Nordic Foodtech

Since 2010, Södertälje Municipality in Sweden has served public school lunches that are healthy for students and the planet. The initiative is known as Diet for a Green Planet.  Our guest today is Sara Jervfors who is the Head of the Diet Unit in Södertälje Municipality and an architect of the system. We talk about what a diet for a green planet is, how more municipalities could transform their lunches to meet these parameters, what incentives are missing to encourage such a diet, and how parents and kids have responded. 4:30 Details of the program 11:50 How kids vs parents respond to new food initiatives 15:40 The ripple effect on the community 18:30 What's missing to revive local food ecosystems 23:50 The role of politicians  This episode is part of Taste the Transition, a series of lunch conversations during the COP25 climate negotiations highlighting individuals taking climate action through food. Tell us your vision for the food system on www.nordicfoodtech.io/answer or by using the hashtag #NordicClim

In this episode, we address what we know from science when it comes to adopting diets that support a healthy, sustainable food system. My guest is Amanda Wood who is a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Launched in 2007, the Centre's vision is to advance a world where social-ecological systems are understood, governed and managed to not only enhance human well-being, but also enable the sustainable co-evolution of human civilizations with the biosphere. Amanda was a co-author of the influential EAT Lancet report and subsequently wrote an analysis on how the Nordic food system would have to be transformed in order to meet the report's recommendations.  7:30 Five actions areas that will transform the food system 19:00 Vision for the future food system 26:50 Wishlist for change from policy makers 31:00 Research areas we're still missing to move forward 35:30 Signs that the food system is changing for the better Episode Transcript Related Links Nordic Food Policy Lab on policy’s role in supporting

Emil Vincentz started his climate activism as a 12 year old. Today he is in his 20s and a member of Regeneration 2030, a movement led by teenagers and young adults in the Nordic and Baltic Sea Regions focused on making the United Nation's sustainable development goals a reality. He is also the founder of Symplistic, a company helping private and public organizations implement concrete solutions on environmental sustainability. At the Nordic COP25 in Stockholm, ReGeneration 2030 will be presenting their views on the future of the food system. Join us as Emil and I discuss what actions ReGeneration 2030 is calling for from policy makers, what it's like to be a young person advocating for the future today, and ways to champion the next generation. 6:00 An inside look into youth climate activism 18:30 Key issues talked about in Emil's circle (it might surprise you)  20:50 Actions for policymakers and vision for the future 32:30 How you should engage youth in your community 38:25 The role of parents and what it m

The Nordic Food Policy Lab was launched by the 5 prime ministers of the Nordic countries in 2017 to curate and share examples of Nordic food policy for health and sustainability. They do this through global partnerships and dialogues. Their goal is meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals through food policy. They also help other countries in achieving the goals. In this episode, Marie Persson provides an overview of what is happening within food policy across the Nordics. We also take a look at the COP25 UN climate negotiations from a Nordic angle and what a sustainable, healthy diet looks like. 7:30 Overview of the Nordics strengths and weaknesses when it comes to food & food policy 9:40 Why food is such a tricky political conversation 16:30 Examples of individuals taking climate action through food 20:20 What is needed for policy to encourage sustainable production and consumption 25:35 Why more chefs and behavioral psychologists are needed in politics This episode is part of Taste the Transition,

Too Good To Go enables consumers to buy food that would otherwise be thrown out at the end of the day. The idea started in Denmark and has quickly spread across Europe with everyone from mom and pop bakeries to big grocery retailers getting on board. Today they've saved some 25.5 million meals and opened up a new customer segment for many food businesses.  In this episode, we speak with Mikkel Fog Holm-Nielsen who runs special projects for Too Good To Go's management team. Join us as we discuss their ambitious strategy to fight food waste across multiple fronts. By 2020, they aim to work with 75,000 businesses, inspire 50 million people to reduce their household food waste, impact regulation in 5 countries, and have a food waste curriculum in 500 schools. 2:00 How Too Good To Go got started 5:40 Creating a business around food waste 14:10 Vision for the future food system and what's missing to get there  17:20 How they are fighting food waste via business, politics, education, and household behavior  27:30 C

