The Kitchen is owned by Israeli food giant the Strauss Group and backed by government funding through the Israeli Innovation Incubator programme. The accelerator invests in seed stage enterprises with a focus on food tech.
The partnership will leverage Givaudan’s technological know-how and global footprint, Amir Zaidman, VP Business Development at The Kitchen, told FoodNavigator.
“The base of the collaboration is that Givaudan is getting access and visibility to one of the world's leading food tech ecosystems while The Kitchen and our portfolio companies are getting access to expertise, know-how and global markets.
“Givaudan is providing experts and technological know-how that helps The Kitchen's portfolio companies overcome challenges in their way to develop the next generation of food products and ingredients.”
‘Scouting’ for innovation
The Kitchen is seeking out innovation relevant to Givaudan, Zaidman continued. “The Kitchen is scouting for new and innovative ventures and technologies that might be of interest to Givaudan.
Fabio Campanile told FoodNavigator Givaudan is looking for entrepreneurs that are working on innovation and technology addressing the following areas:
- Enriching taste with natural and kitchen cupboard ingredients
- Sustainable sourcing
- Next generation sugar, salt and fat reducing solutions
- Natural functional ingredients (e.g. colour, preservation)
- Novel ingredients for Health, Wellness and Nutrition
- Novel flavour delivery system technologies
- Enabling alternative proteins
- Consumer understanding, smart creation, transparent sourcing, and the use of Artificial Intelligence/Big Data
“The collaboration with portfolio companies of The Kitchen can be of a technological nature or of a commercial nature or both. On a case by case basis.”
Fabio Campanile, Givaudan’s head of science and technology, flavours, told this publication Givaudan is looking for technology “that can be leveraged in our processes and offerings” or “jointly developed with start-ups in the incubator”.
He too stressed that the collaboration will be determined on an individual basis, with Givaudan helping to meet the needs of particular start-ups. “Based on the individual needs of each start-up and the scope of collaboration, Givaudan will provide flavour creation, product
application, regulatory and consumer insights, but also analytical and food science support to enable start-ups working in specific areas.”
Addressing ‘the future of food’
Campanile stressed that the tie-up was in-line with Givaudan’s 2020 strategy to partner for “shared success”. According to the science and tech chief, the Swiss ingredient group places significant emphasis on the need to collaborate to develop a more sustainable food system.
“Givaudan’s objective is to engage with a global strategic community of innovators, including corporate peers, academia, start-ups and solution providers.
“As the leader in our industry, we are committed to addressing global food challenges. It is only through collaborations such as this one, that we will be able to address the future of food.”
Last month, Givaudan – alongside Nestlé and Bühler – launched ‘Future Food – A Swiss Research Initiative’ to provide financial backing for ten postdoctorate fellowship programmes.
Speaking at the time, Campanile said the Future Food Initiative is closely aligned to its sustainability, health and wellbeing strategy. “It is only through collaborations such as this, bringing together industry, academia and the brightest and best young scientists, that we will be able to meet the challenges of the future,” he commented.
