Steered by a prestigious committee, NutrEvent offers a comprehensive programme dealing with the latest market trends and R&D innovations in Food, Feed, Nutrition and Health.

Structured around 3 tracks, the conference sessions bring together international experts to discuss current innovation stakes and provoke conversations that matter for players in food supplements, finished food products, and feed.

Interested in joining a panel?

Plenary Sessions

DAY 1 – Tuesday, October 4th

11.00 am – 12.30 pm CET

Consumer expectations are moving towards more naturalness and recognised health benefits: How does this affect the food ingredients industry?

Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact food has on their health, and their expectations in terms of benefits are on the rise. They understand that some healthy ingredients are also better for the planet, which also makes them more sensitive to naturalness and sustainability. This has a clear impact on consumer perception and expectations, forcing the ingredients industry to move towards more naturalness, by increasing scientific validation, reviewing regulations, and revising the sourcing of chemical ingredients to more natural.
How is the industry concretely adapting to the growing consumer demand for more health benefits and transparency in food production? How is the consumer perception driving R&D and product development? What is the real impact of ingredient labelling and health claims? What are the specificities in the way ingredients are perceived in different contexts of use?

Moderator: Matthieu Flourakis, Scientific Unit Coordinator, ILSI Europe

  • Cindy Schoumacher, Policy Officer, Bioeconomy & Food Systems, European Commission
  • Pascal Ronfard, Deputy Managing Director, Solactis SAS
  • Elke Duwenig, Senior Expert Global Regulatory / Public & Government Affairs Biotechnology, Nutrition & Health, BASF
  • Bo Dohmen, Manager Nutrition & Health, FoodDrinkEurope
  • Amandine De Santi, BD Director Europe – Functional and Nutritional Ingredients, Givaudan

DAY 2 – Wednesday, October 5th

2.00 pm – 3.30 pm CET

From large-scale production to personalised nutrition: How to balance the industrial nature of the sector with actual consumer needs?

Nutritional needs vary from one person to another, yet most food products and nutrition solutions are still mainly one-size-fits-all. Large food industry operators may find it challenging to overcome the limitations of mass production to offer a more customised and health-related approach. Further to this, personalised nutrition also requires a certain level of engagement from the consumer and taking a step further in the personalisation may require new business models.
How can the food system evolve to offer personalised nutrition to as many individuals as possible? What are the key segments driving personalised nutrition? What are the market opportunities for ingredient suppliers and food companies? How to create customised nutrient delivery systems? To what extent can digital solutions participate in empowering consumers to personalise their nutrition? How should the industry use the available data to provide a new consumer experience?

Moderator: Mariette Abrahams, Founder & CEO, Qina

  • Sylvie Raynal, Scientific Director, Naturactive, Pierre Fabre Group
  • Gil Blander, President, Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Segterra (Inside Tracker)
  • Itziar Tueros, Head of Food and Health department, AZTI
  • Olivier Ballèvre, R&D Program Manager – Personalized Nutrition, Nestlé
  • Nard Clabbers, Project Lead Personalised Nutrition Position Paper, Foodvalley

T1: Latest trends in food supplement innovation

TRACK 1: Latest trends in food supplement innovation

This track will give an overview of the innovative trends in food supplement use and applications, the challenges in terms of clinical validation and benefit claims and will question innovation strategies and market access.

DAY 1 – Tuesday, October 4th

9.00 am – 10.30 am CET

Gut microbiota: Recent high-level scientific studies on the clinical validation and benefits of novel food supplements

Scientific and consumer interest in the role of the gut microbiome has increased significantly in recent years. With continued innovation in different types of dietary supplements and the recent surge in gut microbiome research and development, it is expected to see continued improvement and potential scientific breakthroughs. What are the latest sources of scientific evidence for microbiome related innovations? What are the new ingredient combinations or formulations for pre/pro/postbiotics? What is the basis for their clinical validation?

Moderator: Radhika Bongoni, Commercial Director, BaseClear

2.30 pm – 3.30 pm CET

Food supplements meet technology: From products to personalised supplement services

Mobile applications and other digital technologies can enable nutrition companies to interact directly with their consumers. They can help tracking the use and benefits of supplements, as well as providing personal information and encouragement. To what extent do these developments impact the business models of dietary supplementation from product to service? How does it feed new data and ideas into R&D departments? More generally, how is the dietary supplement industry being digitised?

Moderator: Nard Clabbers, Project Lead Personalised Nutrition Position Paper, Foodvalley

4.00 pm – 5.30 pm CET

European regulatory opportunities and constraints for pre, pro and postbiotics

Ongoing developments in microbiome science are opening up new frontiers for probiotic and prebiotic research and producers. The ability to communicate about probiotics and prebiotics to key stakeholders is heavily influenced by the regulatory environment while European regulation has already rejected many health claims. How do innovative players handle the regulatory constraints and moving landscape? What are the opportunities to get the claims right and make them scientifically valid? What are the recent changes in regulation?