Arla is the 5th largest dairy company in the world. Owned by 12,500 farmers across seven countries, they have an ambition to become the most transparent value chain in dairy. In today's episode, we discuss this ambition with Tomi Sirén who is the head of Digital and Technological Innovations at Arla. Based in Finalnd, he’s spearheading a variety of projects focused on moving their sustainability agenda forward with emerging technologies including the Arla Milkchain. Listen in as we talk about: 5:30 Arla's digital transformation 9:00 Arla Milkchain - how they are using blockchain to trace their products and animal welfare (see video) 21:00 Collaborations Arla is looking for and what obstacles they are facing to scale 26:00 Other sustainability projects at Arla 28:40 Vision for the future and what we're missing to get there

Almi Invest is Sweden’s most active startup investor. With 3 billion SEK under management, they make about 50 new investments each year and have invested in 660 companies overall, some of which have been acquired by Google, Microsoft, and Apple or IPOed at a billion kroner level on the stock market.  Join us as we speak with investment manager Karin Ebbinghaus about Almi's GreenTech fund, which only invests in companies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The fund has about 650 million SEK under management or 60 million euro. Listen in as we talk about: 3:50 Almi's investment thesis  15:10 What a GreenTech model looks  17:35 How to measure a GreenTech model's impact 21:20 How Almi's GreenTech fund fits into Swedens' national strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 30:10 Almi's vision for FoodTech ecosystem in 10-15 years

By 2050, an estimated 80% of all food will be destined for our global cities. To understand how we can make the food systems of our cities sustainable, resilient, and diverse our guest today is Emma Chow - the Project Lead for the Food Initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. In 2019, they launched a food initiative focused on convening food brands, producers, retailers, governments, innovators, and waste managers to redesign the food system serving cities to: Source food regeneratively and locally when appropriate Design and market healthier food products Make the most of food by upcycling waste streams. London, São Paulo and NYC have signed on as flagship cities to show what is possible. Join us in a wide-ranging conversation as we discuss the role of cities as power nodes in the food system as well as a circular vision for the future and the practical next steps for getting there. Whether you are

Amass has been recognized multiple times not only as one of the best restaurants in the world, but also as one of the most sustainable. For them, a zero waste kitchen has been an incredible creative constraint inspiring major changes to how this fine dining institution cooks, recycles, sources, and operates in their local environment. Today the restaurant’s food and ingredients are 90% organic. Food waste has been reduced by 75% since they started in 2013 and their annual water consumption is down by 5,200 liters. The restaurant’s facilities also include a garden with 80 varieties of plants and an aquaponic farming system. A Native New Zealander, Kim Wejendorp was the Sous Chef at Amass Restaurant in Copenhagen before becoming their head of R&D. In this conversation, we talk about how they undertook the sustainable transition, the creative process that produces a zero waste kitchen, and what kind of partners and innovations they are looking to partner with. Episode Transcript  Related Links & Episode

Not long ago, Frida Jonson and her co-founder Lovisa Madås realized that the FoodTech and AgTech worlds were unfolding in parallel. No journalism outlet was covering all sides of the story from farm to fork. So, they started AgFo, a digital media outlet covering the intersection of agriculture and food in Sweden.  AgFo's journalists travel all over the country reporting on different trends, perspectives, and innovations in the food system. Today, Frida gives us a front row seat to the conversations being had, the emerging trends, and collaborations to look out for. We also discuss why journalism is important for ecosystem development and connecting diverse communities.

Aquaculture is the farming of fish. As the fastest growing sector in animal food production, the industry has started to attract the interest of Silicon Valley. This might also be because aquaculture is some 20 years behind traditional agriculture in terms of development leaving it ripe for innovation. We speak with Carsten Krome who is the Managing Partner of Hatch, the first global aquaculture accelerator program operating across Norway, Hawaii and Singapore and an investor into aquaculture with the fund Alimentos Ventures. He provides an excellent introduction to the aquaculture world and what we can look forward to in this space.  Carsten has his own entrepreneurial experience through his start-up as a prawn farmer in Malaysia and he holds a Ph.D. in feed science from the University of Stirling as well as a Masters in Marine Biology from the University of Kiel in Germany.  If you liked this episode, check out this podcast with Ocean Harvest from Denmark on regenerative ocean farming as a solution to clim

Creandum has been an early investor in many of the most well known and successful Nordic companies including Spotify, Vivino, Klarna, and Kahoot just to name a few.  In today’s episode, we are speaking with Carl Fritjofsson who runs the San Francisco office serving as a bridge to Creandum's European founders as their companies expand into the US. Join us as we discuss how this tech VC is investing into the future of food and how European startups should be considering internationalization. 

