09 Apr 2019 --- Danish Food Cluster, an organization established by the Danish food industry, has partnered with the European Food Venture Forum (EFVF), which is gathering European start-ups, investors, food companies and international corporates in Aarhus, Denmark. The idea is to build a world-leading cluster within food innovation, a hub for talent, investors, companies and science. “New partnerships like this, are needed to solve the significant food industry challenges ahead,” Danish Food Cluster CEO, Lone Ryg Olsen, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

More and more qualified start-ups have met up in Aarhus for European Food Venture Forum in recent years. The EFVF is a two-day event of pitching and presentations, hopefully resulting in entrepreneurs leaving with a deal that may change the course of their business.

“Start-ups are the new-thinking, innovative and even disruptive element in the industry. Start-ups bring innovative ideas to life – an important innovative input and element to the Danish corporates and also to the food industry as a whole,” Olsen notes.

There are a lot of different demands on the current marketplace, she stresses. “More sustainable food, more healthy products, more convenient solutions to name a few. All of them require innovation from the industry and its partners,” she says. 

Danish Food Cluster CEO Lone Ryg Olsen“In Danish Food Cluster, we work to unite the food innovation hubs of the world in a global alliance, meeting in Copenhagen in May.”

“Over the years, EFVF has turned out to be an even stronger gathering point for start-ups from all over Europe, investors and corporates. This has put Denmark and Aarhus on the world map, as a meeting spot wher Danish virtues on collaboration and innovation become a reality. It is also an event which several of our members are involved in and why it is natural for us to take a more active role,” says Olsen. 

Last year, Danish Food Cluster brought the Israeli companies Flying SpArk and Amai Proteins, which were among the winners, as a result of the alliance between Danish Food Cluster and the Israeli start-up incubator The Kitchen.

“At last year’s EFVF, the majority of the participating start-ups presented a product with a focus on sustainability,” Olsen adds. One example is Flying SpArks, which was among the winners at the Forum. The company makes products out of insects.

Healthy and natural products and functional foods – food that will improve our gut with probiotics from FermBiotics – or products with reduced fat or reduced sugar were also presented. The company Amai Proteins was also among the winners of last year’s EFVF, which use proteins as sweeteners.

The initiative has been running for seven year and as the years have gone by, “the quality of the start-ups has increased,” according to the organizers.

“We have experienced a very positive development in the applying start-ups – more mature companies with fascinating solutions and technologies. No doubt that the innovation of the food sector has generally matured in terms of creating new businesses and interest from investors,” says Dorte Wiene, Director Business Development Nordics at TechTour, which is the organization that has founded the event.  

Tech Tour will returning to Aarhus for the latest edition of the EFVF to be held on 4-5 September 2019.

The event is co-hosted by Agro Business Park and Future Food Innovation, City of Aarhus, Danish Food cluster and sponsored by Arla Foods.

Over 30 food tech entrepreneurs looking for external private capital will be seleced from more than 100 applications. Investors, corporates and key players active in Food Sector from across Europe will form an Expert Jury to determine the top performing companies at EFVF 2019.