Nestlé has joined forces with three organisations to develop and promote Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley, a global initiative to enhance innovation in food and nutrition. The multi-stakeholder initiative will be launched in 2020 and aims to further attract talent, start-ups and investment to the region.
Owner of brands such as KitKat, Smarties and Nespresso, Nestlé has teamed up with the Swiss Canton of Vaud, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Hospitality Management School in Lausanne (EHL Group) to establish the initiative.
According to Nestlé, Switzerland is home to a unique ecosystem in the area of food and nutrition due to its deeply rooted agricultural tradition, world leading companies and scientific institutions as well as a high number of start-ups in areas such as food, nutrition, life sciences or robotics.
The Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley intends to strengthen this existing innovation ecosystem further and attract talent, start-ups and investment to the region, as well as address major challenges of the future of food and nutrition using science and technology.
Stefan Palzer, chief technology officer and executive vice-president of Nestlé said: “Together we can more effectively address global challenges such as delicious, nutritious and affordable nutrition for all, sustainable packaging and mitigation of climate change.”
Nestlé claims that the collaboration has resulted in the emerge of innovative platforms in Switzerland, including in the areas of nutrition, nutrigenomics, alternative proteins, packaging sciences and sustainable agriculture.
Guy Parmelin, Swiss federal councillor and head of the Swiss federal department of economic affairs, education and research has endorsed the initiative.
Parmelin said: “Food production in Switzerland is very close to my heart, both as farmer by training and as minister for economic affairs.
“I therefore support initiatives like the Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley, where we highlight our Swiss competitive advantages in research, innovation and production.”
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