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HES-SO’s Sergio Schmid on projects, partnerships and pilot plants
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...
AgriFood innovation in Fribourg: an ecosystem approach
In 2022, Valley partner Canton of Fribourg launched a new agri-food strategy. Just months later, their team, supported by fellow Valley partner Cluster Food & Nutrition, has worked alongside countless local partners to transform the words on the page into a series...
YASAI AG achieves coveted B Corp Certification and is ready for expansion
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...
Meet 3 Swiss researchers shaping the future of food
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...
Christoph Jenny: 4 things I learnt while scaling Planted
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...
House of Lab Science teams up with The Valley to boost the Swiss life sciences startup scene
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...
Four Swiss research & innovation leaders team up to shape the future of vertical farming
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...
Talent leader Switzerland welcomes food innovators with a new job platform
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...
Christina Senn-Jakobsen: An ecosystem-led approach to food system transformation
Christina Senn-Jakobsen, the Valley’s Managing Director, offers up some food for thought on how a collective, ecosystem-led approach can accelerate food system transformation. A few weeks ago, I was staring at a blank page. While preparing to attend a panel on “Making...
Givaudan expands Protein Hub at Zurich Innovation Center with new capabilities for dairy alternatives
In the latest addition to its global innovation ecosystem, Givaudan has expanded the Protein Hub at its flagship Zurich Innovation Centre in Kemptthal, Switzerland to support the growth of dairy alternatives. The expanded Hub offers specialised...
“Fast decisions, culture and partnerships”: Charlotte Ducrot from Innovaud on successful scaling in Switzerland
In this second article in our series on scaling in Switzerland, we met with Charlotte Ducrot, Innovaud’s Key Account Manager for Scale-ups & Growth, to better understand how the innovation ecosystems can address the unique challenges that scaleups face. Charlotte...
farmer connect® joins forces with Scantrust to drive product traceability and prevent counterfeit coffee
For our latest Co-create & Innovate case study, we chatted to Valley partners farmer connect® and Scantrust to find out how they combined their respective expertise in global supply chains and product traceability, to create an app that can trace the provenance of...
Yumame Foods teams up with Agilery to accelerate the scale-up of its fungi-based products
With a unique, fermentation-based approach to plant-based food, Yumame Foods needed a partner to help expand production. Its collaboration with Agilery has since brought Yumame’s minimally processed, fungi-based products to a first-level scale while maintaining the...
Insolight announces its first agrivoltaic installation at scale
Swiss scale-up Insolight is on a mission to bring the next generation of solar modules to market to enable farmers to protect their crops while producing solar energy and help build resilience against climate change. Their dynamic Agrivoltaic solution has now been...
EPFL’s Prof. Jeremy Luterbacher on turning plants into plastic
Prof. Jeremy Luterbacher from EPFL’s Laboratory of Sustainable and Catalytic Processing has developed a way to turn plant by-products into materials that could serve as an alternative to some types of plastic. Researchers at EPFL found that some types of sugar are...
Nestlé and EPFL collaborate on biobased food packaging with Project BIOPACK
In our first Co-create & Innovate case study, we find out more about Project BIOPACK – a collaborative partnership between EPFL’s Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites, Algaltek, an EPFL spin-off and Nestlé Research. The challenge Rethinking the way...
Some trends to keep an eye out for in GDI’s forthcoming European Food Trends Report
GDI’s next European Food Trends report will be launched at their International Food Innovation Conference on June 21. This year’s report is a hopeful one. It’s centered around the premise that a healthy and sustainable global food system is a real possibility – and...
Meet the woman tackling a neglected environmental challenge by transforming urine into fertiliser
When Nadège de Chambrier decided to study environmental engineering she didn’t think she’d end up talking about urine all day long. Her startup has created a unique solution that relates to two resources that are critical to effective food systems: water and...
Fribourg’s agri-food strategy proves to be an effective catalyst
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....
How Givaudan’s Sense It® taste language translates science into emotions
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...
Ecorobotix raises $52M to accelerate the worldwide growth of its AI-powered smart sprayer system
Swiss AgTech company and Valley partner Ecorobotix will accelerate the growth of its AI powered plant-by-plant recognition and ultra-high precision smart sprayer system after completing its largest capital raise to date. Ecorobotix, the Swiss manufacturer of ARA, an...
