YASAI AG achieves coveted B Corp Certification and is ready for expansion

YASAI AG achieves coveted B Corp Certification and is ready for expansion

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Zurich-based startup YASAI is delighted to announce a significant milestone with its B Corp certification. This accolade showcases YASAI’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility and the promotion of a sustainable business culture.

The B Corp certification recognizes organisations that are outstanding in their efforts to drive a shift towards a more sustainable economy. To earn this certification, YASAI underwent a comprehensive evaluation of its social and environmental performance standards. With this certification, YASAI AG joins an exclusive group of 24 Swiss food industry companies, including Valley partners Ecorobotix, CleanGreens Solutions and Vivent, dedicated to these values. Globally, over 7,000 companies from various industries are eligible to display the B Corp logo.

“We belong to a new generation of companies that focus not only on profit but also on people and the planet,” says Mark E. Zahran, CoCEO of YASAI. “We are thrilled about the B Corp certification, which helps us to implement and genuinely live our values.”

The B Corp certification provides momentum for further expansion plans

The B Corp certification is a significant signal for the industry and investors. YASAI AG has already secured PreSeries A funding of CHF 10 million. With the upcoming Series A funding, YASAI plans to construct a largescale vertical farm for herbs in the food sector. The product portfolio will continuously expand, including the production of plants for the cosmetics industry, creating additional market opportunities. Furthermore, in 2026, the world’s first integrated vertical farm in a residential neighborhood will open in Lymhof, Schlieren, as part of a project planned by Geistlich Immobilia, setting a global example.

About YASAI
YASAI AG is a vertical farming startup founded in Zurich in 2020 by Mark E. Zahran, Stefano Augstburger, and Philipp Bosshard. The company builds and operates vertical farms based on circular economy principles to enhance food systems. YASAI’s technology is adaptable to local conditions, making it suitable for sustainable, forward-thinking precision agriculture worldwide. YASAI products are available in approximately 400 Coop stores, as well as through Farmy and Jelmoli. Find out more by visiting their website.
About B Corp 

B Corp (Benefit Corporation) is an international certification from the non-profit organization B Lab. It recognizes companies for their social and environmental standards. The certification evaluates the overall social, environmental, and economic performance of the company, focusing on public transparency and accountability.

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Meet 3 Swiss researchers shaping the future of food

Meet 3 Swiss researchers shaping the future of food

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The Future Food Initiative provides an opportunity to educate and train new talent around the food value chain by leveraging the complementary strengths of the Swiss academic and industrial research communities. Meet this year’s three winners and find out more about what they’ll be working on.

Finding sustainable sources of nutrition  

Back in 2019, Valley academic partners EPFL and ETH Zurich teamed up with fellow industry partners Bühler, Givaudan and Nestlé to launch the Future Food InitiativeThe project aimed to expand research and education in the area of food and nutrition sciences and develop solutions that address the most significant and complex challenges facing our food systems. The program is co-managed by the Integrative Food and Nutrition Center at EPFL and the World Food System Center at ETH Zurich. The last call was addressed to professors and senior researchers at EPFL and ETH Zürich on the following topics:

  • Sustainable and nutritious lipids
  • Solutions for affordable nutrition in lower and middle-income countries
  • The relationship between nutrition & microbiome
  • The processing of plant proteins 

Meet the researchers

Three brilliant researchers were awarded in the last call:

Prof. Bart Deplanke from EPFL

Prof. Bart Deplanke from EPFL’s Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics Project will be exploring the influence of dietary lipids at weaning on adipose tissue expandability. So what does this mean in practice? 

In humans, body fat can vary widely, from normal levels between 10-30% to >70% in severe obesity. Research has shown that excess fat mass strongly correlates with metabolic, respiratory and cardiovascular complications. The team therefore anticipates that this work will provide us with nutrients that could be used to change the way that fat is stored in our bodies, potentially protecting against long-term metabolic ailments. They also hope that they will identify circulating molecular markers and/or microbiome signatures that can predict which individuals are more at risk of metabolic complications upon body weight gain.

