Collaboration is crucial to allow food system innovation to flourish in Switzerland and beyond, according to Marie-France Tschudin, who was elected as Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley’s new Steering Committee Chair in May this year. Marie-France, former President of Innovative Medicines International and Chief Commercial Officer of Novartis, has 30 years of multinational experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and is passionate about shaping a more sustainable future through food. We recently caught up with her to discuss her vision for the Valley and her views on Switzerland’s role in shaping a future-proof food system.

Marie-France, once again: welcome to the Valley! Could you tell us a bit about what motivated you to join us on our journey? 

Having spent 30 years in healthcare, I firmly believe that food and good nutrition can help us prevent the onset of chronic diseases. But our food system is in constant flux. Despite growing innovation and knowledge about what we can do to keep ourselves and the planet healthy, our food system ecosystem is fragmented which can make achieving meaningful change more complex. 

I’m impressed by how Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley unites stakeholders from across the food ecosystem to work together. Thanks to its dedicated team and network of partners, the Valley encourages and nurtures change and innovation in Switzerland. Through collaborative action, we accelerate our progress towards a more sustainable food system — and then support others in doing the same.

What is your vision for the future of Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley?

The complex challenges related to our current food system include malnutrition, food waste, threats to farmers’ livelihoods, and environmental concerns such as soil degradation, to name just a few.  And we will likely face additional challenges in the future. 

I believe that we already have the technology, the knowledge and solutions to address many of these issues. Our biggest challenge is making sure we can implement them at scale. To do this, we need to take a systems approach, whereby all parties in the food system have a role to play to serve a collective, greater common purpose or objective.

By fostering a network where innovation is supported and concrete solutions can become scalable, Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley can help strengthen Switzerland’s position as a food innovation nation. 

What do you mean by “food innovation nation”?

As one of the most competitive countries in the world, Switzerland offers the right conditions and environment for innovation, including in the food industry. We need to continue to nurture that environment so that “Made in Switzerland” science, technology and state-of-the-art innovation targeting a better food system can flourish and be leveraged across the globe. 

How do you plan to strengthen the Valley’s impact?

I believe that effective collaboration within the ecosystem is vital to driving change and achieving measurable results. I’ll be actively engaging with our partners to learn and understand their most pressing issues and to create and support opportunities for collaboration. I’ll also be supporting the Valley’s team to create the right forums to showcase our partners’ impact and innovations. 

What does sustainable food mean to you personally?

Food is always at the heart of our lives. It influences how we feel, who we interact with and how we interact with them. Through food, we can share our diversity, create memories, and celebrate and care for each other and our world.

To me, sustainable food is nutritious and supports local economies as well as the wellbeing of the planet. Sustainable food will look different depending on where you are in the world, but essentially, it is about fostering a healthy, varied diet while minimising waste. 

Is there a message you’d like to share with the Valley community?  

Change is always challenging but necessary if we want a more robust, future-proof food system. Of course, change isn’t going to happen overnight. But our long term commitments to creating this future are something we can feel proud of every day, with every step we take.

Never miss a Swiss food innovation morsel.

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Valley Partner Planted, the Swiss FoodTech pioneer for plant-based meat made exclusively from clean ingredients, is further investing in capacity expansion with the addition of a new production facility in southern Germany. Based on fermentation technology, the site will become the most modern production facility for plant-based meat in Europe. Green technology plays a central role in the construction of the new plant.

The demand for environmentally friendly food has increased rapidly, and the recently launched steak has been particularly appealing to European consumers and restaurateurs. Planted is therefore continuing to ramp up its capacities. Planted is convinced that biostructured proteins will surpass animal meat in the future, in terms of flavour, sustainability, health, productivity and price.

Research and production has been carried out at the main site in Kemptthal, Switzerland, since 2020. The German market now accounts for the largest share of the 75% of exports. With the aim of producing as close and locally to consumers as possible, Planted has now decided to open another production site in Memmingen, Bavaria, Germany. An old brewery site is being revitalized to create the most modern European production facility for plant-based meat. At the Memmingen site, Planted will create more than 50 technical and operational jobs and produce more than 20 tons of plant-based meat per day in the medium term.

The headquarters in Kemptthal will continue to maintain its production and importance, particularly for the Swiss market.

Better proteins: Planted’s whole-muscle platform

In April this year, Planted presented its latest culinary innovation: the planted.steak. A new type of fermented plant-based steak that is available in numerous European restaurant establishments as well as in various retailers across Switzerland and Germany. The planted.steak is the first product of Planted’s ‘Whole Muscle’ platform, a ground-breaking innovation platform for premium cuts of meat, where the muscle grows through proprietary fermentation processes. In spring 2024, the strategic expansion of the production capacity in Kemptthal began with a state-of-the-art fermentation plant. This expansion will now be continued at the new production site in Memmingen.

