Bühler joins Nestlé and Givaudan for major healthier product research initiative
The Swiss-based Bühler group has committed to co-found a major healthy food research scheme launched by ETH Zürich and EPFL, together with industrial partners Givaudan and Nestlé.
As the companies revealed, the Future Food initiative, which is expected to examine a broad selection of potential products including items within the confectionery and baked goods sector, aims to accelerate the development products with higher nutritional value and more sustainable, plastic-free packaging.
Research for the project lays the ground for secure access to affordable nutrition, addressing global challenges of hunger and malnutrition that have been of considerable global concern.
“We are stepping up as an industry to address challenges in the food value chain,” says Stefan Scheiber, CEO of the Bühler Group. “Bühler’s ambition is to create innovative and sustainable solutions, partnering with leading research institutes, industrial partners, and promising start-ups in the world of food.” In the same context, Bühler will officially open its CUBIC innovation campus in spring and will welcome innovation partners, customers, start-ups and academics to benefit from the new facilities.
The Future Food Initiative is funded by a donation from the industrial partners with a total amount of 4.1 million Swiss francs (€3.6m). Its overarching goal is to further expand research and education in the area of food and nutrition sciences at the interface of universities and enterprises. The initiative’s objective is to accelerate the development of healthy food products which leverage consumer trends, to intensify the search for solutions for sustainable, plastic-free packaging, and to secure access to affordable nutrition.
The Future Food Initiative brings together competences from academic and industrial research in food and nutrition sciences at ETH Zürich and EPFL. “We have launched this initiative to pool our expertise in research and innovation to find innovative approaches for healthy foods and a sustainable supply chain,” says Prof. Dr. Detlef Günther, Vice President for Research and Corporate Relations at the ETH Zürich.
“I am truly delighted that we can launch this initiative. It will create hand-in-hand partnerships for faculty of our two sister institutes of technology with partner companies of absolutely top caliber, on critical yet fun areas of research. This initiative will offer several talented young scientists a unique opportunity for their professional and intellectual growth,” adds Andreas Mortensen, vice president for Research at the EPFL.
Ian Roberts, CTO of the Bühler Group, concludes: “The goals of the initiative align perfectly with our ambition of addressing global challenges of hunger and malnutrition. I would like to thank the ETH Zürich and EPFL for initiating this joint platform. We are looking forward to bring on board additional partners into this initiative in the coming years. The initiative will help make Switzerland a global lighthouse for innovation across the food value chain.”