Prof. Alexander Mathys from ETHZ

Prof. Alexander Mathys from ETHZ will be developing a project exploring how pea and rapeseed protein can be refined using natural deep eutectic solvents. The project aims to develop a fundamental understanding of the extraction of anti-nutrients from two protein-rich agricultural byproducts – pea protein concentrate as well as rapeseeds and rapeseed press cake – to recover purified plant proteins using a novel class of solvents, food grade Natural Eutectic Solvents (NADES). The suggested research approach has the potential to significantly reduce the colour and bitter, sharp, and astringent off-tastes of plant protein as compared to aqueous extraction. The project will enable an innovative ‘green chemistry’ approach to refine plant proteins from underutilized protein-rich agricultural (by)products.

Prof. Randall J. Platt from ETHZ

Prof. Randall J. Platt from ETHZ’s Laboratory for Biological Engineering will be elucidating mechanisms of probiotic function through transcriptional recording.   

Trillions of microorganisms live in our gastrointestinal tract and play a crucial role in digesting, metabolizing, and releasing nutrients. The immense potential of the gut microbiome to modulate multiple aspects of health and disease, as well as its accessibility, has fueled an expanding global market for novel probiotics. This project aims to characterize mechanisms by which nutritional interventions influence the establishment and functional ability of probiotic bacteria in the gut in a non-invasive manner.

Each project will receive a maximum budget of 197’000 CHF and will run for a period of 2-4 years. We look forward to reporting back on their progress! 

Never miss a Swiss food innovation morsel.

Christoph Jenny: 4 things I learnt while scaling Planted

Christoph Jenny: 4 things I learnt while scaling Planted

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In our third article in our series on scaling, we sat down with Christoph Jenny, Co-founder & member of the Executive Board of Planted, to hear what he has learnt over the past four years while scaling Planted from a ETH university spin-off to fastest growing FoodTech startup in the alternative proteins industry in Europe.

Back in 2017 Pascal Bieri was working in the US and became aware of a number of meat substitutes that were suddenly appearing on supermarket shelves. Passionate about more sustainable diets and concerned about the devastating resource inefficiencies of animal agriculture, he eagerly tested them – but he was bothered by the long list of ingredients and additives on the back of the packs.

So he contacted his cousin, Lukas Böni, who just happened to be completing his professorship at ETH in Food Process Engineering, to see if they could do better. Pascal and Lukas were then joined by Eric Stirnemann, Judith Wemmer as well as Christoph Jenny, a finance expert who had already gained significant experience in the foodservice industry to make up the Planted dream team we know today.

Planted was officially founded as an ETH spin off in 2019 with the mission to radically change the way meat is perceived, produced and consumed and inspire a shift from eating animal proteins to eating plant proteins, enabling meat eaters to make sustainable, healthy and tasty everyday choices.

Today, the company is a leading Swiss scale-up with over 200 employees, producing juicy plant-based meat with only natural ingredients by combining proprietary extrusion and fermentation technologies. After doubling their production capacity and securing CHF 70 million in Series B funding in autumn 2022, their broad range of products – from their classic planted.chicken to pulled “pork”, kebab, bratwurst and schnitzel – is now available on over 6000 retail shelves and over 5000 restaurants in seven European countries.

So how did they do it? Here at the Valley, we’ve always admired their ability to build and leverage the strength of their brand and establish key partnerships with retailers, foodservice partners and respected culinary figures to extend their reach. But that’s just our take. 

Here are Christoph’s personal reflections on what he’s learnt while scaling Planted to where it stands today over the past four years and surely beyond that in the near future:

Learning 1: Build a distinctive brand and focus on positive stakeholder relationships

One of the key learnings while scaling Planted was the importance of building a distinctive brand and cultivating positive relationships with all stakeholders involved, including consumers, clients, media, partners, and more. We recognized that it is much more impactful when others speak positively about the brand and its products than when the company or we as Executive Board do it ourselves.

This involved engaging with foodservice partners through authentic storytelling, transparent communication, and building trust. We actively listen to our customers, address their concerns, and incorporate their feedback into product improvements. By delivering a superior product and valuing and nurturing its relationships with consumers, Planted fostered brand loyalty and advocacy, leading to positive word-of-mouth recommendations and a growing customer base.

We focused on community building and earned media, fostering strong relationships with clients, media outlets, partners, and other stakeholders. By consistently exceeding expectations, Planted earned the trust and support of these key players in the industry. Positive testimonials from clients and media coverage helped to boost brand credibility and attract new opportunities for collaboration and growth. Building a love brand not only enhanced Planted’s reputation but also contributed to its success in scaling and expanding its market reach.

