Day One — October 18 Afternoon

The global food system is in crisis. As the world’s population soars to 9.7 billion by 2050, how can the food industry and entrepreneurs collaborate to meet demand for nutritious, delicious, convenient and affordable food for all? Unilever explore the journey to becoming a more progressive food company and how we can harness innovation to address the challenges of fixing a broken food system.

• What are the top priorities for today’s leading food brands in R&D and innovation?
• What are the “big problems” that tech innovators should be looking to resolve?
• What does the food industry need to invest in right now to meet the needs of tomorrow?
• How are new models for open innovation and collaboration fast-tracking the development of new products?

Speaker:
Isabelle C.H. Esser, Executive Vice President Research Development Foods, Unilever, Belgium

• As R&D brings us closer to foods/ingredients with proven health benefits, how great is the opportunity at the intersection of food and medicine?
• What solutions are emerging to deliver a healthier product while retaining taste and texture?
• How do companies currently balance the tension between the need to cut costs with the need to improve the nutritional profile of their portfolios?
• What kind of investment is required for the supply chain to realistically deliver clean label ingredients for large scale/cost-effective food reformulation?
• Where is synthetic biology entering the market? What are the potential nutrition and health benefits and how can we communicate these better to consumers?
• How can the industry regain consumer trust on matters of scientific intervention, such as genetically modified ingredients? Where is synthetic biology entering the market? What are the potential nutrition and health benefits and how can we communicate these to consumers?
• What impact is current regulation having on innovation in the ingredients sector; from approving health claims to labelling regulation?
• What is the scope for a more personalised approach to how brands engage with consumers?

Session Chair:
Rob Beudeker, Senior Investment Manager, DSM, Netherlands

Speakers:
Catherine Collins, Registered Dietitian & Fellow, The British Dietetic Association (BDA), UK
Gil Horsky, Global Innovation Lead, Mondelēz International, Israel
David Stewart, Chief Research & Development Officer, McCain Foods, UK
Wilbert Sybesma, Founder, Yoba for Life Foundation, Netherlands

• What do personalisation and self-optimisation mean for different consumers?
• What is the role of technology in supporting people to make healthier choices?
• What alternative personal diagnostic solutions are entering the market?
• How can we convert measurements / information on personal DNA into actionable information and guidance? How can we personalise the way we give this information?

Speaker:
Andrew Steele, Olympic Athlete & Head of Product, DNAFit, UK

With an influx of capital and high-quality entrepreneurs entering the food-tech space over the past 5 years, how is the ecosystem developing, and how are the major food brands and VC community responding?

• Where do today’s most active food-tech investors see the greatest potential returns in the food-tech space? Why do these specific sectors offer greater opportunity?
• How is the growth in corporate venturing changing the face of the food-tech sector? Which subsectors of food-tech innovation are corporate venture capital funds currently investing in?
• What return do venture capitalists expect and do current returns reflect the volume of capital entering the space?
• How do the challenges in scaling food-tech solutions compare to other industries?
• How can food-tech avoid the pitfalls of the clean-tech wave? What models for collaboration and co-investment work best to get the balance right between access to capital / expertise / supply chain opportunities?

Session Chair:
Victor Friedberg, Co-Founder & Managing Director, S2G Ventures, USA

Speakers:
Niccolo Manzoni, Founding Partner, Five Seasons, UK
Erich Sieber, Partner/SVP, Inventages, United Arab Emirates
Gideon Soesman, Co-Founder, Managing Partner, GreenSoil Investments, Israel
Charles Hunting, Managing Partner, Tsing Capital, Australia

Mike Locatis, former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for the Obama administration and now CEO of food tech company 915 Labs, will list his top concerns for the global food ecosystem. Mike will share his experiences protecting U.S. critical infrastructures including food and water and working with the state of Colorado on food insecurity and the challenges facing food companies around the globe to improve the quality of packaged food.

Speaker:
Michael Locatis, CEO, 915 Labs, USA

Day Two — October 19 Morning

• How is the grocery business adapting and innovating as food sales migrate online?
• How can digital tools be used to deliver an increasingly personalised consumer experience and help build customer loyalty?
• What are the biggest opportunities and challenges facing meal kit start-ups and market entrants outside the main supermarket chains?
• How are e-commerce providers managing the cost of picking and delivering products direct-to-consumer?
• Are deliveries of fresh and frozen foods direct-to-consumer environmentally sustainable? How do food e-commerce providers plan to sustainably overcome last mile challenges for fresh and refrigerated foods?

Session Chair:
Axel Wehr, Senior Associate, Anterra Captial, UK

Speakers:
Caesar Layton, Founder/Partner, Cultivate Ventures, USA
Fabio Ziemssem, Head of Food Innovation & FoodTech, Metro Group, Germany
Nigel Kirtley, VP, Strategic Sales, 915 Labs, USA

Speaker:

• With corporate investment increasing year on year, coupled with a mandate to accelerate innovation, what return on R&D investment has the food & drink industry achieved?
• How can we leverage Open Innovation to maximise value and avoid missed revenue opportunities?

David Behringer, CEO, Pilot Lite Ventures, USA

• With nearly a decade of embracing open innovation (OI), what impact is OI having on monetising investment? Are there emerging business models that will position organisations to improve ROI on stranded innovation?
• Why has the ‘inside out’ OI model lagged behind the ‘outside in’ model? Could ‘Zero Based’ budgeting models support ‘inside out’ OI to drive new sources of revenue to improve topline performance? Will this impact the way organisations leverage patent portfolios to derive value from their portfolios?
• How has the increase in F&B focused VC and CVC organisations over the last five years impacted OI? Have these models been successful at delivering against ROI targets? How can they continue to grow their impact within F&B?
• To what extent are OI partnerships bridging the gap between tech innovators and the big problems facing the food industry?

