German Food Clusters. Your access to knowledge, markets and partners in Germany

Transcription

1 German Food Clusters Your access to knowledge, markets and partners in Germany

2 2 German Food Clusters The Food & Beverage Industry in Germany Germany s food industry is not only driven by the commitment to deliver the very best, but also by a desire to actively respond to changing consumer wants and needs. Increasing health awareness, an aging population, and the resulting demand for health and wellness products have helped a number of previously niche market actors to become significant industry players. The demand for functional foods has established Germany as a European leader in the business. Within the past decade alone, the organic food segment experienced a threefold increase in sales. Germany stands at the forefront of food and beverage market development as it rises to meet the international challenge of increased demand for safe and healthy food. Major Industry Sectors Germany s food and beverage industry is the fourth largest industry sector in Germany generating production value of EUR 150 billion each year. The industry is characterised by its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector of about 6000 companies employing 550,000 people. The largest industry segments by production value are meat and sausage products (23%), dairy products (15%), confectionery (10%), and alcoholic beverages (9%). International Trade Exports of processed foods and agricultural commodities generate an approximate EUR 50 billion in sales each year. More than a quarter of all processed foods made in Germany are exported, with about 80% of all exports going to other EU member states. Although exports of Germany s food industry reached an all-time high, the country is a net importer of food and beverage products and thereby the most important European market for foreign producers. Processed foods and agricultural commodities to the value of round about EUR 60 billion are imported each year. Innovative Excellence The German food industry, as well as public and private institutes continuously conduct R&D activities to develop new products, enhance nutrition, and improve general food safety. The total annual expenditure for R&D in the German food and beverage industry reaches approximately EUR 350 million. The private sector accounts for the majority of the total R&D spending and more than 90% of all R&D is conducted within the branch. More than 2,400 people work in food and beverage R&D. Almost half of all private R&D spending in the German food and beverage industry is foreign company derived underpinning the importance of local R&D to adapt products to the local market. Local research teams are able to research and develop new products according to culinary customs, tastes, and preferences. The innovative excellence and market development in the German food and beverage industry are strongly supported by professional clusters. The German food clusters are a good entry point for your access to knowledge, markets and partners in Germany.

3 German Food Clusters 3 Competence Networks Indispensable for Innovation Infrastructure Networks enhance innovation capacities by making use of widespread expertise and synergies. It is their central concern to link economy, science and research to accelerate the transfer of knowledge. Early and intense cooperation between research and businesses promotes technical progress sustainably. On the one hand businesses benefit from the research results, and simultaneously research institutes find business partners for implementing their outcomes more effectively. Networks are also the growth medium for entirely new products and technologies, frequently reaching across borders of disciplines and industries. topical field. Not only do they cover the various steps of the value chain as well as various sectors and disciplines, but are also defined by an intense interaction and communication among the involved players. Hence, Competence Clusters are enabled to create innovations of a particularly high value-added potential, and to transform them into marketable products or services. Finally, they contribute to a profile development and to the positioning of regions within the national and international competition. The Kompetenznetze Deutschland Initiative regards itself as Club of the Best Innovation Networks in Germany, thus well-defined criteria have to be fulfilled to be granted access to the initiative. In turn membership in the initiative constitutes a cachet. This initiative combines the most innovative and capable national networks in Germany. Even though regionally concentrated, Competence Clusters (Kompetenznetze) are supra-regionally operating cooperation associations of multiple high-performance players within a The successful collaboration and cooperation within the Kompetenznetze Deutschland Initiative has enabled the creation of the German Food Clusters. Initiators are foodregio, GIQS, NieKE and FPI, which all are acknowledged by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). The German Food Clusters are the ideal platform for everyone interested in this branch. Together they represent the complete value chain in food processing.