Learning 2: Attract the best talent for unique value creation 

Another crucial learning for Planted was the importance of attracting the best talent to build something truly unique. We recognized that exceptional talent is a critical driver of success and a key factor in achieving its ambitious goals.

To create a truly unique product and brand experience, Planted sought out hungry individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise. We focused on hiring professionals who shared the company’s vision and were passionate about creating sustainable, healthy, and tasty products that ultimately need to be better than meat in order to reach the mass market and have a true impact.  It was important that team members reasoned from first principles, rather than accepting the status quo. By assembling a team of top talent, Planted was able to leverage their collective knowledge and skills to drive innovation and differentiate themselves in the market.

We tapped into the Swiss ecosystem, known for its strong educational institutions and talent pool, to find the right individuals with the necessary expertise. The company attracted professionals in fields such as food process engineering, R&D, marketing, and finance, who brought their unique perspectives and contributed to Planted’s success. 

Learning 3: Invest in production footprint for quality and affordability

We recognized the importance of investing in our production footprint to achieve the desired quality at the right price. Rather than relying on external manufacturers or suppliers, we made the strategic decision to build our own production facilities.By having control over the entire production process, we can ensure consistent quality, efficient operations, and adherence to our strict ingredient standards. This allowed the company to deliver products that met consumer expectations and provide a superior taste experience. Building our own production facilities also provided Planted with the flexibility to scale production capacity according to market demand, minimising potential supply chain disruptions and enabling faster growth.

Our complete focus on product quality, short ingredients lists, and continuous investment in R&D and innovation contributed to the development of products that were repeatedly purchased by consumers. By prioritising taste, healthiness, and simplicity, we created a strong product foundation that resonated with consumers and contributed to their loyalty and repeat purchases. This emphasis on product excellence, supported by ongoing research and innovation, helped Planted establish a strong market presence and achieve sustainable growth in the alternative proteins industry.

Learning 4: Embrace multiple distribution channels for market reach

We quickly recognized the importance of reaching consumers wherever meat is consumed, not just limiting ourselves to retail. This led to the adoption of a multi-channel distribution strategy, targeting both the foodservice and retail/D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) sectors.

By offering our meats in foodservice establishments such as restaurants, cantines, cafes, and catering services, we tapped into a significant portion of the market that is traditionally meat-focused. Simultaneously, we recognized the potential of direct consumer engagement through retail and D2C channels. By expanding our product availability to retail shelves and implementing D2C strategies, such as online ordering and delivery services through our own European wide webshop, we ensured that our products were accessible to consumers at their convenience. This omni-channel approach allowed us to maximise market reach and capture a larger share of the alternative proteins industry. 

Interested in working in the Swiss food ecosystem?

House of Lab Science teams up with The Valley to boost the Swiss life sciences startup scene

House of Lab Science teams up with The Valley to boost the Swiss life sciences startup scene

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SFNV partner, The House of Lab Science has teamed up with The Valley in Kemptthal to create a new dedicated space that will provide biotech and foodtech innovators with access to serviced labs and a unique coworking space from March 2025.

The Greater Zurich Area already accommodates a Life Sciences cluster of startups and innovative companies with an impressive concentration of know-how and output. At the same time, innovation in life sciences is often primarily driven by startups which have spun off from universities. Once the freshly incorporated companies leave their labs and offices on campus, they often have to invest a signficant amount of time and money looking for an appropriate new home.

The House of Lab Science has now teamed up with the Valley in Kemptthal to solve this problem by providing outfitted and serviced bio and food labs in The Valley, tailor made for food and biotech startups. This means that startups can move in and start being productive on day one.

Developing the next generation of foodtech and biotech innovations

In a first wave, the owners of The Valley, Mettler2Invest and Motorworld, are investing in 1’500 sqm to equip the building with biological laboratories, infrastructure rooms, and coworking office spaces and will rent these two floors out to House of Lab Science which will find the right startups to move in and develop the next generation of foodtech and biotech innovations. Subject to a successful first phase, another 1’500 sqm – an additional two floors – will be provided in the same building, significantly boosting the life sciences startup scene in Switzerland.

