Enterprise Ireland’s Post

Meet the next generation of food system transformers! We had a great exchange with folks from Innovation Institute for Food & Health, UC Davis (IIFH). Participants from their Denmark Fellows and Translators Circle program traveled with coordinator Dana Armstrong Hughes to MISTA for an afternoon of open exchange. The highlight was a presentation by the Denmark fellows of their research studying the shift in investment from foodtech for sustainability toward foodtech for health and functional ingredients and the emerging convergence of the food and health ecosystem. This is perfectly aligned with MISTA's year long focus on #Healthspan. Many thanks to Emma Elise Hoch-Schneider, Pedro Martínez Noguera, Samir Hobloss, Ian Nielsen, Christabel Domfe, Mangling Huang, Erin Huiting and Dana for a great conversation and the reminder that the next generation of food tech leaders are brewing at University of California, Davis. #FoodTech #Innovation #FutureofFood

Valencia is getting ready to host the 8th edition of Ftalks Food Summit, an initiative by KM ZERO Food Innovation Hub taking place on September 16. The Summit brings together food industry leaders, investors, public institutions, and agrifood startups to explore some of the key topics shaping the future of food: Health & Longevity, Artificial Intelligence, Food Security, Blue Foods, Impact Investment... A one-day event designed to inspire, connect, and discover what's next: - Food Conference: Global thought leaders sharing insights on the trends transforming the food industry. - Networking: Strategic connections to accelerate innovation, partnerships, and new business opportunities. - Future Market: The most disruptive agrifood startups showcasing their innovations through live demos and tastings. With this edition, #ftalks26 continues to strengthen its position as the leading platform for discovering trends and driving meaningful impact across the food ecosystem in Europe.  📆 September 16  📍 Las Naves, Valencia 👉 https://lnkd.in/eBR2k4qV

🥬 What turns an unfamiliar ingredient into a food people actually want to try? Sometimes, the difference is in the product. Sometimes, it is in the way you present it. Serve someone duckweed and they may push it away. Introduce it as a fresh water lentil salad, and curiosity takes over. That is the world of food designer Katja Gruijters. And we are excited to announce that FoodX Netherlands and Katja are joining forces in our new Future Food Concepting programme. Katja has spent 25 years translating challenges in food and agriculture into tangible concepts. She looks at the entire food system, identifies patterns and friction, and uses design to turn complex challenges into directions people can understand, experience and act on. Together, we help international teams explore what developments in health, circularity, technology and sustainability mean for their products, markets and business models. The programme combines: 🔎 An exploration of trends, companies and innovations within the FoodX ecosystem 💡 A structured concepting process using the FoodX Concepting Toolkit 🧭 Two or three future-proof conceptual directions 🤝 Access to relevant partners and expertise 🚀 Concrete next steps, potential partnerships and pilot opportunities Inspiration is valuable, but a direction you can actually build on is even better. 🔗Curious to find out more? Katja talks about her work, why food innovation needs both design and language, and how our collaboration came about. Read Katja’s story: https://lnkd.in/eQcwH6NA #FoodInnovation #FoodDesign #FutureFood #FoodConcepting #FoodX #InnovationStrategy #SustainableFood #FoodSystems

I’m very pleased with this collaboration. FoodX Netherlands is all about experiencing the unique Dutch agrifood ecosystem. And that goes beyond just the research and development aspect of the sector. Ultimately, it’s about translating that into concrete product ideas that succeed in the market. This new program takes exactly that approach.

What does it actually take to become one of the world's leading food clusters? Lincolnshire-based UK Food Valley has set out an ambitious goal: to become one of the world's top 10 food clusters. It's an exciting vision for a region that already plays a critical role in UK food production and manufacturing, but becoming a world-leading food cluster isn't just about investment, infrastructure or innovation. It's about productivity and helping organisations make better decisions, improve efficiency and unlock more value from the resources they already have. Technology has an important role to play, as does data, automation and AI. But the biggest gains often come from understanding where the real bottlenecks exist and focusing efforts there. As more organisations across the agri-food sector look to innovate, the challenge isn't simply adopting new technology. It's making sure that technology delivers measurable operational impact. We're looking forward to seeing how UK Food Valley continues to bring together industry, academia and technology partners to support growth across the sector. #UKFoodValley #AgriFood #FoodManufacturing

