From vision to reality: Where food-tech innovation gets stuck

24 Sept 2026
Main Stage
Main Stage

Many promising food innovations fail to make the leap from pilot to meaningful commercial impact. The challenge is rarely just technology; success depends on aligning scientific validation, consumer acceptance, regulatory pathways and commercial readiness. So where does innovation get stuck most often? What separates concepts that scale from those that stall? And how can the industry build stronger pathways from breakthrough ideas to products that create measurable value?

Host
Katia Merten-Lentz
Katia Merten-Lentz, Partner
Speakers
Geert Maesmans
Geert Maesmans, VP R&D Food EMEA
Imran Afzal
Imran Afzal, CEO