CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07: Food industry engagement and market uptake for microbiome and fermentation solutions

About us : Vitagora is a French agrifood competitiveness cluster based in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, with around 650 members: food companies, startups, research laboratories and technical centres. Vitagora also coordinates FoodTech France, the national food innovation network, and is a partner of EIT Food.

Fermentation and microbial solutions are one of our strategic priorities. Our region offers strong assets in this field:

• A leading dairy and cheese sector (Comté, Époisses)

• The UMR PAM (Food Processes and Microbiology), a joint research unit of Institut Agro Dijon and Université Bourgogne Europe, with about 140 staff working on food microbiology, microbial and biotechnological processes, probiotics and new protein sources

• Biotech’innov, a technology platform run by the SATT Sayens, covering fermentation and process development from proof of concept to pre-industrial pilot scale

What we offer to a consortium :

• Engage food SMEs and startups as end users and in-situ test sites, to move solutions from TRL 5 to TRL 7-8

• Connect the consortium with regional research and scale-up capacities (UMR PAM, Biotech’innov)

• Co-develop business models and market access pathways adapted to SMEs and startups

• Run the multi-actor approach: workshops and co-creation sessions with companies, researchers and consumer representatives

• Lead dissemination and exploitation through the Vitagora and FoodTech France networks

What we are looking for :

A coordinator or consortium developing microbiome solutions for food systems who needs a strong industrial and market uptake partner.