Nestlé inaugurates new research institute aimed at supporting sustainable food systems
Nestlé has officially inaugurated the Institute of Agricultural Sciences to help advance sustainable food systems by delivering science-based solutions in agriculture. Speaking at the inauguration, Paul Bulcke, Nestlé Chairman, said: "We have nurtured direct...
Swiss plant-based startup Yumame Foods closes pre-seed funding round
Yumame Foods AG, a Swiss startup that develops and produces vegan products, has announced the closure of its first funding round, raised in participation with industry partners. The funding will allow the plant-based startup to scale up the production of their...
Swiss AgTech Startup Agrinorm Secures 7-Digit Funding
Agrinorm, a Zurich-based AgTech startup, has secured significant financing to further develop their AI-powered software for quality risks management in the fresh produce value chains. The funding round was led by QBIT Capital and supported by renowned SICTIC investors...
ALDI SUISSE’s Jérôme Meyer on partnerships, packaging and plant-based products
Jérôme Meyer is the Country Managing Director of ALDI SUISSE AG, which became the first Swiss retailer to join the Valley last year. We sat down with the self-proclaimed ALDI-Kind to talk about ecosystem partnerships and projects, tackling packaging waste and growing...
Valley After Hours at Nestlé’s R+D Accelerator brings SFNV partners together to connect and collaborate
Last week, we held our second Valley After Hours event at The Accelerator, powered by Nestlé Research & Development. The energising session provided the perfect opportunity for Valley partners to network, connect and explore synergies. This edition invited...
Alwin Kopse shares how the Federal Office for Agriculture is driving food system transformation
Alwin Kopse is Head of the International Affairs and Food Systems Unit at the Federal Office for Agriculture - and also happens to be a big believer in the power of multi-stakeholder collaboration. We sat down with Alwin to talk about why Switzerland is already seen...
A woman’s place is in the (Swiss) food innovation ecosystem
A woman’s place is in the kitchen? Today, it’s most definitely in the food innovation ecosystem! But if you’ve just recently qualified or you’re considering a career change, it can be hard to know how to get started. So for International Women’s Day, we've...
PowerAPI announces appointment of Coca Cola HBC executive Maté Varga as Chief Strategy Officer
Swiss based commerce infrastructure platform PowerAPI has announced the appointment of Mate Carga as its new Chief Strategy Officer. In his previous role, Maté served as Digital & Technology Platform Director, and has a noteworthy career of 20 years across...
Meet the two sisters who turned to entrepreneurship to tackle our food system challenges
Growing up, sisters Nadia and Sophie Hanessian didn’t know they would end up founding and jointly running a smart food startup. But they did already share a common outlook on the world – one based on sustainability, social justice and a commitment to tackling key...
Swiss startup Mirai Foods produces first cultivated tender steak
In a significant breakthrough for cultivated premium beef steaks, Swiss startup Mirai Foods has announced a technological leap forward in its cultivation of thick tender steaks. The Zurich-based company has developed what it calls “Fibration Technology” that allows...
Two new partnerships expand CleanGreens’ presence in the European and Middle Eastern markets
Founded in 2013, CleanGreens spent its first six years designing, developing and polishing its aeroponic growing system at the company’s headquarters in Molondin, Canton de Vaud, Switzerland. 2019 saw the installation of their first commercial system in France - and...
5 questions for Professor Véronique Michaud
Prof. Véronique Michaud heads up the Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC) and is the Associate Dean of Engineering for Education at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. The team has recently been exploring use of novel...
Two industry leaders join YASAI’s Board as the team prepares to scale
Valley partner YASAI, a Swiss vertical farming start-up, has welcomed two industry leaders to its Board of Directors - Lorenz Wyss, CEO of the Bell Food Group, and Theo Stolze, former shareholder of the Stolze Group. The company now plans to draw on Mr. Wyss’s retail...
Insolight secures CHF 4.85 million to accelerate their commercial roll-out.
Two new investors will join Insolight on their journey to scale up the deployment of insolagrin, their innovative agrivoltaic solution. The team will now set-up large-scale installations in Switzerland and France before expanding internationally and increasing the...
ADM receives Business Sustainability Award for work to expand regenerative agriculture
ADM has won the Environmental Initiatives category of the 2022 SEAL Business Sustainability Awards for expanding its regenerative agriculture programs. Granted by a judging panel of renowned environmental and energy industry experts, the award recognizes programs or...
