The Swiss Canton of Vaud, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), the Swiss Hospitality Management School in Lausanne (EHL Group) and Nestlé have joined forces to develop and promote a food and nutrition innovation ecosystem. The initiative was launched on 23 January 2020 at the World Economic Forum in Davos under « Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley ». The aim is to address the key challenges of sustainable and high-quality food by attracting talent, start-ups, and investments in Switzerland.
An association is being set up in order to bring together the stakeholders of the ecosystem and lead the initiative, supported by the Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin, in charge of Economic Affairs, Education and Research.
The production of sustainable and high-quality food and nutrition is vital. The world is facing major challenges ranging from agricultural production, nutrition, to waste management and recycling.
Switzerland can play a key role in addressing these challenges: it is home to a unique food and nutrition innovation ecosystem, which comprises of high-quality gastronomy and agriculture, an unparalleled density of world-class companies and scientific institutions, and a large number of start-ups in the fields of food, nutrition, life sciences, and robotics.
Thanks to intensive collaboration between the local stakeholders, first-class innovation platforms have emerged in Switzerland. The Swiss Canton of Vaud, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), the Swiss Hospitality Management School in Lausanne (EHL Group) and Nestlé have joined forces to create the «Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley », and make Switzerland a world reference for innovation in food and nutrition. The aim is to attract talent, start-ups and investors, while connecting the existing ecosystem, contributing to their visibility, and to develop sustainable solutions for quality food and nutrition.
To achieve these objectives, and strengthen our ecosystem, the « Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley » organizes events in Switzerland and abroad and takes part in international shows under the brand «Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley ». The campaign was launched with Presence Switzerland at the last Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It will continue as part of the #SwissTech campaign, run jointly by Presence Switzerland, Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), Innosuisse, Swissnex, and digitalswitzerland. An international symposium dedicated to the future of food will be held in Lausanne on 25 and 26 September 2020.
The « Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley » addresses the key challenges of the future of food and nutrition from a sustainability perspective, using cutting-edge science and technology – from agriculture to waste, from innovative products to healthy and sustainable diets. The initiative will focus on various areas, such as nutrition, life sciences, alternative proteins, packaging science, waste management, and precision agriculture.
The four founding members of the « Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley » will create an association by spring 2020 in order to engage all key players of the ecosystem – cantons, companies, start-ups, universities, and associations. The membership terms and statutes are currently being finalized and will be presented at the association’s constitutive assembly. The « Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley » is being launched with the support of Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research.
