What we do
The road to a sustainable and fair food system
The road to a sustainable and fair food system is long and has no clearly defined route. Where do you start? How do you move towards the goal together? Which direction are we heading? How do you know what to do? Who will participate? What do we need? And then, ultimately, how do you create a market of supply and demand that works? These are questions no one can answer on their own.
Change starts now
What we do know, however, is that we need all stakeholders inside and outside the agri-food industry – from farmers, growers, producers, and retailers to investors and public authorities – to shape our future. This change is too big for individual parties but together we can make a difference. The future demands action and it starts today. Foodvalley has an organising and initiating role in this. Nobody knows exactly what the future looks like and how fast this change will happen, but we do know how we can move towards it together.
“If you think you can do it alone, you’re not thinking big enough”
– Reid Hoffman
Concrete: practical solutions and results
Through our unique hands-on, multi-year programmatic approach, we break down the big goal of a sustainable and fair food system into smaller projects and initiatives. Our years of experience and expertise, together with those of our partners, enable us to recognise the right moment to start up and develop projects and initiatives in a purposeful way.
We work systematically and remain flexible when necessary, thereby drawing on scientific theories that we use as frameworks to develop practical solutions and achieve sustainable results. Examples include:
- supporting startups to test and further develop their innovation and accelerate the process from prototype to final product
- influencing consumer demand and behavior
- better matching of supply and demand
- providing access to state-of-the-art technology, expertise, and (scientific) research
- where possible, shortening the chain to accelerate time-to-market
- bringing together the right innovative companies and organisations that would not normally find each other easily but can strengthen each other through collaboration
- providing guidance or support in developing new business models, concepts, or products
- thinking constructively when laws and regulations change,
- finding the right suppliers
- realising sales guarantees
- sharing knowledge, best practices and successful case studies
- providing support and guidance on adding new products to supermarket shelves
Work with us
We offer various partnerships. Find out why a partnership with Foodvalley is worthwhile.
“Through Foodvalley, we are collaborating with Dutch growers and will be offering edamame beans in the frozen food section in 2025. A multi-year collaboration means we can support growers with investments and the structural supply of beans. It’s great how Foodvalley enables and strengthens this. We want to be a partner so that innovative plans can be brought to practice. Together with Foodvalley, we are looking for ways to get the rest of our sector on board and thus lend a hand in the food transition.”
– Marieke van Zoggel, Jumbo
Innovation themes
Together with the partners in our network, we are working on three food system innovation themes:
Communities
From the three innovation themes, we bring together all the necessary parties, both inside and outside the agrifood sector, in active communities on various topics and issues:
Initiatives and projects
Together with our network partners – both within our communities and also, by invitation, outside them – we develop sustainable and practical solutions through initiatives and projects. We analyse market barriers and, together, ensure wide-ranging and lasting implementation.
Hands-on approach
Because we take a hands-on, multi-year programmatic approach in everything we do, we ensure tangible solutions and results that make a difference and consistently contribute to a sustainable food system.
Ecosystem Development
We foster the global food ecosystem by connecting food hubs, sharing knowledge, and supporting innovation. Through our network, we link entrepreneurs to resources, research facilities, and partners to accelerate ideas to market, making top-tier equipment accessible and enabling collaborative growth.
We offer startups and scale-ups in the agrifood sector access to state-of-the-art facilities, knowledge, and expertise to test, further develop, and scale up their innovative technologies and concepts.
In partnership with Startlife, we provide entrepreneurs with various programmes and support that will help them develop their skills, attract the right resources and investments, and thus accelerate the growth of their business.
Through our international network, we regularly participate in European programmes and projects alongside international partners. Many foreign delegations find their way to Wageningen every year and we connect talented partners with these international contacts if required.
The result of all our joint efforts? Healthy, sustainable, tasty, and affordable food for everyone, both now and for our next generations. But also profitable businesses and a new, healthy market where supply and demand are aligned.
Improvising together for a sustainable and fair food system
There is a strong parallel between that musical improvisation and our way of working at Foodvalley. Think about how we sense which party or person we should be with, which issues need attention right now, and how best to tackle them. How we base this intuition (our ‘heart’) on the collective knowledge, experience, and expertise of our team and the various transition theories (our ‘head’). And how we thus achieve valuable results (our ‘hands’): from a common agenda, the right connections, joint initiatives, and targeted support for founders to the path to financial resources, the availability of shared facilities, and the exchange of knowledge or best practices.
The similarities with improvisation also lie in the drive with which we work as Foodvalley, while at the same time knowing how to relax. In how we can experiment with each other, while also keeping our focus. How we work from a vision and a plan while keeping this plan fluid enough to adapt it quickly to changing circumstances. How we keep a constant eye on these circumstances so that we can respond to them, while continuously seeking collaboration with a growing number of partners. How we fine-tune our work to them, while also helping them to resonate with each other. And how we do all this in a highly dynamic world.
Play your unique role in the change
If you aren’t a Foodvalley partner yet, then quickly join our other partners on stage with your instrument – your unique role and capabilities. Listen to the compositions we put together, to what your fellow players contribute, and also follow your own feelings, values, and expertise. Stay close to yourself, know your strengths, and play your unique role in the change. Moreover, don’t forget to improvise, from your heart and with endless fun!
“We compose the music and let others take the stage”
– Marjolein Brasz, Foodvalley