Stefan Palzer on working together to find viable solutions for sustainable and affordable nutrition
Stefan Palzer, Nestlé’s CTO, Head of Innovation, Technology and R&D, & Executive Vice President and the Valley’s Steering Committee Vice President is passionate about science, technology, and the role that innovation plays in making diets tastier, more...
Planted invests in scaling the Swiss alt protein supply chain following key Federal Council decision
Swiss FoodTech startup Planted, known for its clean-label meat made from alternative proteins, is rounding out 2022 with a landmark shift in the way it acquires its raw materials: the company is now procuring its protein-rich yellow peas from within Switzerland. This...
The Beelong Eco-score lands in Coop
Lausanne company Beelong has made it easier than ever for shoppers to make informed and environmentally sound decisions about the foods they buy. Their system, run by 15 staff members, has already analysed more than 150,000 food products and categorised them based on...
New meat alternative made from brewer’s grains will be produced in Switzerland
Circular Food Solutions Switzerland AG and the Doppelleu Boxer AG brewery will turn a brewing industry byproduct into next generation meat alternatives using Swiss raw materials. With a total investment of over five million Swiss francs, the Chopfab brewery site is...
How Haelixa is using DNA markers to power transparency across the food supply chain
The seeds of sustainability startup Haelixa were first sown when its co-founders Gediminas Mikutas and Michela Puddu, connected over their shared passion for making the value chain more open and accountable. From fabrics to food, Haelixa is committed to ensuring...
PowerAPI raises $5.5 million in seed funding round
Valley Partner PowerAPI, a tech-enabled hospitality startup, has raised $5.5 million (CHF 5.25 million) in a seed round led by Prediction Capital. The team is now building its most sought-after feature, ‘Intelligence’, which will push smart notifications &...
Mirai Foods collaborates with Rügenwalder Mühle to develop a hybrid product
Mirai Foods, the Swiss cultivated meat startup from Zurich, has partnered with Rügenwalder Mühle, the sustainability pioneer and meat alternatives market leader in Germany, to develop a hybrid product. Rügenwalder Mühle plans to build on their positioning as an...
Fruitful closes pre-seed round to develop software that helps vertical farms speak plant
Valley member Fruitful Farming AG, a Swiss startup developing optimization software for greenhouses and vertical farms, has secured CHF 500,000 in its pre-seed round. The team now plans to accelerate the development and distribution of its AI-based decision-making...
Givaudan teams up with Berkeley to publish new research on the future of alternative proteins
Givaudan has launched its latest white paper entitled ‘The Protein Horizon: the landscape of alternative protein technologies enabling future food experiences,’ its fourth collaboration with the University of Berkeley, California. This paper provides cutting-edge...
EHL President Carole Ackermann joins the SFNV Steering Committee
As President of the EHL Foundation and Holding and CEO & Co-Founder Diamondscull - a company that invests in tech startups - Carole will bring unique insight into the fields of innovation, investment and academia. We recently took the opportunity to sit down with...
Food waste in Switzerland: 5 questions for Claudio Beretta
Today, around one third of all food produced for human consumption is thrown away. That's about 2.8 million tons per year for the whole of Switzerland, and contributes to emissions and climate change. Claudio Beretta, scientific assistant for sustainability and food...
Why an ETHZ researcher founded a startup to tackle waste in the olive oil industry
Claudio Reinhard set out to write his Master’s Thesis on soil regeneration in Tunisia. But after discovering a huge untapped opportunity in the olive oil industry, Claudio has transformed his findings into an award-winning collaborative research project and founded a...
How this end-to-end innovation platform is helping to close the data gap on nutrition status in children and adolescents in Switzerland.
With Serge Rezzi at the helm, the former Swiss Vitamin Institute has transformed into the Swiss Nutrition and Health foundation - a foundation of public utility owning an end-to-end innovation platform in the field of nutrients and health. We sat down with Serge to...
Switzerland’s got talent: Meet Prof. Ardemis Boghossian from EPFL’s Nanobiotechnology lab
Nanobiotechnology and food science - what's the connection? Prof. Ardemis Boghossian and her team at EPFL have brought these two fields together to develop intelligent packaging technologies that tackle food waste while keeping consumers safe.How does your work shape...