FoodTechScout’s Manuel Lanz: Attracting the right talent

From talent and testing to features and facilities – how the Swiss ecosystem helps startups grow

Building a successful startup takes more than a great idea. SFNV’s recent dialogue series invited Valley partner featured in the SFNV Navigator to explore three challenges that can make or break an innovation journey. Click on the links below to find out what they’ve learnt while working with food innovators, the trends shaping their fields, and how startups can access support through the Valley ecosystem. 

Talent as a growth strategy

Manuel Lanz, Managing Director, FoodTechScout

When people talk about startup success, they often focus on funding or technology. Why do you believe talent deserves a place in that conversation?

Manuel Lanz: Funding and technology are important, but ultimately it is people who bring ideas to life. Talent plays a decisive role in how quickly a company can grow and whether products can be brought to market successfully. Especially in the food and nutrition sector, companies need teams that combine technical expertise, market understanding and execution strength. That is why forward-looking recruitment planning, a strong understanding of the talent market and access to the right profiles at the right time are essential. 

How are hiring needs evolving across the food and nutrition sector, and what skills or profiles are becoming increasingly important?

Manuel Lanz: Hiring needs in the food and nutrition sector are becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. Companies are looking for people who can connect science, technology, sustainability and business. At the same time, flexibility is becoming more important: talent is increasingly brought in on a project basis or for specific growth and innovation phases.

Beyond technical expertise, soft skills are now central. Companies need people who take ownership, communicate clearly, learn quickly and can work effectively in dynamic, cross-functional teams. What matters most is the fit between skills, personality, company culture and the current growth stage.

What support does FoodTechScout offer innovators, and how can startups ensure they attract the right people at the right stage of growth?

Manuel Lanz: FoodTechScout supports food companies in finding the talent they need to grow. With our market knowledge in the food and nutrition sector, we help companies identify the right profiles, better understand the talent market and plan recruitment more strategically. Depending on their needs, we can also take over parts of the recruitment process and provide operational support.

Through our collaboration with Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley, partners also benefit from complimentary 30-minute recruitment consultations, free events on building high-performing teams and the opportunity to post roles free of charge on the FoodTechScout job board.

If you could change one thing about how the food industry approaches talent development and recruitment, what would it be?

Manuel Lanz: I would like to see the diversity and attractiveness of the food industry become visible to talent much earlier. Many exciting companies, roles and career paths are still not well known today. Yet the food industry is a particularly attractive sector — especially in view of the transformation of the food system and its interfaces with health and longevity.

This is exactly why we developed the FoodTech Map: it makes visible which companies are active in the sector and how diverse the ecosystem is.

Building your team?

FoodTechScout’s recruitment resources and hiring support is available to Valley partners through the SFNV Navigator

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