“Our mission at the House of Lab Science is to take care of our tenants’ non-core activities, for instance, lab, facility, or ICT management by, for example, renting out lab managers whom House of Lab Science employs in its innovation parks. Like this, the members of our community can free their mind and focus only on the science, on developing innovations, and on successfully growing their company. However, since House of Lab Science is a startup itself, we rely on strong and like-minded partners. I am therefore delighted to have found such a partner with Mettler2Invest and Motorworld. With the real estate developer Mettler2Invest, we are already looking into other additional real estate projects in Winterthur and elsewhere that could be transformed into an innovation park operated by the House of Lab Science. The different House of Lab Science locations, including the pilot house in Hombrechtikon, will be closely connected through our proprietary House of Lab Science Community Platform which enables the booking of services and tenants to get in touch with each other, no matter where they are based. These activities would allow us to roll out a compelling concept across Switzerland and share it with companies and other stakeholders in different locations so that Swiss life sciences is fit for the future.” — Dr. Christian Hugo Hoffmann, Co-Founder an CEO at the House of Lab Science AG. 

The centre of a thriving ecosystem

The Valley in Kemptthal is particularly well suited as a location for the next House of Lab Science, as the new building will be at the centre of an existing and already thriving ecosystem that includes SFNV partners Givaudan, Bühler and planted. Easily accessible by all means of transport, the Kemptthal Valley is located in the heart of the Greater Zurich Area between the cities of Zurich and Winterthur. The listed industrial buildings are being extensively renovated to create an inspiring and unique microcosm. Together with additional new buildings, which will be architecturally integrated into the existing historic buildings, approximately 100,000 m2 of space will be created to be used by a wide range of industries. 

The project owners and developers are keen to build on the industrial history of the former Maggi site in a way that reflects the requirements of 21st century companies and startups.

“In keeping with Julius Maggi’s pioneering spirit, a new and modern working environment is being created behind the historic buildings. In a colourful mix of diverse industries, the legacy of the area’s founder is being carried into the future with an increasingly large and significant food industry research and development cluster. House of Lab Science, with its dedicated foodtech laboratory landscape, fits perfectly into this environment and we are very much looking forward to working with them!” — Mick Gehrig, Site Manager Metter2Invest.

About House of Lab Science

House of Lab Science aims to be the ultimate destination for serviced laboratory space in Switzerland. They believe that laboratory space should be ready-to-move-in, affordable, certified, fitted, and well-equipped, making it easy for organisations to focus on what matters and advance their business. To find out more visit their website.

About The Valley 

The Valley Kemptthal is an inspiring microcosm in the Greater Zurich Area where historic industrial buildings meet innovative new buildings to create a unique space for diverse industries. You can find out more here.

Never miss a Swiss food innovation morsel.

Four Swiss research & innovation leaders team up to shape the future of vertical farming

Four Swiss research & innovation leaders team up to shape the future of vertical farming

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Many experts recognise the potential of vertical farming in enabling sustainable, local food production. But what more can be done to further reduce costs and boost product quality and affordability? A joint Innosuisse research project between Valley partners YASAI AG, Agroscope, fenaco, and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) is working on answering this question.

The challenge

Climate change, population growth, and loss of arable land threaten the resilience of global and local food systems. Recent events – from the COVID pandemic to the war in Ukraine – have further exacerbated pressures on agricultural value chains, leading to a global rise in food prices.

The opportunity

Swiss start-up YASAI is on a mission to tackle these challenges and democratize access to local, high-quality food, produced sustainably thanks to its soilless, vertical farming system.

Back in 2021, the YASAI team realized that if vertical farms are to become a key part of the smart cities of the future, we need to invest in optimizing the sustainability, quantity, quality, and profitability of operations today. They saw that much of the knowledge we need to do this is readily available, but it’s spread across several companies and stakeholders. So they teamed up with experts at fenaco, Agroscope, and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences to kick off a 3-year partnership project, supported by an investment of close to 1M Swiss Francs sourced from industrial partners and Innosuisse.

The solution

Project partners identified four fields of research that would help to explore vertical farming’s potential to secure local food production in the future:

  1. Sustainability
    The Ecotechnologies and Energy Systems Research Unit at ZHAW is focused on reducing YASAI’s environmental footprint by investigating substrate quality and exploring the selection of light and fertilizer profiles. The ZHAW team led by Dr. Zala Schmautz will then assess the impact of these measures using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. 

