We recently welcomed HES-SO – the largest specialized university in Switzerland – into the Valley community. So we thought it was time to sit down with Sergio Schmid, Head of the Institute of Life Technologies at HES-SO Valais, to chat about their contribution to the food ecosystem and explore how other Valley partners can connect into their work.

Can you tell us a bit more about the School of Engineering and the Institute of Life Technologies at HES-SO?

Certainly. HES-SO’s School of Engineering is a vibrant and welcoming community of students, professors and researchers. Every year, about 470 students follow our Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes. We also work with many PhD students in collaboration with partner universities in Switzerland and around the world.

Which topics do you and colleagues focus on? 

Food and sustainability are key topics for us. Our Sustainable Food Systems research group, for example, covers the production and development of food products. They take an interdisciplinary approach, exploring consumer needs, expectations and preferences and considering how food systems need to change to mitigate climate change. 

The topics we tackle can vary greatly. Our teams have recently focused on developing new processing approaches that help plant-based proteins reach price parity with animal-based proteins. Other colleagues have been exploring the potential of new bioplastics and how waste can be valorised through food technology and biotechnology. 

How do you collaborate with partners and companies?

We actually develop around 200 projects a year, and most of these are joint projects with industry partners. We pride ourselves on finding ways to transform cutting-edge science and technology into solutions that can directly benefit the partners we work alongside. 

We’re also fortunate to have a pilot plant. This means that we can initially carry out research on a pilot scale that can then be easily implemented on an industrial scale. This is often particularly valuable to smaller partners who aren’t yet able to invest in their own facilities and equipment.  

We like to actively anticipate what support industry partners might need and work alongside them to develop new processes that enable them to innovate. But we also encourage companies to reach out to us about their specific challenges and would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with innovators who might be looking for a research partner. 

How does HES-SO contribute to developing the food innovation ecosystem? 

As a University of Applied Sciences, we ensure that the knowledge gained through our extensive research collaborations flows back into our courses. This means that our students are aware of the latest trends and how companies are responding to them – and are prepared to tackle real-life challenges in their careers after graduation.

At the same time, we encourage all our students to apply their knowledge and learn by doing throughout their studies. We see this as one of our key contributions to shaping the innovation ecosystem: we grow the talent that will shape the future of food. 
 

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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, Co–CEO 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 Pre–Series A funding of CHF 10 million. With the upcoming Series A funding, YASAI plans to construct a large–scale 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

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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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.

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Three Fribourg State Councillors recently presented the early results of the Canton’s economic development strategy for the agri-food sector. Over the last year, an interdisciplinary team has developed a project for each of the Strategy’s three flagship programmes. The results now are set to pave the way for new, sustainable economic activities in this booming sector.

Three flagship projects

Over the last year, Valley partner Cluster Food & Nutrition has been working to deliver Fribourg’s new strategy for the development of its agri-food sector, powered by a CHF 1 million budget. Throughout 2022, three interdisciplinary teams worked in close collaboration with leading local and regional companies to develop a project relating to each of the strategy’s three priority areas:

Project 1: Optimized nitrogen fertilization 
This project focused on optimizing fertilizer quantities by using data analysis to increase yields and reduce environmental impact. Several methods were tested and by using drones equipped with multispectral cameras, the project was able to gather a large amount of data that confirms that these methods were more efficient than traditional approaches.

Project 2: Proteins and additives for a circular economy
This project aimed to develop circular and sustainable models by finding new ways to use local by-products, in particular whey. Project partners developed a technique that enables the production of high value-added, nutritionally beneficial ingredients.

Project 3: Food & Farm Living Lab 
This project was designed to actively enable consumers and citizens to drive a more efficient and sustainable food system. Over 500 individuals took part in seven consumer tests conducted throughout 2022 in collaboration with regional companies. This led to the development of targeted methodological tools to rapidly test new products, concepts, or business models. 

Linking practical knowledge with scientific expertise

Commenting on the projects, the President of the Cantonal Government and Minister of Institutions, Agriculture and Forestry, Mr. Didier Castella, stated: “The development of the Grangeneuve-Posieux campus and the AgriCo site in St-Aubin make it possible for Fribourg to support the entire Swiss agri-food sector both in the area of production, as well as in research and training.”

Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs, Ms. Sylvie Bonvin-Sansonnens added: “This strategy provides a real opportunity to link practical knowledge with the expertise of scientific research in order to create a more sustainable and efficient agri-food sector in the future,” while the Minister of Economic Affairs and Vocational Training, Mr. Olivier Curty, remarked that the initial results “are very encouraging and show that thanks to the investments made in recent years, the Canton of Fribourg now has both the tools and the skills needed to become the Swiss leader in this sector.”  

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With over 400 descriptors and digitalisation plans, the sensory language is building as ever-clearer window into the consumer mind.

Sense It®, a proprietary taste language created by Givaudan, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. First developed in 1993, it has become a universal and standardised language used around the world for food experience characterisation, differentiation, and product innovation.

Sense It® has grown enormously since its inception, with Givaudan regularly adding new descriptors to the language. What began as a local tool for flavour characterisation has been transformed into a robust universal language with descriptors for flavour, taste and mouthfeel.  As the language has grown, so has its ability to describe up-and-coming categories, such as plant-based meat. For example, the introduction of a mouthfeel language for solid applications was recently rolled out, enabling manufacturers to better understand how to modulate dry, astringent and juiciness characteristics in plant-based products. 

Fabio Campanile, Valley Executive Committee member and Global Head of Science & Technology Taste & Wellbeing, explains, “Consumers know if they like or do not like a product, but have difficulty explaining why. Sense It® helps bridge the gap between what consumers perceive and what they are able to express. Over the years the language has been expanded into new, important categories and so it continues to be very valuable in helping guide our customers with their product creation.”

A strength of the Sense It® language is that it allows usage in virtual environments, when alternatives to in-person consumer testing are needed. Trained panels at Givaudan were able to use Sense It® along with their proprietary holistic profiling method to provide customers with highly accurate information on consumer perception without going to consumers. 

Looking to the future, digitisation will play a key role in simplifying the language’s increasing complexity and creating a seamless experience for users. Fabio remarked, “We’re creating a new set of digital tools that will help the user put their sensory perception of a product, such as a plant-based burger, into descriptive words that convey the full experience, including mouthfeel, colour and taste.”

While Sense It® will greatly benefit from this digitisation, it’s also playing a pivotal role in helping AI tools and digital tools become more effective. By translating consumer perception into language, Sense It® provides a rich vocabulary with which we can digitally communicate about the senses, supporting and enabling our next generation of language-based AI applications.

 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 2022, Givaudan employed almost 16,700 people worldwide and achieved CHF 7.1 billion in sales with a free cash flow of 6.7%. 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 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 Givaudan is shaping the future of food at www.givaudan.com/taste-wellbeing

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