KBH Madhus has a mission is to change society through better meals and they’ve been doing this by helping the kitchens of hospitals, schools, and other public institutions go 90% organic, often on the same budget. So many meals are made in the public sector, that this kind of institutional change has massive impact.  In this episode, we talk about the process KBH Madhus uses as well as how any kitchen - big or small, private or public - can do the same.

Cecilia Tilli founded Ultuna Mejeri, one of the first vegan cheese startups to hit the Swedish market back in 2014. The company grew to be sold in 50 stores and had a devoted fan base. Still, Cecilia and her team had to take the decision to close the company and declare bankruptcy. In this episode, Cecilia shares her personal story of starting the company and gives us a look into the realities of having your startup journey end in bankruptcy.

Gustav Johansson is behind Swedens largest vegan food blog. He’s also the author of two vegan cookbooks - one covers Swedish comfort food and the other is for athletes in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund and the Swedish Olympic Committee.  Gustav's work is fascinating. His work centers on using his platform to make it easier for people to chose a planet friendly diet. He does so by developing a trove of recipes that don’t require consumers to sacrifice the tastes they love or dishes they grew up with in order to eat more sustainably. He also works with supermarket chains and food entrepreneurs to ensure that the vegan products people want make it to market. He also develops recipes for new products to make sure there are resources available online for how to use them. Besides Gustav's story and approach, we also cover how new products are released in Sweden - it only happens three times a year - and why Swedes seem to be leading the charge when it comes to embracing a vegan diet. 

Lolland-Falster is fascinating not only because it has some of the richest soil in the country, but also because its considered “udkantsdanmark” or outer Denmark - a rural region, which has been struggling to attract growth in competition with big cities. Despite this, Growth Train's 7-week accelerator program has succeeded in attracting startups to the region. Their program focuses on connecting the big agricultural operators with startups, giving them a playground to test new technologies. The goal is to work with corporations to soure solutions to their innovation challenges. I speak with Christiane Paaske-Sørensen on the ins and outs of the program. Episode Transcript Related Links Coop’s members use crowdfunding to get new food startups on the shelves Why the Danish government's fund is now investing in FoodTech How Denmark's Agro Business Park connects startups and corporations Danish Technical University's on helping students invent the next big food solution How Copenhagen Food Space helps new st

Nicolai Jæpelt is the Project Leader for Coop Crowdfunding. Coop is one of the largest supermarket chains in Denmark and is run as a cooperative with approx. 1.8 million members. The supermarket has created a crowdfunding platform where members can invest in early stage food initiatives they believe in. We cover how to get on Coop's shelves, why this new pathway is so interesting, and what consumers are investing in. We also chat about how to make a successful food crowdfunding campaign and why the platform has become a trend spotting platform for other purchasers. 

If you're into food and find yourself in Sweden, then one of your first points of contact should definitely be Sweden FoodTech's Johan Jörgensen. The org is fully focused on developing the ecosystem through community, events, and biz dev assistance. Johan is an Internet entrepreneur turned investor with 20+ years of experience under his belt. He was once voted Best Investor in Sweden. Listen in as we discuss the ins and outs of Sweden's FoodTech ecosystem including Stockholm's plans to become a future food city. 

Samuel Scheer works at Innovation Center Denmark in Tel Aviv, where they have a focus on accelerating Ag & FoodTech businesses. In this episode, we focus on how Nordic companies can tap foreign VC and ecosystems to grow globally. We especially focus on why the Danish-Israeli connection is so interesting, what we can learn from each other, and how you can make the most of the connections and market opportunities these centers have to offer. 

Mia Maja Hansson helped to grow food entrepreneurship by establishing many of the spaces and facilities that Copenhagen food entrepreneurs use to get their businesses off the ground. This includes CPH Food Space, Street Food Around the Lakes, and Kitchen Collective. We discuss what each of these initiatives are as well as how and why they got started. We also dive into the history of food entrepreneurship and gastronomy in Copenhagen including what makes it such an innovative environment.