4 4 German Food Clusters foodregio Association of the North German Food Industry Founded: 2005, Members: 50 Focus areas: food processing industry, food ingredients, food processing technology / machinery Expertise: process innovation (energy, raw materials, cleaning, logistics), product innovation (trend radar, trend workshops, R&D), qualification programs, internationalisation International projects in Denmark, Finland, France, India, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden GIQS e. V. Grenzüberschreitende Integrierte Qualitätssicherung e. V. Founded: 2001, Members: 45 Focus areas: research driven network for the agro-food industry (food safety and food quality, food chain management, ICT and sensor technology) Expertise: innovation management: support of partners in food chains and research bodies during planning, preparation, implementation of R&D projects as well as communication and knowledge transfer of results for different target groups International projects in the Netherlands, Europe, China, Africa foodregio e. V. c/o Wirtschaftsförderung Lübeck GmbH, Falkenstraße Lübeck, Germany Dr. Björn P. Jacobsen info@foodregio.de GIQS e. V. c/o Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms- Universität Bonn Katzenburgweg Bonn, Germany Dr. Martin Hamer m.hamer@giqs.org foodregio has been established in 2005 by leading food processing enterprises as well as R&D facilities and universities in Germany s most northern provinces. Due to its demand-driven approach of delivering value-adding projects, the membership base has grown consistently and now comprises major parts of the food supply chain. foodregio activities concentrate on projects in process and product innovation which are supplemented by qualification programs for all levels starting from trainees to management. The high concentration of food processing enterprises in the areas of cereals, spices, confectionery, fine food and ingredients makes the headquarter location Lübeck the ideal spot for international enterprises and institutions seeking to develop the German-speaking food markets. The unique geographical position of foodregio close to the Baltic Sea is an exceptional advantage. This proximity favours cross-border cooperation between food processing enterprises and food-related institutions. Based on this accessibility to Europe s fastest growing economic region, foodregio has initiated the association of Baltic Sea Region food networks, baltfood. The baltfood secretariat is also located in Lübeck making this Hanseatic City a hotspot for the food sector. The core task of GIQS e. V. is to support partners in food chains and research bodies during planning, preparation, implementation and communication in collaborative research and development projects. Therefore GIQS generates ideas for new projects from an intensive dialogue with network partners. The cooperation follows the public private partnership-approach. GIQS acts regionally, nationally, and internationally. The team of GIQS is very qualified regarding various national and international funding programmes. Due to this, the selection of the particular projects and the information of the partners about the conditions along with knowledge transfer within the agro-food industry is one of its main tasks. The technological focus is concentrated on developing information and communication technologies suited for application in inter-enterprise quality, health, and crisis management in the agro-food sector.

5 German Food Clusters 5 NieKE Lower Saxony Competence Centre for the Food Industry, Food Initiative Niedersachsen Founded:1999, Members: 140 Focus areas: food processing, food safety, functional food, optimized production lines, agricultural engineering, education, qualification, knowledge and technology transfer Expertise: new technologies, production processes, shortage of skilled labour, R&D, business-oriented networking, public relations, qualification, education and continuing education International projects: FOOD FUTURE (German-Dutch border region), High Tech Europe, FOOD2Market (Belgium, Netherlands, North Rhine-Westphalia), FoodID (e.g. Sweden), Expert network Research (International, e.g. USA, New Zealand) Food-Processing Initiative e. V. Competent-connected-innovative Founded: 2000, Members: 115 Focus areas: food processing industry, food processing technology, food ingredients, IT solutions, food sciences Expertise: process and technology innovation, innovation and quality management, food safety, resource efficiency, technology transfer, communication, dissemination of research International projects: FOOD FUTURE (German-Dutch technology transfer), FOOD2Market (transnational innovation project Belgium, Netherlands, Germany), FoodSpot (innovation platform), AgriFoodResults (FP7 dissemination of research results), EU-China Business matchmaking, business delegations (Bulgaria, China, France, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Spain, etc.) NieKE Lower Saxony Competence Centre for the Food Industry Food Initiative Niedersachsen University of Vechta, Driverstaße Vechta, Germany Doris Schröder info@nieke.uni-vechta.de Food-Processing Initiative e. V. Herforder Straße Bielefeld, Germany Norbert Reichl info@foodprocessing.de NieKE bundles the competences in the agriculture and food industry within Lower Saxony and encourages synergies between the participating organisations. Among those networked under the NieKE umbrella are scientific establishments, production and marketing enterprises, service industries, banks, educational institutes etc. The services offered are focussed on SMEs. The network participants are characterised by very high professional qualifications and close association with the food industry. This enables NieKE to contribute towards encouraging enterprise performance within the food sector and in this way support and strengthen this second most important economy sector within the state. The greatest strengths of the network are its actuality, knowledge-transfer possibilities and the presentation of services. It comes into its own in servicing thematic forums, company meetings, exhibitions or thematic working groups. In November 2000 the FPI membership association was founded and has since then developed into an acknowledged platform in the food processing sector. FPI represents a competent and trusted intermediate between economy, science and politics. FPI s networks comprise industry (food and drink producers, food technology, ingredients, cleaning technologies, IT solutions, etc.), science (universities and knowledge institutes in the region), organisations (branch associations, chambers of commerce, etc.) as well as local and regional public bodies. Access to knowledge, partners, solutions and markets and thus strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium sized food companies this summarises best the FPI mission. Its main objectives are the facilitation of innovations and new technologies in the food sector, the creation of strategic alliances and co-operations and the establishment of international networks. FPI fosters communication, provides information, makes contacts across the food chains and stakeholders, initiates and supports all forms of co-operation and innovation projects, both national and international.

