This event aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the main development trends shaping the agri-food sector in the Balkans through Italian Cooperation. It will focus in particular on opportunities to strengthen local value chains, promote traditional products, support the transition towards sustainable production systems, and foster collaboration among institutions, territories, and businesses. Through context analyses, project presentations, and direct testimonials from producers, the session will showcase concrete examples of development cooperation initiatives implemented by CIHEAM Bari in the Balkans, with a focus on the Green&Healthy and TypicAl projects, developed in partnership with institutional stakeholders and local producers in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania.
Four different voices - an investor, a food company, an Italian startup and an international one - for an open and unfiltered discussion on the current state of protein innovation in the country.
This report presents how the top trends for 2026 are featuring in Europe, and what other factors may impact these category trends.
The conference will explore the evolution of consumer preferences, the acceleration of product innovation, and the growing role of fresh and dried fruit and vegetables as a powerful source of inspiration for new food concepts.
GLP-1 drugs are changing how millions of people eat, and food companies are only beginning to measure the impact. This session looks at how appetite-suppressing medications are shifting purchasing patterns, reformulation priorities, and long-term category strategy.
Grants, venture capital, strategic investment, and public funding all play a role in food startup financing, but the right mix depends on stage and sector. This session maps the options and helps founders build a capital strategy that matches where they actually are.
Longevity food is attracting serious investment and shelf space, but the category definition remains contested. This panel cuts through the noise: what food companies and investors should actually do with the longevity trend, and where the real science ends and the marketing begins.
Most food innovations never leave the pilot stage. This hands-on workshop unpacks the structural barriers holding back food companies and startups, then gives participants a practical framework to build a scalable innovation engine. Leave with tools to move from promising concept to commercial impact.
Translating a lab-proven food concept into a commercial product is where most innovations stall. This session examines the specific gaps that prevent lab-proven innovations from reaching the shelf, and what ventures and food companies can do to close them faster.
Foodtech valuations have reset, but capital is still moving. This panel examines which categories are attracting investment in 2026, where the smart money is pulling back, and what investors are looking for from food startups right now.
Italy's food culture has long been its identity. This session examines how that legacy is now fuelling startup activity, corporate R&D, and investor interest. Learn what it signals for the broader European FoodTech map.
The discussion will explore the delicate balance between reaching foreign markets and maintaining optimal shelf life. As “time equals quality”, the most advanced technologies for cold chain monitoring will be presented, along with intermodal solutions designed to ensure product integrity from farm to shelf, reducing waste and maximizing freshness.
