Healthier food and upcycling as drivers of food autonomy  

During this edition of Innovation Insights, we explored these questions with top experts and frontrunners from across the ecosystem. One session, The Autonomy recipe: Upcycled and Healthy – Made to Matter, brought together The Healthier Food Community and The Upcycling Community. Central elements were a panel discussion and break-outs around business challenges of Lidl, Bidfood, Alliantie Voeding in de Zorg and Vermaat. The central question was how healthier and upcycled food can accelerate the transition towards more autonomous food systems.

What made this conversation unique was the strong presence of retailers, caterers and food service providers. Positioned at the end of the value chain, they are the most visible actors and therefore often the ones society looks to for progress on health and sustainability. They not only directly influence what reaches consumers and how innovative solutions are positioned but also showed genuine willingness to respond to these expectations. Their openness to collaborate with suppliers and innovators creates a powerful momentum for systemic change.

Key insights

The discussions revealed several barriers that hold back progress, but also clear opportunities to move forward if collaboration and alignment can be strengthened:

#1: Guiding consumer choices

Many organisations are ready to adopt healthier and more circular solutions, but many end consumers tend to be attached to familiar, affordable and convenient products. This mismatch slows progress for a healthier and more sustainable food environment. Nudging strategies, such as placing better products in prominent positions or introducing hybrid options without overemphasising them, can make transitions more acceptable. Visible change often triggers resistance, while invisible shifts seem to be more successful.

#2: Price and taste are essential drivers

No matter how strong the sustainability and/or health case, products that are (way) more expensive or perceived as less tasty face resistance. This means innovation must focus on the right positioning of price and flavour compared to their counterpart products. Hybrid approaches, such as including part wholegrain into pasta or mixing plant based with conventional ingredients, are seen as a more realistic way to gradually receive consumer acceptance for healthier and upcycled products.

#3: Overcoming barriers in healthcare food systems

Introducing healthier and more sustainable products into hospital and care facilities is particularly complex and costly, yet highly impactful. Approval committees, conflicting guidelines and the preferences of elderly patients for more traditional diets often slow down adoption. At the same time, when products that are widely offered are slightly adjusted, the potential impact is significant. Over time, generational change is expected to increase demand, but for now subtle approaches are more effective. Transparency on health and sustainability claims and collaboration across organisations to reduce the complexity of standards, guidelines and certifications seem to be critical in adoption.

#4: Tackling fragmented approval processes in healthcare

Even when a (plant based or blended) product has already proven itself in one hospital, many care institutions still require their own approval process, re-evaluating the same product against their own criteria. This slows down adoption and creates inefficiency. A central certifying mechanism, based on pre-agreed criteria, could accelerate access to the healthcare market by providing one recognised approval. The question of who should take on this role remains open, but it is clear that such a system would reduce barriers and could accelerate innovation.

#5: The unique power of the end of the value chain

The presence of multiple actors from the selling end of the chain (retailers, caterers and food service providers) was a unique feature of the session. As one of the most visible links in the food chain, they are often expected to show leadership on health and sustainability. These players have both the willingness and leverage to set new standards, but they cannot achieve this alone. They invited their suppliers to think creatively alongside them, with openness to collaboration and co-creation. A concrete example is the challenge of increasing wholegrain consumption. Alignment across retailers is crucial, whether through aligned messaging* or even by making wholegrain the default on supermarket shelves. Creating this level playing field requires coordinated action and the willingness to step away from a more competitive approach on specific health or sustainability actions, but it is a powerful example of how the end of the chain can drive systemic change if suppliers and partners join forces. The need for shared guidance strongly connects to our UPcycled4Food initiative, where we work with retail and food service to identify feasible and high impact upcycling solutions.

#6: Circularity depends on logistics

While there is no shortage of side streams, capturing their value at scale requires the right logistic models and partnerships. Currently, food safety concerns, collection challenges and lack of standardised processes limit what can be upcycled into new catering products. Even though service providers lack in-house research capacity, they are open to adding more upcycled products to their portfolios. This creates an opportunity for innovators and suppliers to develop product concepts that fit their assortment. When such collaborations succeed, as shown in early success stories with upcycled bakery products, enthusiasm and demand quickly follow. To accelerate this further, platforms such as the Global Food Upcycling Map can play a crucial role connecting partners across the value chain and enabling new collaborations. The takeaway is clear: involving suppliers directly is essential to turn upcycled ingredients into viable products and to expand circular offerings.

Moving forward

The session confirmed that breakthroughs will come from connecting and co-creation: healthier products with upcycled ingredients, consumer nudges with affordability, and end-chain influence with supplier innovation. Small, practical steps such as hybrid products, aligned messaging across supermarkets or pilot projects in healthcare can pave the way for systemic change.

The unique readiness of actors at the end of the value chain offers real momentum. If innovative producers, suppliers, retailers and service providers join forces, healthier and more circular food systems can move from ambition to reality. Building on frameworks such as the Wheel of Five can further accelerate this. By positioning upcycled ingredients within these guidelines, solutions not only gain credibility but also enable consumers and organisations to make choices that are both healthier and more sustainable.

*The aligned messaging intiative of The Healthier Food Community is an industry-wide collaboration to promote healthier consumption by aligning communication strategies.