DSM Invites Food Entrepreneurs to Pitch at Innovation Conference

27 Apr 2017 --- Royal DSM has invited entrepreneurs and innovators looking for financing and partnership to apply to attend an event with top DSM executives to explore business collaborations and investment opportunities. The Innovation Partnering Conference “Connecting Bright Innovations 2017” is to focus on new and innovative products and (bio)technologies that enable better food for everyone. The conference is to be held on 19-20 September at DSM's new Biotechnology Center in Delft, the Netherlands.

Innovation is what turns DSM's Bright Science into Brighter Living; it is about discovering and integrating the best, most sustainable and commercially viable solutions to meet market needs, drive profitable growth and help towards feeding more than 9 billion people by 2050 in a healthy, tasty and sustainable way. 

DSM is looking to both finance and partner with innovative entities in this space that want to take their products and solutions to the next level. “Connecting Bright Innovations 2017” represents an opportunity for entrepreneurs and start-up companies to present their product or technology to an organization uniquely positioned to help realize its full commercial potential. 

This is the fifth such conference hosted by DSM. Previous editions have led to successful financing and partnership deals between DSM and attendees. 

DSM is seeking entries for innovative technologies and products with both near-term (<3 years to commercialization) and longer-term (>3 years to commercialization) applications in the following areas of interest: 

• Sugar reduction and natural alternative sweeteners 
• Bio-preservation solutions for food and beverages 
• Salt reduction and other natural taste modulation solutions 
• Solutions to improve digestive health and bio-availability 
• Food chain efficiency and food waste reduction solutions 
• Fermentation and enzymatic technologies for new ingredients 
• The role of new proteins in healthier, better tasting, more sustainable food products and production systems 

The conference will be held at the Rosalind Franklin Biotechnology Center on the DSM site in Delft. The center’s location at the heart of the Biotech Campus Delft allows DSM to rapidly develop and scale up biotechnology solutions for promising new ingredients for customer validation and commercial roll-out. The Biotech Campus Delft, an initiative of DSM Delft, Delft University of Technology, the City of Delft and the Province of South Holland, builds on the location’s existing competences and internationally recognized position as a world leader in biotechnology development. It brings together fundamental science and R&D, applications expertise, piloting and scale-up facilities as well as commercial and market insights and relationships on one location.

The April/May edition of The World of Food Ingredients features an interview with Ilona Haaijer, President of DSM Food Specialties, and Gerhard Wagner, Director of the DSM Biotechnology Center. Speaking on DSM new center, Haaijer says, “Technology plays a key role in finding solutions. We need to find a way to feed all the people and a way to do it healthily. We believe passionately in our purpose of enabling better food for everyone. We can apply our science-based competences and creativity to really unlock value for customers and create new innovations.”