Enabling Game-Changing Innovation & Next-Generation Entrepreneurs in the EU

Inclusive food systems conversations are the first step

On May 20th, Thought For Food, a global next-generation innovation engine for food and agriculture, partnered with FoodDrinkEurope, an EU food and beverage association, to host a UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue, one of the many activities surrounding the UN Food Systems Summit in September 2021.

Diverse stakeholders - including farmers, scientists, public and private sector representatives, activists, and next-generation innovators - discussed how to enable a future with healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food systems in the EU in the context of the Five Action Tracks of the UN Food Systems Summit. We’re excited to share the extracted insights from our session’s participants in this article.

The European Union aims to be at the forefront of global food sustainability

Responding to increasing calls to action on climate change and resource usage, the EU developed its European Green New Deal, and its commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These efforts come alongside the EU’s investments in innovation and technology, through numerous initiatives such as the EIT and the 6-year €10 billion financial commitment with the EIC.

At the same time, the EU suffers from staggering amounts of food waste, a reliance on non-renewable energies, the wide usage of non-sustainable packaging and inefficient food supply chains.

Exploring how to maximize the EU’s impact on food systems innovation and attracting next-generation entrepreneurs to EU markets is paramount to ensure the long-term sustainability of the EU’s food systems. Key speakers such as Goran Kukic, Chief Innovation Technology Officer at Nestlé, and Dr. Marcela Mendoza-Suárez, Co-Founder & CEO of GrowCab, shared their thoughts on these topics. These insights expressed the need to create enabling environments for food systems innovators through uniform food and technology regulation. They highlighted the shared appreciation of European cultures and languages across the EU, as well as the demand for innovation from entrepreneurship ecosystems like accelerators and community-building organizations rather than just traditional academia.

Collaborative and more transparent food systems expected in 2030 and beyond

There will be higher consciousness of the food system, a larger systemic understanding of food and biodiversity. Consumers will be able to make informed choices, they are being well-educated, starting at school. Quality of the information will be transparent and science-based.

• Easier access to information, from carbon footprints to nutrition

Digitalization will play a relevant role in our food system due to the need to ensure more transparency throughout the food chain. Improved user experience and meaningful insights from digital tools in areas such as personalized nutrition and carbon footprinting will facilitate access and awareness, leading to a healthier and informed population in the long run.

• Plant-based foods will make up more, but not all, of European diets

Plant-based foods are already on the rise in European diets and are expected to further climb. This will include focussing on new and more diverse crops as well as new approaches to the plant-based market. Aligned with our participants’ expectations, The European Commission advocates for a shift to planet-friendly plant-based diets in its Farm to Fork Strategy. 

• Algae and seaweed will be a substantial part of our diets

Containing key micro- and macro-nutrients including amino acids, protein and vitamins, algae and seaweed will play a bigger role in the European food system and beyond. Innovation in cultivating and harvesting through to uniform public policy and regulation will ensure that consumption includes both known macroalgae, like nori or wakame, as well as modern microalgae such as Spirulina and Chlorella. 

• The rise of food as medicine and nutraceuticals

Nutraceuticals are food products complementary to regular diets that provide physiological benefits and protect against non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and cancers. Thus, nutraceuticals and nutrition management could be powerful tools to prevent and even treat chronic diseases as well as promote general health.

• Stronger and more inclusive conversation around food systems

There will be a closer relationship among all food systems stakeholders, including consumers, regulators, operators and others, through more open and collaborative communication channels. The United Nations Food Systems Summit and its surrounding activities are building strong foundations that will lead to co-creation and cooperation beyond 2021. 

Behaviours and attitudes are as important as technology

Efforts to improve EU food systems should shift to facilitating the enabling attitudes for innovation, including human-centered approaches, openness, collaboration, and out-of-the-box thinking.”