Session Chair:
David Behringer, CEO, Pilot Lite Ventures, USA

Speakers:
Joseph Zhou, Investment Partner, Bits x Bites, China
Thorsten Koenig, Director Business Creation, EIT Food, Belgium
Sean Douglas, eCommerce Digital Director, Europe & Sub Saharan Africa, PepsiCo , UK
Marius Robles, CEO & Co-Founder, Reimagine Food, Spain
Tara Acharya, Director of Global Nutrition, Campbell, USA

• How are new technologies and system innovations helping us to achieve transparency and traceability? Which solutions are currently seeing success?
• What is the theory behind blockchain and how can it support the food industry? What challenges could prevent it from becoming a mainstream solution?
• How have food safety/food provenance issues transformed retailers’/restaurants’ approach to supply chain transparency and traceability?
• How can retailers/restaurants turn investment in supply chain traceability systems into a commercial opportunity to communicate with their customers and drive brand loyalty?

Speaker:
Yves Rey, Senior Advisor to the Danone Board, Executive Director of IFAAO, Former Chairman of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), France

Dragons:
Nadav Berger, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, FoodLab Capital, Israel
Kevin Camphuis, CEO, Shakeup Factory, France

Presenters:
Rodrigo García González, Co-CEO, Skipping Rocks Lab, UK
Maxine Roper, Cofounder/Managing Director, Connecting Foods, France
Eyal Yoskovitz, CEO, BactuSense, Israel
Kulika Chomvong, CEO, Sugarlogix, USA

Day Two — October 19 Afternoon

• How can food-tech brands and new food production initiatives avoid the traps of consumers’ fearing science in their food?
• How can emerging brands plan for growth in ways that won’t derail success – because with scale comes more scrutiny and more chances for missteps.
• What does the rise of the Food eVangelist mean to those responsible for advising leadership, leading businesses and building brands? How can one develop an honest an authentic voice and the right engagements in this new world?

Speaker:
Tara Munday, European Food & Nutrition Director, Ketchum , UK

Delegates break into round table discussion groups, each focused on a business-critical issue within food-tech and hosted by an industry leader – bring lots of business cards!

• How can we bridge the gap between agricultural development and the delivery of more sustainably grown, nutrient-rich foods?
• What is the role of data science, plant breeding, and genome editing in meeting consumer demand for new ingredients?
• How can food companies leverage the natural genetic diversity of plants to differentiate their product portfolio without large R&D costs and timelines?

Speaker:
Matthew B. Crisp, President & CEO, Benson Hill Biosystems, USA

• Our understanding of the microbiome has the potential to revolutionise nutrition and ultimately human health, but how close are we to a commercial solution?
• How accurate is the science right now and where can we hope to be in 5-10 years?
• When does food become a drug and vice versa? What legislation challenges will be faced?
• What kind of investment are we seeing in this space? What level of funding is being awarded to microbiome research?
• Due to continually evolving guidelines and trends, it’s not surprising that consumers can be sceptical of health benefit claims. How can the industry inform consumers on the importance of the microbiome for their diet and health, while translating the science in practical and actionable terms?

Session Chair:
Nard Clabbers, Senior Business Developer Personalised Nutrition & Health, TNO, Netherlands

Speakers:
Daniel Ramón, R&D Director, Biopolis S.L/ADM, Spain
Amir Golan, Chief Commercial Officer, DayTwo, Israel
Iain Wilcock, Investment Advisor, Seventure Partners, UK
Artem Khlebnikov, Director Strategic Partnerships, Danone Research, France

Dragons:
Aymeric Jung, Managing Partner, Quadia Impact, Switzerland
Amir Zaidman, VP Business Development, The Kitchen Foodtech Hub, Israel

Presenters:
Markus Stripf, CEO, Spoon Guru, UK
Garrett Ruhland, CEO, Biomarker IO, USA
Rody Hawkins, CEO, Improved Nature, USA
Jim Laird, CEO, 3F Bio, UK
Camille Delebecque, CEO, AFINEUR, USA

• How are major food brands engaging with the alternative protein sector?
• What are the opportunities and challenges in integrating plant-based proteins into existing products? What kind of investment are we seeing in this space?
• Where are we currently seeing success in product development and consumer adoption? How are ingredients being combined and processed to meet consumer satisfaction? Have we found an ingredient solution that is truly sustainable and less demanding on resources?
• How can cellular agriculture impact the flavour profile or functional properties of predominantly plant-based products?
• What does the future hold for edible insects? Can insect based products ever win taste awards, as well as the hearts and minds of consumers?
• What challenges ahead need to be addressed to bring alternative protein products to a mass market?

Session Chair:
Liz Specht, Senior Scientist, The Good Food Institute, USA

Speakers:
Tim Ingmire, Senior Director R&D, PepsiCo , UK
Christopher Kerr, Partner, New Crop Capital, USA
Derek Sarno, Chef-Director of Plant Based innovation, Tesco PLC, UK
Neelesh Varde, Global Product Manager, Roquette, USA

• What are the greatest investment opportunities of the future? Which three industry-wide trends will transform the consumer-goods landscape by 2030?
• Outside the US; what regions will lead the way in technology innovation?
• What are the greatest barriers to growth? What level of scalability can be expected when solution road mapping in the food-tech space?
• If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing in the food ecosystem tomorrow, what would it be?

Session Chair:
Lila Preston, Partner, Generation Investment Management, USA

Speakers:
Stuart Mainwaring, Head of Corporate Ventures, Just Eat Ventures, UK
Lisa Feria, CEO, Stray Dog Capital, USA
Dan Phillips, Managing Director, Sandbox Industries & Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, USA
Elsa Sotiriadis, Chief Futurist & Programme Director, RebelBio , UK