6 6 German Food Clusters Our Topics Food Quality & Safety In the next 20 years a dramatic increase in global trade of food and feedstuffs is to be expected. Hence the need is growing for innovative concepts and technologies to improve food safety and quality standards. The difficulties in reaching global standards are due to complexities in products and processes but also to the dynamically changing organization of the agro-food sector with its multitude of SMEs, its cultural diversity, its differences in expectations as well as in the ability to serve transparency needs, and its lack of consistent appropriate institutional infrastructure. Aim of the German Food Clusters is to improve chain wide quality management in food production, to improve food safety, to support quality and hygiene management efforts in SMEs as well as to improve and harmonise chain wide quality assurance systems. Sustainability & Resource Efficiency Only with a sustainable and efficient use of resources the competitiveness of the food sector will be maintained. This is why these issues are top of the list for food producers as well as for food technology providers in Germany. Saving resources (raw material, energy, water, packaging, etc.) and valorising by-products also helps to reduce production costs. This is another force in markets with strong price competition. Sustainability and resource efficiency are on the agenda of the German Food Clusters for many years now. Our companies and research institutes offer high competences in optimising the processes and developing new concepts for resource efficient food production. Cooperation & Technology Transfer Small and medium sized companies characterise the food processing sector. They have fast competences and generate uncountable ideas for innovative products, processes and services. Yet most SME suffer limited resources so that their competences and innovations remain unnoticed in many cases. This is also true for the collaboration between industry and research. As there is fast expertise available at German universities and technology institutes, science and business cooperation is a key factor for exploring the innovation capabilities and potentials. Stimulating cooperation and facilitating the transfer of knowledge between parties in the value chain and from science to business are core missions of the German Food Clusters. We provide access to knowledge and partners to valorise market opportunities. Product & Process Innovation Changing eating habits and increasing concerns regarding the quality and safety of food put new challenges onto science and industry. For this reason, the focus of R&D is set on novel efficient processes for shelf life and yield extension. Besides minimal processing, the efficient use of raw materials is a central stage. In various fields of food technology, approaches towards the utilization of subsidiary flows have been developed recently. Moreover, health and consumers acceptance of technological innovation have become key issues for food technologists. Qualification Programs & Human Resources The availability of knowledge about trends is the necessary pre-condition for the sustainable development of food processing enterprises. However, this knowledge is only of value if the employees can successfully transfer this knowledge into process innovations and new products. German Food Clusters have therefore focused on human resource development activities spanning from trainee education to further training of production workers and tailor-made study courses on bachelor level, addressing the current and future need of food processing enterprises. Apart from delivering the latest knowledge and expertise the programs use state-of-the-art delivery methods including blended learning as well as full e-learning courses, both in German and English.

7 German Food Clusters 7 Our Targets Due to our competencies and experience we constitute excellent starting points for international actors who are looking for new cooperation partners or for sharing good practice in this sector. To do so, we undertake different actions and use various instruments: GERMAN FOOD CLUSTERS Access to knowledge Access to partners Access to markets product & process quality & safety resource efficiency technology transfer human resources... personal contacts seminars delegations matchings expert database newsletter hotline exhibitions... innovation markets TARGETS TOPICS TOOLS We offer AND look for - access to knowledge - access to markets and - access to partners. We benefit from many years of international experience and participate in numerous multilateral and European projects and platforms in the food industry sector. Due to this experience and personal contacts we offer options to partners in different countries.

8 Imprint Editors: German Food Clusters Layout: VDI/VDE-IT, AEZ Photo credits: Wirtschaftsförderung LÜBECK GmbH Print: Druckerei Thiel Gruppe March 2012