‘Our international expansion follows the strategic decision to bolster our biotechnological expertise and locations abroad, closer to our consumers. Our goal is to quickly bring innovative products from our fermentation platform to the market. In particular the planted.steak, which currently uses our most advanced and disruptive fermentation technology in terms of scalability, flavour and product quality,’ explains Lukas Böni, co-founder and member of the Executive Board at Planted. ‘The investment in the additional production site enables us to meet the rapidly growing market demand and produce even closer to our German consumers,’ continues Lukas Böni.

Green Technology: Leading the way in sustainable food production

‘We are proud to be one of the few innovators of plant-based meat who covers as many steps as possible in the value chain – from research and development to industrial production,’ explains Lukas Böni. ‘This depth of value creation allows us to develop our vision of ‘better proteins’ even more strongly and will be implemented at the new plant in Memmingen, for example, when it comes to green technology and sustainable production,’ continues Böni.

Green technology plays a central role in the construction of the new plant. The site will be operating almost completely CO2 neutral and will be entirely free of fossil fuels – instead, a well cooling system, district heating from wood burning and photovoltaics will be used. This ensures that all the energy used to manufacture Planted meats at the new plant come from renewable sources. Planted is therefore a pioneer and shows what the energy transition in food production can look like.

Planted is implementing the project in Memmingen together with the local Alois Müller Group, who specialises in sustainable energy and the strategic development of decentralised infrastructures supplied with sustainable energy. Andreas Müller, Managing Director of the Alois Müller Group, is enthusiastic: ‘We are very pleased to be working with Planted, particularly in the areas of sustainability on site and regarding our expertise in the technical implementation of sustainable solutions in building technology. For example, the plant is supplied with photovoltaic power, a well cooling system and regionally generated district heating in an almost CO2-neutral way.

Up to 97% less CO2 emissions

Planted products are not only a culinary innovation, but also a scalable and sustainable solution to the environmental challenges associated with industrial meat production – with the planted.steak particularly amongst those associated with beef production. Compared to its animal counterpart, the production of a planted.steak produces 97% less CO2 emissions and 81% less water consumption per kilogram.

In Memmingen, around 5000 tons of plant-based meat will be produced annually. This will lead to high CO2 savings compared to animal meat – savings that correspond to the annual CO2 emissions of around half the residents of the city of Memmingen.

Never miss a Swiss food innovation morsel.

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Swiss technology group Bühler is pleased to announce the acquisition of Esau & Hueber, a German company specializing in individual solutions in hygienic process and fermentation technology in the beverage, food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology sectors. The acquisition enhances Bühler’s malting, brewery, and sustainable protein businesses, expanding the company’s expertise and capacity in these areas while multiplying the reach of Esau & Hueber’s technology across Bühler’s global network.

“This acquisition aligns perfectly with our long-term strategic objectives,” said Johannes Wick, CEO of Grains & Food business at Bühler. “By leveraging Esau & Hueber’s strengths in brewery and sustainable protein areas, we can provide superior solutions to our customers in these sectors.” This strategic acquisition is set to fill technological gaps and strengthen Bühler’s position as an industry innovator.

Esau & Hueber is an independently managed manufacturer with 42 employees and supports its clients in all project phases. It designs and builds high-tech facilities and develops advanced processing technology. Esau & Hueber holds strong expertise in yeast and fermentation management, as well as automation. Esau & Hueber will continue to operate from its home in Schrobenhausen.

Bühler Group is a global leading technology company in the fields of food, feed, and mobility. Among its areas of expertise, it provides customers worldwide with cutting-edge solutions in malting and brewing. Its technology covers the entire process, from raw material processing to producing the finest malt and beer. Additionally, Bühler’s technology can monitor product quality with advanced sensors and automate the production process with digital services.

“We are delighted to welcome Esau & Hueber to Bühler. The acquisition presents a unique opportunity to integrate Esau & Hueber capabilities and better meet the evolving needs of our global customers,” said Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler. “We see many opportunities to multiply their technology with the global reach of our business.”

Johannes Schulz-Hess, shareholder of Esau & Hueber, stated: “I am thrilled for the Esau & Hueber team. The recent successful developments within the company and its capabilities are now opening up entirely new dimensions and opportunities through the association with Bühler. This step will also greatly benefit our customers and create new market potential.”

The integration of Esau & Hueber will commence immediately, with specialized teams from both companies working closely to ensure a seamless integration process.

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. To find out more visit their website.

Never miss a Swiss food innovation morsel.

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