#FoodFuture Ideas Fest 2023

FoodDrinkEurope

Join the leading minds in food and drink sustainability for an afternoon of interactive discussions  followed by an evening summer party.

Museum of Natural Sciences access via Parc Leopold

Climate change, nutrition, and circular packaging are some of the biggest challenges facing the food chain today. We've invited experts in academia, policy, civil society, and industry to deliver energetic TED-style talks outlining their solutions to deliver a more sustainable food future.Then join us in the evening for a summer party to relax, network and enjoy great food and drink. A﻿nd check out the highlights from our Ideas Fest last year ⬇️

Agenda

Featuring inspiring speakers on climate, nutrition, and circular economy. With TED-style talks and discussions. For the detailed programme in each stage, click the tabs above.

Ideas Fest

A networking reception with great food and drink.

Summer Party

Nutrition stage

The future of food belongs to the flexitarians. Nicolas Gausseres (Vice President of Health, Danone) explores the future of flexible diets, from vegan, vegetarian, meat and everything in between, hear how Danone is helping people make the best choices for their diets.

TALK 1: A flexible food future

Regina Maiseviciute-Haydon (Global Food & Drinks Analyst, MINTEL) presents the latest insights into consumer behaviour and how people pick their food.

TALK 2: Health as a key value indicator for food and drink

Can we have nutritious food without food processing? Tim Van De Gehuchte (Sales & Marketing Manager, Meurens Natural) explores the role of processing in making nutritious food. He has a background in Environmental & Bioscience and extensive global experience in nutrition and functional health ingredients, having previously held innovation and business development roles at Isaltis in France and more recently at GBI in the Netherlands. Tim joined Meurens Natural SA in 2020.

TALK 3: Natural food processing for nutritious food

Today, we can customise just about every consumer good in our life but what about our food? Andrea Bulbarello (Director, dsm-firmenich) explores the ways in which food processing allows us to tailor our food in ways to support a variety of nutritional goals. Andrea Bulbarello is a skilled professional with a PhD in food chemistry from the "Università degli studi di Milano" and Arizona State University. With over 13 years of experience in R&D and Innovation, he currently holds the position of Innovation Director Market Ready Solution and Global Application Center at DSM-Firmenich HNC. With more than 30 publications (peer reviewed and patents) and an h-index of 11, Andrea is a recognised expert in the field of nutritional products and micronutrients.

TALK 4: Just for you - personalised nutrition

The food on our plates and the drinks in our hands all contain vital ingredients to keep it fresh, tasty, and healthy. Hear from Petr Mensik, Senior EU Affairs Manager at EU Specialty Food Ingredients to find out how these little ingredients play an outsized role for our food systems. Petr’s holds an engineer’s degree in quality assurance and food technology from the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague.

TALK 5: Ingredients for nutritious food

TALK 6: The science in our diets

What makes food great? Is it the taste? The smell? The texture? Alexander Mohrs, Executive Director of the European Flavour Association, explores the role our senses have on how we judge our food and what that means for our food future.

TALK 7: Tasty & Sustainable #FoodFuture

How do we as consumers connect with the way our food is made? FoodDrinkEurope's own nutrition expert, Bo Dohmen talks about her culinary upbringing and the role that food processing plays in our societies today. Bo has a background in European Affairs and before joining FoodDrinkEurope in 2022, she worked in the flavours industry. Bo is FoodDrinkEurope's expert on nutrition and health.

TALK 8: You, me and processed foods

Circular Economy stage

Geneviève Pons (Director General and Vice President, Europe Jacques Delors) is considered by Politico as one of the most influential women in Brussels, notably in the field of environment. Currently Honorary Director of the European Commission, she was in charge of environmental and climate matters in the cabinet of Mr. Jacques Delors during his mandate as President of the European Commission from 1991 to 1995.

TALK 1: A bird's eye view of the green puzzle

Mariana Nicolau (Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production) explores the lifestyle patterns and impacts in different cultural settings. Sustainable behaviour and behaviour change is an important component of Mariana’s work, which includes how to drive consumer behaviour for more sustainable food systems. in her academic career, she explored the interface between environmental law and Sustainable Consumption & Production, dematerialisation and sufficiency.