What does it actually take to become one of the world's leading food clusters? Lincolnshire-based UK Food Valley has set out an ambitious goal: to become one of the world's top 10 food clusters. It's an exciting vision for a region that already plays a critical role in UK food production and manufacturing, but becoming a world-leading food cluster isn't just about investment, infrastructure or innovation. It's about productivity and helping organisations make better decisions, improve efficiency and unlock more value from the resources they already have. Technology has an important role to play, as does data, automation and AI. But the biggest gains often come from understanding where the real bottlenecks exist and focusing efforts there. As more organisations across the agri-food sector look to innovate, the challenge isn't simply adopting new technology. It's making sure that technology delivers measurable operational impact. We're looking forward to seeing how UK Food Valley continues to bring together industry, academia and technology partners to support growth across the sector. #UKFoodValley #AgriFood #FoodManufacturing

Earlier this week we shared Evie Morrice's take on why so many promising food and drink innovations still fall flat, and why the research is rarely to blame. The short version: businesses invest heavily in understanding their consumers, but a strong idea gets diluted on its way to launch by cost, timing and technical trade-offs, until it barely resembles what people responded to. Then the idea takes the blame. This carousel breaks down how it happens, and the one question our Senior Innovation Consultant says keeps a good idea intact all the way through. Full piece linked in the comments. #FoodInnovation #NPD #ConsumerInsight #FoodAndDrink #FMCG #ProductDevelopment #FISGroup

🌱 We are excited to share that our colleague Isabelle Symonds will be speaking at the New Food Conference 2026 in Berlin organized by ProVeg Deutschland. 📅 On August 25, she will join the panel “Longevity, the Microbiome, and Future Health Narratives” — a topic that sits at the intersection of science, nutrition, and next-generation health strategies. As the role of the microbiome continues to reshape how we think about health, prevention, and longevity, this discussion promises valuable insights for anyone working in food innovation, diagnostics, and sustainable health solutions. If you are attending the conference, connect with Isabelle, join the session, and be part of the conversation shaping future health narratives. #nfc2026 #b2bmarketresearch #foodinnovation #longevity

🎟️ The New Food Conference 2026: Where the future of food comes together! The #alternativeprotein market is evolving from startup mode to industry standard - and the #NewFoodConference is charting this evolution. Want to know how to scale, compete, and lead in this new era? This is where the answers are. 🚀 🫱🏻🫲🏾 This year we are glad to partner with the organiser ProVeg International Under the banner ‘𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐞: 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬, 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬’, the event focuses on three central themes: 📊 Volumes, Contracts & Scale From Niche Market to Mass Production: How stable supply chains, smart production contracts, and targeted category management secure real volume growth in retail. 🧪 Health, Technology & Optimised Taste (The Next Generation of Alternative proteins): How state-of-the-art food tech innovations combine excellent taste with optimized nutritional values and new health trends. 🌍 Protein Sovereignty Future-Proof Supply for Europe: How political roadmaps, the management of supply chain crises, and pragmatic bridging technologies successfully integrate traditional agriculture. Join ProVeg International and key decision-makers from the food industry, retail, agriculture, and politics to forge alliances for a resilient and future-proof protein supply. 🌱 🚀 Why just attend the conference when you can dive in a day early? Max out your trip to 🇩🇪 Berlin. Join us the day before the conference. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: An exclusive evening reception to exchange successful strategies, valuable lessons learned, and fresh perspectives for advancing protein diversity during an informal plant-based flying dinner. ➡️ This event is available for a limited number of conference participants from retail, foodservice, and the food industry. Interested? You can express your interest here: https://lnkd.in/dFEH4VEw  ⭐ Enjoy a 10% discount on all tickets with our partner code: 𝐕𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝟏𝟎 ➡️ Get your ticket now: https://lnkd.in/dysPMjw  ➡️ Check out the programme: https://lnkd.in/eSQ2fCsq  ➡️ Get more info about the conference: https://lnkd.in/gGkQgZX  #NFC2026 Andrew D Ive

The future of food will be shaped by how we use AI, data, and technology to solve real-world challenges to create stronger, more resilient, and more sustainable food systems. There is incredible potential for Canada to become a global leader in AI-powered food systems, and through my work with CogniCo AI Consulting, NL Eats Community Outreach Inc. and FOOD FORWARD Summit 2026 I am excited about bringing together industry, government, researchers, startups, investors, and communities to accelerate meaningful digital transformation across the food sector. Looking forward to connecting with everyone at Food Forward Summit 2026 on October 8 as we explore what’s next for the future of food. #FoodForwardSummit #ArtificialIntelligence #FoodInnovation #FoodTech #DigitalTransformation #Agriculture #BlueEconomy #Data #Innovation #Leadership #Canada