Co-created Innovations for a Competitive Food Sector and Sustainable Transitions

This funding opportunity supports innovation projects that develop and test science-based solutions contributing to sustainable growth and increased sustainability transitions in the food sector. The call is targeted at established companies and research organisations that want to co-create new solutions that contribute to enhanced competitiveness and accelerated sustainable transition in the food sector. Projects are expected to design and develop new or significantly improved products, services, processes or methods that can contribute to increased benefits and sustainability for more actors in the food sector and society. The call focuses specifically on innovations for sustainable and healthy diets, promoting change in the food system through new and healthy diets. This includes promoting new dietary habits through changes in consumer behaviour, developing a broader range of food products that combine lower climate impact with high nutritional value, and strengthening the profitability of Swedish food producers. Projects may develop replicable methods for consumers to opt for more sustainable diets, create new food products with positive health properties and low environmental impact, optimize processing of Swedish raw materials, develop foods through innovative processing methods like fermentation or extrusion, upgrade by-products for food use in circular systems, or create new tools that promote informed choices of sustainable and healthy foods. The funding is provided within the framework of the national research programme for food, established in 2017, which funds transdisciplinary, needs-driven research and innovation projects relevant for the entire food sector. The program is an important part of implementing Sweden's national food strategy. The portfolio approach ensures that funded projects collectively cover the thematic areas and challenges facing the food sector. Projects must be developed and implemented by two parties: a company with a Swedish organisation number and an academic party (university, college or research institute) based in Sweden. Both parties must have a clear and well-defined role in all phases of the project, from design to implementation, and both shall be active in applying and disseminating the project results.