TALK 2: Every consumer counts

Driven by the purpose of co-building a new way of doing business, where people and planet come first, Maxime Vanderheyden (Co-founder, Ecopoon) founded with a friend a small company offering edible cutlery, ranging from rosemary aperitif spoon to speculoos coffee stirrers. They use local suppliers adopting ancient farming practices and following regenerative agriculture principles and a profound respect for the environment.

TALK 3: Eat your spoon!

Valerie Bruyninckx (Corporate Communication & PR Manager, Fost Plus) started a career in communications out of a love for stories. After a brief stint at a newspaper, she has worked in different communication roles, both in agencies and in-house. In 2020, she became corporate communication and PR manager at Fost Plus, the organisation responsible for the coordination and financing of the household packaging recycling chain.

TALK 4: Easy does it - the secret to Belgian recycling success

Arthur ten Wolde (Executive Director, Ecopreneur) and Paul Skehan (Senior Director, Corporate Affairs, PepsiCo) debate whether our food systems can grow sustainably.

DEBATE: Circular solutions - scalability & profitability

Net-zero stage

Emeric Duchesne graduated from EM Lyon Business School in France in 2007. After a few years abroad, he rejoined his family farm in 2012 where he developed a permanent focus on sustainable farming, carbon sequestration and environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. The farm production is composed of 50% wheat, 20% sugar beet, 15% oilseed, 10% peas and linen. He has produced biogas since 2021. He is married and has three children.

TALK 1: Farming for nature

Robin moved to the Nestlé UK & Ireland Procurement team in 2011 and until recently he led the market-level implementation of Nestlé’s global commitment to engage all suppliers in its Responsible Sourcing Guidelines and approach. Robin is particularly passionate about the 'S' in ESG and has recently taken up a new role as Community Regeneration Lead for Nestle UK, helping Nestle to be a good community citizen.

TALK 2: Net-zero milk

Liam is a Series Developer at BBC StoryWorks Programme Partnerships. He is responsible for in-depth subject matter research and audience insights. Liam has led development for series on topics as varied as energy, water, climate and health, and nursing as well as the Food for Thought series produced for FoodDrinkEurope, which launched in April 2023. Prior to joining the BBC, he received a PhD in English Literature at the University of Leeds, UK.

TALK 3: What are consumers thinking?

Michel Scholte is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of True Price and the Impact Institute. He is a social entrepreneur dedicated to a more equitable economy. Michel holds a variety of (advisory) board positions and is an alumnus of the Shapers Network of the World Economic Forum and a member of Worldconnectors. He holds an MSc degree in Sociology from the VU University Amsterdam.

TALK 4: Working out the true price of food

Hajar is a former UN Youth Representative for the Netherlands. During her mandate as a Youth Delegate Hajar represented input from young people at the UN. Currently, she works on enhancing youth participation, climate action, and human rights work as a public speaker, advocate, and consultant through her own company and as part of the strategic-foresight think-thank: Whetston. Hajar is also one of the co-founders of Network 2100, a Network that advocates for the inclusion of young people in (supervisory) boards of corporations.

Talk 5: bringing the Gen-Z revolution to the boardroom

Carla Hilhorst is a Food Scientist by training at the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands. She joined Unilever in 1993, starting as a product developer in the margarine category and led and implemented a number of R&D innovations in the area of Heart Health margarine products. Through her career at the company, Carla has been responsible for the Global R&D program for spreads brands like Blue Band, responsible for regulatory affairs for over 100 countries, VP R&D Foods Europe, VP R&D for Savoury, Foods R&D, VP Foods, Ice-Cream and Tea R&D and today is the Chief R&D Officer for the Unilever Nutrition Business group.

TALK 6: How business can lead the net-zero economy

By Marilda Dhaskali (EU Agriculture and Bioenergy Policy Officer, BirdLife Europe)

TALK 7: Time is running out for nature

Growing up among farmers in South West Sweden Ingrid was always interested in agriculture and farming. In the 1990s she left to work on a farm in Australia and realised how different farming can be from one country to another. She returned home to study agronomy in the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences. For the past 16 years Ingrid has represented Swedish farmers in Brussels as the director of the Swedish Farmers Brussels Office since 2010.

TALK 8: Sustainable agriculture led by farmers

Tom Brookes is a climate expert and CEO and founder of Global Strategic Communications Council

TALK 9: The leaders making a difference

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#FoodFuture Ideas Fest 2023

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#FoodFuture Ideas Fest 2023

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