny, actively engaging with one’s environment, personal development and also taking a chance now and then!” – Dario Notaro, CBDO ZFV

Steasy: Investing in the future of catering

By investing in Steasy, a start-up that developed the first-ever mobile mini steamer, ZFV found a way to delight and serve those who don’t eat their lunch in cafeterias and staff restaurants. Thanks to an integrated battery, a pre-prepared menu can be quickly and gently heated — a total innovation with potential that was immediately obvious to ZFV.

“High-quality, healthy and sustainable food should also be possible on the move, or in locations where it is not possible to eat in a restaurant,” – Dario Notaro, CBDO ZFV

Open to innovation and new partners

ZFV has been pursuing a vision of comprehensive meeting places that encompass six dimensions – menu, people, physical space, virtual space, sustainability — and importantly, the ZFV ecosystem, including partners like Steasy, FOOD2050 and Yumame.

With this vision in mind, its projects embody a culture that actively drives food innovation. By thinking outside the box and seeing the potential in start-ups of all sizes, ZFV hopes to continue to support and co-create exciting projects with Swiss innovators.

Through its partnerships with Valley, the ZFV Group is now seeking to build on these strong foundations and make its expertise available to even more entrepreneurs.

Read the article in German

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Agilery and Helbling to drive sustainable innovation for food and beverage brands

Mar 26, 2024 | Ecosystem news, Partner success stories

Agilery and Helbling to drive sustainable innovation for food and beverage brands

Fruitful AI and Food Brewer
The food and technology industries are increasingly converging. Valley partner Agilery and Helbling saw this as an opportunity to join forces to provide strategic partnership for food brands looking to integrate innovative food and technology solutions. We spoke to Marcin Niedzielski, co-founder of Agilery, Dr. Ludovic Dovat, Head of Business Unit and Partner and Dr. Jonathan Demierre, Head of Development at Helbling to find out more.

📒 The background

SFNV: Tell us a bit about the key issues you address.

Marcin Niedzielski: At Agilery we guide food and beverage brands through the complexities of product creation, production and launch. We recognised that a lot of the brands we work with are working hard to deliver the SDGs around preserving Earth’s ecosystem and ensuring equal and equitable access to healthy diets. We wanted to find new ways to support them.

Dr. Ludovic Dovat: Our work at Helbling is all about creating value by developing more sustainable systems across a broad range of sectors, including the food and beverage sector. By integrating food and technology, we believe that we can create technical solutions that address key global sustainability challenges.

🤩 The opportunity

SFNV: How does working with you contribute to creating innovative sustainable products?

Marcin Niedzielski: We believe that strategic partnerships are the glue that will make the Sustainable Development agenda a reality. By teaming up we’re able to provide our customers with a unique combination of skills and more holistic support.

Dr. Jonathan Demierre: By combining our expertise with Agilery’s we’ll be able to empower food and beverage brands to create products that are both innovative and more sustainable.

🎯  The long term vision 

SFNV: Where do you see the biggest potential for impact?

Marcin Niedzielski: We currently see the biggest potential in relation to promoting responsible sourcing, reducing waste, and enhancing resource and energy efficiency throughout the industry.

Dr. Ludovic Dovat: In future, we’d love to see brands seamlessly integrating food and technology sustainably from the start.

💭 Partner reflections

Marcin Niedzielski: We are excited to collaborate with Helbling on our shared mission to drive sustainability in the food and beverage sector. The partnership will allow us to offer our clients technical and sustainable solutions that align with the SDGs, bringing us closer to a more sustainable future.

Dr. Jonathan Demierre: We believe that by combining our expertise in sustainable technology and product development with Agilery’s deep knowledge in food science and manufacturing, we can have a significant impact for our clients and the consumers. Together, we can provide them the services they need to navigate the complex landscape of sustainability and achieve lasting positive changes.

Are you developing a brand that is integrating food and technology – and you want to do it sustainably from the start? Contact hello@agilery.ch or ludovic.dovat@helbling.ch to find out how Agilery and Helbling could support you.

About Agilery

Agilery is a contract manufacturing company that helps brands of all sizes to bring food and beverage products to market.

About Helbling

Helbling is a leader in technological innovation and engineering for food and beverage systems, supporting its clients in all phases of product development and business processes.

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