Food innovation for the future: The SGBA’s Bühler Group co-founds Future Food Initiative, opens CUBIC Innovation Campus
09.04.2019

Food innovation for the future: The SGBA’s Bühler Group co-founds Future Food Initiative, opens CUBIC Innovation Campus

Famine and malnutrition, sustainable while ecological food production and packaging technologies – these are key challenges on a planet with limited resources and for a population that continues to grow. Early in the year 2019, a new interdisciplinary and cross-industrial research initiative called «Future Food Initiative» was launched to meet these challenges.

One of the pioneers stepping up to the task is food and nutrition technology company Bühler Group from Uzwil in the St.GallenBodenseeArea (SGBA). In close cooperation with Swiss-made food business acumen from Nestlé and Givaudan, and packing the research excellence of initiators and universities ETH Zurich and EPFL, Bühler Group is one of Future Food Initiative’s co-founders.

There is no doubt about Future Food’s objectives: Based on consumer research and trends, it aims at furthering the development of healthy food products and sustainable, plastic-free packaging, in order to lay the groundworks for guaranteed access to affordable, nutritional and healthy food. With an initial combined investment of 4,1 million Swiss Francs, the alliance of Swiss industry partners and research institutions throws down the gauntlet at undernourishment and malnutrition. «In close cooperation with global leaders in research, industry partners and startups, we intend to create innovative and sustainable solutions», Stefan Scheiber, Bühler Group’s CEO, summarizes the company’s contribution from the SGBA.

The seriousness of their ambitious mission is further emphasized by Bühler Group’s upcoming opening of their new CUBIC Innovation Campus in Uzwil, in the SGBA. During three years of construction, the food technology specialist has invested a total of CHF 50 million in its new incubator and think tank in the SGBA. CUBIC Innovation Campus is a standing invitation for innovation partners, clients, startups and researchers to join the interdisciplinary cooperation efforts at the new site. By 2020, Bühler Group already intends to have created around 70 post-doctoral positions dedicated to advancing research projects that contribute to increased digitalization, sustainability, transparency and efficiency in the food industry.

Ian Roberts, CTO of Bühler Group, situates CUBIC and the Future Food Initiative clearly in a larger context and effort «to make Switzerland a leading global powerhouse for innovation in the entire food industry value chain». An important contribution of that effort hails from the SGBA.

More about Bühler Group’s Future Food Initiative: https://www.futurefoodtalents.org