Moderator: Manfred Ruthsatz, Executive Director, Nutrition+HealthCARE 

DAY 2 – Wednesday, October 5th

4.00 pm – 5.00 pm CET

Is Immunity still a trend? 2022 overview of market evolutions for food supplements to boost immune health

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased awareness by consumers of the importance of immune system health. Does this interest persist? What are the opportunities in terms of development for new ingredients? What are the most popular supplements and what are the ingredient that consumers associate to immunity? How can supplements adapt to immunity support need at different life stages? What options do manufacturer have when formulating immune health supplements?

Moderator: Claudia Vasquez, Founder & CEO , Origenal Story

T2: Nutrition and health innovation in finished food products

TRACK 2: Nutrition and health innovation in finished food products

The food product industry is evolving rapidly and becoming more innovative, looking for ways to make healthy, nutritious offerings that are not only attractive and accessible but also sustainable. This track will focus on alternative ingredients, initiatives in manufacturing and production process and efforts made by the industry on transparency and sustainability issue.

DAY 1 – Tuesday, October 4th

9.00 am – 10.30 am CET

Key strategies for start-ups in bringing innovative finished food products with health benefits to market

Market position, choice of business model, distribution channels, health claims, novel food regulations…there’s so much to consider for founders in the food and health industry. How to strongly establish and leverage the relation between the food product and the health benefit? How to access the right consumers, investors, and potential partners?
While there may not be only one recipe for success, the panellists will share their main takeaways in building a go-to market strategy for innovative healthy food products.

Moderator: Claudia Vasquez, CEO & Founder, Origenal Story

2.00 pm – 3.30 pm CET

Challenges and opportunities of fermentation in food processing

More digestible, more nutrients, probiotics…Fermented food products have become quite popular in the recent years. What are the actual links and evidence between fermented foods, microbiome and how they affect our health? What are the nutritional label requirements on fermented foods? To what extent can fermentation play a role in promoting a sustainable food production? What are the unexplored areas of fermentation in finished foods products?

Moderator: Maria Spinetta, Sector Manager, Food and Beverage Division, Sagentia Innovation

DAY 2 – Wednesday, October 5th

9.00 am – 10.30 am CET

Finding the golden mean: Insights into improving texture and taste in the formulation of healthy food

Along with health benefits and sustainability, taste and texture are essential elements of consumer preference. Texture, like taste, is key in food consumption and is deeply linked to other sensory properties. From healthy snacks to alternative protein products, how is the food industry working on formulation to create healthy offerings that also satisfy the senses?

Moderator: Marie-Lucie Kankolongo Cibaka, Food Sensory and Innovation Consultant

11.00 am – 12.30 pm CET

Plant-based foods and beyond: Insights into consumer habits and promising market segments

How far will plant-based food products go? Although interest in plant-based alternatives is growing, these products remain a relatively small segment of the food and beverage industry. What are the most dynamic segments for plant-based foods? What could be the improvements to plant-based foods and new sources of innovation in protein alternatives? Who are the consumers of plant-based products and how do their nature and expectations contribute to building the food of the future?

Moderator: Paula Álvarez Ameijeiras, Ecosystem Manager & Innovation Consultant, Eatable Adventures

T3: Feed innovation insights

TRACK 3: Feed innovation insights

In the field of animal nutrition, innovation makes it possible to respond to many challenges, improving the economic performance of livestock farms, contributing to better safety and quality of human food, reducing animal medication, and promoting animal welfare. This track will review innovation sources in the sector and will focus on feed ingredients and additives reducing environmental impact and strengthening the overall health status of animals.

DAY 1 – Tuesday, October 4th

4.00 pm – 5.30 pm CET

Feed and microbiome: What new approaches are being developed to address specific health or nutritional challenges for animals?

Current research strongly indicates that developing new approaches in animal microbiome could greatly improve the industry’s productivity, while ensuring that it meets its health and sustainability challenges. How much do we know about animal microbiome composition and what are the ongoing approaches? How can this knowledge be leveraged to identify the right nutritional supplements? How can supporting animal gut health leads to more sustainable farming?

Moderator: Soumya Kanti Kar, Senior Scientist, Wageningen Livestock Research 

DAY 2 – Wednesday, October 5th

11.00 am – 12.30 pm CET

Alternative protein sources for animal nutrition

As the consumption of meat and animal products increases with population growth, there is a need for feed management strategies that are more sustainable for animals and the environment. This includes a shift towards more sustainable proteins for animal feed. What new ingredients offer alternatives? What are the opportunities for diversification and substitution? What is the potential of by-products and nutritional improvement of crops?

Moderator: Nico van Belzen, Director General, ScienceConsult