  1. Quality
    Agroscope, the Swiss Institute for Agricultural Research, will zone in on improvements relating to yield and quality. Agroscope experts Gil Carron and Dr. Christoph Carlen will lead a comparative study of different crop cultivation systems.
  1. Packaging solutions
    ZHAW’s Food Packaging Research Group at the Institute of Food and Beverage Innovation will explore sustainable and innovative packaging technologies. Prof. Dr. Selçuk Yildirim’s team will focus on selecting sustainable packaging materials and identifying processes and designs that have a lower environmental impact, without compromising the quality of the products.
  1. Profitability
    Working closely with fenaco and ZHAW’s Institute of Natural Resource Sciences, YASAI will also work on improving farm profitability to strengthen the business opportunity for farmers.
The results

In the first year of the project, partners tested different growing substrates that would reduce the farm wastes, different varieties of selected herbs to find the most optimal varieties for indoor cultivation, as well as different packaging options that would make packaging more sustainable and at the same time, attractive for the customer. In this context, packaging made of leftover basil plants had been designed and might be a potential solution further down the development process.

The project will now run until March 2025. The YASAI team will use the findings to inform how they develop their operations.

A few words from the partners

Commenting on the collaboration, Eldrid Funck, Head of Brand and Marketing from YASAI said: “This project enables us to improve on various levels. It’s a great opportunity to collaborate with professional research institutes and integrate their findings perpetually. As a startup, we don’t have the resources to do research on this scale.”

Dr. Christoph Carlen from Agroscope added: “Optimising this production system is very important on the road to profitability and sustainability. This involves finding the most suitable plants and varieties for vertical farming, determining the optimal management of the plants, and robotizing harvesting and packaging as much as possible”.

Daniel Schwab, Project Leader for vertical farming at fenaco went on to say: “The key to profitability lies in scalability and automatization of the processes. We currently produce relatively small volumes and selected products but aim at increasing these step by step”.

Dr. Zala Schmautz, Project Leader said: “With all the current problems that we are facing from climate change to resource availability, local food production independent of outside climate will be even more important in the future. And if at the same time, we can save on space by growing it vertically, reuse the resources such as heat, and make it more sustainable even better!”

Never miss a Swiss food innovation morsel.

Talent leader Switzerland welcomes food innovators with a new job platform

Talent leader Switzerland welcomes food innovators with a new job platform

A young person looking for food innovation jobs on the Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley job platform on their laptop.

Discover high-impact career opportunities in food innovation from leading Swiss employers. The Valley’s new platform simplifies job searches for newly qualified talent and career changers, connecting them with a wide range of leading Swiss employers, from innovative startups to global multinationals.

The platform will entice talented professionals to Switzerland, number one in the IMD World Talent Rankings, by bringing together a range of high impact roles in one place. Opportunities vary from leadership to internships and come mainly from the Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley’s partners, including ETH Zürich, Sight and Life, Planted, Ecorobotix, Insolight and farmer connect.

And with a European Commission report earlier this year showing that 30% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are linked to our food system, the platform makes it easier for food innovation organisations and professionals to tackle these challenges together. 

SFNV’s President Martin Vetterli, said: “Attracting and retaining people passionate about shaping a sustainable food system is vital. The Valley’s job platform makes it easier to connect talented people with Switzerland’s most innovative employers to address some of the world’s longstanding food system challenges.”

Christina Senn-Jakobsen, the Valley’s Managing Director, added: “Switzerland is a leading food nation. Our new job platform highlights the wealth and diversity of opportunities available and will make it easy for food system changemakers to find their next career move.” 

Finding the right talent

While the platform simplifies the job search for food innovators, it also helps employers find the right talent to drive innovation in the sector. Prospective employers can buy one of two packages to promote their roles, with Valley members benefiting from 50 free adverts. 

Flavia Huwyler, Employer Branding Specialist from Planted, a Zurich-based FoodTech scaleup producing juicy plant-based meat with only natural ingredients said: “It’s so important for startups and scaleups to find the right hires – talented people who are passionate about what we stand for and what we want to achieve in a short amount of time. The Valley’s platform connects us with a targeted audience of skilled professionals.” 

Aurélien Demaurex from Ecorobotix, a Vaud-based scaleup producing innovative, energy-saving farming machines that recently secured 52 million USD, added: “We’re currently recruiting for a number of roles. By featuring jobs on the Valley platform, we don’t only reach more people, we can reach the right people.” 

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