As innovation comes faster than regulation, regulatory frameworks need to be adapted to be more pragmatic, transparent, and science-based to more readily support food systems innovation. Researchers, whether in academia or in the private sector, need to find more effective ways of communicating with farmers and consumers to solve for any information asymmetry in food production and consumption. Young entrepreneurs and start-ups need to be designed into public and private sector innovation strategies. If stakeholders embrace these approaches, innovation can be enabled for large-scale impact across every facet of the food supply chain.

Complementarily, we need to reframe strategic financial investments for food systems to value purpose and impact in the same way as profits. Farmers need to earn fair livelihoods, food businesses need to maintain economic viability, and consumers need to be able to afford nutritious food. At the same time, sustainability practices in farming and the private sector can be mandated, monitored, and communicated, and rewarded publicly. Private-sector research and development strategies can include investments in startups, mainly composed of nimble and digitally-savvy innovators, interested in alternative business models (open-source, circular economy, cradle to cradle), able to adapt quickly to changes, and able to navigate effectively through ambiguity.

For true change to be enabled, it needs to happen NOW

We have found six key areas that need solutions to enable game-changing innovation in the EU food system and beyond. Here are our recommendations:

1. Give small actors in the food system a greater voice, from small farmers to individual consumers. This includes SMEs, 99% of all businesses in the EU, that are often not accessing innovations being produced by academia and other private and public sector innovation providers. Policymakers alone cannot understand the diverse sectoral, regional, and cultural dimensions of food systems, thus a multistakeholder approach including these small actors is needed at all levels: local, regional, national, EU-wide and global.
2. Empower consumers through education, not only improving their individual awareness but also a larger societal acceptance of food systems innovation. Science-based education on food production and consumption is key, particularly targeting consumers of school age and beyond, to transform them from passive to active stakeholders of the food system. To facilitate this process, better product information is essential - each purchase is a vote for or against sustainability.
3. Startups and next-generation innovators should have a more prominent position in food systems transformation. Innovation comes faster than regulation, and the next-generation has the tools and skillset to enable this shift towards more sustainable food systems for all. Young entrepreneurs focus enabling behaviors and attitudes onto creating innovative products and services using (and even re-using) existing resources with a greater focus on sustainability. Regulatory frameworks in the EU need to support these innovators and their products in the market.
4. Co-create inclusive solutions through multi-stakeholder approaches. This includes actively listening to all players from farm to fork and beyond, and developing solutions centered around humans. We encourage everyone to contribute to a sustainable system as much as they can, fostering communication and building partnerships, even unconventional ones, with everyone involved.
5. Solutions do not come in isolation, so we need a supply chain approach that acknowledges the complexities and needs of different actors. Political will is very important in facilitating this, so policymakers should prioritize calling on farmers, food businesses, and consumers to change their current approaches - business as usual is no longer an option.  
6. Act now! There are several challenges that require action in our food systems but most of all, there is urgency to act now. Food systems challenges in the EU are not going to wait, they are already present and growing, so let’s not wait either.

Continuous learning and active participation is ongoing

Now onto you – if you are energized to get involved, dive into our collaborative Miro board, apply to become a Food Systems Hero, and attend or organize your own Food Systems Summit Dialogue.

Authors:

Janina Peter, Caroline Steiblin, Will Surman, Mateusz Ciasnocha, and Piera Mattioli

The Thought For Food? (TFF) Foundation is the world’s pioneer and leader in next-gen innovation and startup acceleration for food and agriculture. They work with more than 30,000 next-generation leaders from over 175 countries, empowering them to generate and scale breakthrough business ventures that build sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems. TFF’s comprehensive suite of next-gen innovation programs include the TFF Challenge, an annual collaborative innovation prize competition; the TFF Digital Labs?, a digital startup accelerator and collaboration platform; the TFF Academy?, an incubation program for world-class startups; and the TFF Summit?, a flagship global event focused on bringing the voices of the next generation together with policy and business leaders to co-create solutions. Thought For Food? is a 501c3 non-profit entity. 

FoodDrinkEurope represents the food and drink manufacturing industry. Made up of 291,000 businesses and 4.8 million employees, the food and drink industry buys 70% of all EU agricultural produce and is Europe’s largest manufacturing industry.