Marjolein Brasz
CEO,
Foodvalley
Innovation Insights: Friends for scaling
Live @ Foodvalley Partner Jan Zandbergen Group
Innovation Insights: Friends for scaling
Across the world, organisations are working on solutions that make our food system healthier, more sustainable and more resilient. Lasting progress happens when these efforts connect and successful solutions reach scale.
At Innovation Insights: Friends for Scaling, Foodvalley brings partners together to explore three initiatives that work to get Regenerative Agriculture, Balanced Proteins and UPcycled4Food to scale.
Join fellow Foodvalley partners for an afternoon of inspiring insights, practical examples and interactive discussions. Discover the latest developments, connect with peers and explore how your organisation can contribute to initiatives that are shaping the future of food.
Date: 6 October 2026
Time: 13:30 to 17:30
Location: Jan Zandbergen Group Innovation Centre, Veenendaal
This Foodvalley Event is for partners only.
Programme 6 October 2026
| 13:30 – 14:00 hrs | Walk-in, coffee/tea |
| 14:00 – 14:10 hrs | Welcome by host Marjolein Brasz, CEO Foodvalley |
| 14:10 – 14:15 hrs | Welcome Margriet van Vianen, Province Utrecht |
| 14:15 – 14:30 hrs | Introduction Jan Zanbergen Group / Future Food Groupby Matthijs Nieuwkoop |
| 14:30 – 15:15 hrs | Initiatives on stage (Regenerative Agriculture, UPcycled4Food and Balanced Proteins) |
| 15:15 – 15: 30 hrs | Break |
| 15:30 – 16:30 hrs | Share, join & shape interactive sessions |
| 16:30 – 17:30 hrs | Taste & Connect |
Initiatives on stage (14:30 – 15:15)
Regenerative Agriculture: Regenerating our food systems starts with collaboration and partnering. Discover how the new Foodvalley initiative Thriving Together is developing regenerative ecosystem collaborations across landscapes and value chains and explore in what landscape and value chain collaboration you would like to participate to accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture in the Netherlands and Europe.
UPcycled4Food: The 6th of October marks the official launch of UPcycled4Food Phase 2. Together with partners from across the value chain, we are building the evidence and insights needed to move upcycled food from promising innovation to market uptake. Foodvalley and initiative partners will shed light on the goals and activities of Phase 2 through a panel discussion, after which we will celebrate this milestone together and look ahead to a future where upcycled ingredients become the new normal.
Balanced Proteins: For many years, The Protein Community has supported the development and market introduction of Balanced Protein products, also known as hybrid or blended products. Now, we are taking the next step: scaling internationally across countries. Discover our ambitions and how your company can get involved.
Share, join & shape sessions (15:30 – 16:30)
Regenerative Agriculture
What does regeneration mean for your organisation, your region, or your value chain? In this interactive session, you will explore where opportunities for regenerative collaboration already exist and where new ones can emerge. Using maps of the Netherlands and Europe, you will identify landscapes and value chains where you see potential, ambition, or concrete opportunities for action for your organisation. Inspired by lessons from landscapes Hoeksche Waard and Romania in development, we will demonstrate how landscape and value chain collaboration can create impact in practice. Leave with new connections, fresh inspiration, and a clearer understanding and preferably ambition for how you would like contribute to regenerative food systems.
UPcycled4Food
Your recipe needs to become healthier, more sustainable and cost effective, while key ingredients are becoming more expensive and harder to source. How do you respond? Based on insights and evidence from the UPcycled4Food initiative, we explore where new or still underused upcycled ingredients can create measurable value through improved nutrition, lower environmental impact, cost advantages or supply resilience. Through an interactive game built around real products and reformulation challenges brought in by participants themselves, you will experience how ingredient innovation can unlock new opportunities for your own products, innovation pipeline and business challenges. Together with other Foodvalley partners, you will discover practical pathways for innovation and collaboration.
Balanced Proteins
Session 1: International visibility and collaborations
How can the Protein Transition Map NL help connect your company internationally? Discover new functionalities and the 50 companies that are highlighted with their balanced meat & dairy products. Includes two pitches from partners of The Protein Community.
Session 2: Funding & Impact
What is needed to scale Balanced Protein products? Explore and discuss funding opportunities, lessons in retail (market scan by The Protein Community & Living labs by The Healthier Food Community) and how to increase impact together. Includes two pitches from partners of The Protein Community.
Speakers
Margriet van Vianen
Programme Lead Voedselagenda,
Province of Utrecht
Matthijs Nieuwkoop
Product Development Manager, Future Food Group
Practical information
Date: 6 October 2026
Time: 13:30 – 17:30 hrs
Location: Jan Zandbergen Group Innovation Centre
Electronenstraat 12, 3903 KJ, Veenendaal
Please note: this event is exclusive to Foodvalley partners!
Not a partner yet?
If you are not yet a Foodvalley partner but are eager to learn more about our ecosystem, this event is an excellent opportunity to get to know us better.
To explore the possibility of attending this event, please send an e-mail to partner@foodvalley.nl
No show = No go
Innovation Insights is designed for active participation and exchange. If you are unable to attend and do not cancel in advance, you miss out on the content and leave an empty seat that someone else could have taken. It also results in unnecessary food waste and additional costs. Please cancel in time if you are unable to attend. One week before the event is preferable.
This event takes place during De Week van Ons Eten, a national initiative dedicated to raising awareness of where our food comes from, how it is produced and the impact it has on people and society.
