your access to knowledge, markets and partners in germany
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German Food ClustersYour access to knowledge, markets and partners in Germany
| German Food Clusters2
Germany’s food industry is not only driven by the commit-
ment to deliver the very best, but also by a desire to actively
respond to changing consumer wants and needs. Increasing
health awareness, an aging population, and the resulting
demand for health and wellness products have helped a
number of previously niche market actors to become signi-
ficant industry players. The demand for functional foods has
established Germany as a European leader in the business.
Within the past decade alone, the organic food segment
experienced a threefold increase in sales. Germany stands
at the forefront of food and beverage market development
as it rises to meet the international challenge of increased
demand for safe and healthy food.
Major Industry Sectors
Germany’s food and beverage industry is the fourth largest
industry sector in Germany – generating production value
of EUR 150 billion each year. The industry is characterised by
its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector of about
6000 companies employing 550,000 people. The largest
industry segments by production value are meat and sau-
sage products (23%), dairy products (15%), confectionery
(10%), and alcoholic beverages (9%).
International Trade
Exports of processed foods and agricultural commodities
generate an approximate EUR 50 billion in sales each year.
More than a quarter of all processed foods made in Germany
are exported, with about 80% of all exports going to other
EU member states. Although exports of Germany’s food
industry reached an all-time high, the country is a net
importer of food and beverage products and thereby the
most important European market for foreign producers.
Processed foods and agricultural commodities to the value
of round about EUR 60 billion are imported each year.
Innovative Excellence
The German food industry, as well as public and private
institutes continuously conduct R&D activities to develop
new products, enhance nutrition, and improve general food
safety. The total annual expenditure for R&D in the German
food and beverage industry reaches approximately EUR 350
million. The private sector accounts for the majority of the
total R&D spending and more than 90% of all R&D is conduc-
ted within the branch. More than 2,400 people work in food
and beverage R&D. Almost half of all private R&D spending
in the German food and beverage industry is foreign com-
pany derived – underpinning the importance of local R&D
to adapt products to the local market. Local research teams
are able to research and develop new products according to
culinary customs, tastes, and preferences.
The innovative excellence and market development in the
German food and beverage industry are strongly supported
by professional clusters. The German food clusters are a
good entry point for your access to knowledge, markets and
partners in Germany.
The Food & Beverage Industry in Germany
German Food Clusters | 3
Networks enhance innovation capacities by making use of
widespread expertise and synergies. It is their central concern
to link economy, science and research to accelerate the
transfer of knowledge. Early and intense cooperation between
research and businesses promotes technical progress sustai-
nably. On the one hand businesses benefit from the research
results, and simultaneously research institutes find business
partners for implementing their outcomes more effectively.
Networks are also the growth medium for entirely new pro-
ducts and technologies, frequently reaching across borders of
disciplines and industries.
The Kompetenznetze Deutschland Initiative regards itself
as ”Club of the Best Innovation Networks” in Germany, thus
well-defined criteria have to be fulfilled to be granted access
to the initiative. In turn membership in the initiative consti-
tutes a cachet. This initiative combines the most innovative
and capable national networks in Germany. Even though
regionally concentrated, Competence Clusters (Kompe-
tenznetze) are supra-regionally operating cooperation
associations of multiple high-performance players within a
Competence Networks – Indispensable for Innovation Infrastructure
topical field. Not only do they cover the various steps of the
value chain as well as various sectors and disciplines, but are
also defined by an intense interaction and communication
among the involved players. Hence, Competence Clusters
are enabled to create innovations of a particularly high
value-added potential, and to transform them into market-
able products or services. Finally, they contribute to a profile
development and to the positioning of regions within the
national and international competition.
The successful collaboration and cooperation within the
Kompetenznetze Deutschland Initiative has enabled the
creation of the “German Food Clusters.” Initiators are
foodRegio, GIQS, NieKE and FPI, which all are acknowledged
by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi).
The German Food Clusters are the ideal platform for every-
one interested in this branch. Together they represent the
complete value chain in food processing.
| German Food Clusters4
foodRegioAssociation of the North German Food Industry
Founded: 2005, Members: 50
Focus areas: food processing industry, food ingredients, food
processing technology / machinery
Expertise: process innovation (energy, raw materials, cleaning,
logistics), product innovation (trend radar, trend workshops,
R&D), qualification programs, internationalisation
International projects in Denmark, Finland, France, India,
Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden
foodRegio has been established in 2005 by leading food pro-
cessing enterprises as well as R&D facilities and universities in
Germany’s most northern provinces. Due to its demand-driven
approach of delivering value-adding projects, the membership
base has grown consistently and now comprises major parts
of the food supply chain. foodRegio activities concentrate on
projects in process and product innovation which are supple-
mented by qualification programs for all levels – starting from
trainees to management.
The high concentration of food processing enterprises in the
areas of cereals, spices, confectionery, fine food and ingredients
makes the headquarter location Lübeck the ideal spot for
international enterprises and institutions seeking to develop the
German-speaking food markets. The unique geographical posi-
tion of foodRegio close to the Baltic Sea is an exceptional advan-
tage. This proximity favours cross-border cooperation between
food processing enterprises and food-related institutions. Based
on this accessibility to Europe’s fastest growing economic region,
foodRegio has initiated the association of Baltic Sea Region food
networks, baltfood. The baltfood secretariat is also located in
Lübeck making this Hanseatic City a hotspot for the food sector.
foodRegio e.V.
c/o Wirtschaftsförderung
Lübeck GmbH, Falkenstraße 11
23564 Lübeck, Germany
Dr. Björn P. Jacobsen
www.foodregio.de
GIQS e. V. Grenzüberschreitende Integrierte Qualitätssicherung e. V.
Founded: 2001, Members: 45
Focus areas: research driven network for the agro-food
industry (food safety and food quality, food chain management,
ICT and sensor technology)
Expertise:innovation management: support of partners in
food chains and research bodies during planning, preparation,
implementation of R&D-Projects as well as communication and
knowledge transfer of results for different target groups
International projects in the Netherlands, Europe, China, Africa
The core task of GIQS e.V. is to support partners in food chains
and research bodies during planning, preparation, imple-
mentation and communication in collaborative research and
development projects. Therefore GIQS generates ideas for new
projects from an intensive dialogue with network partners. The
cooperation follows the public private partnership-approach.
GIQS acts regionally, nationally, and internationally.
The team of GIQS is very qualified regarding various national
and international funding programmes. Due to this, the selec-
tion of the particular projects and the information of the part-
ners about the conditions along with knowledge transfer within
the agro-food industry is one of its main tasks. The technological
focus is concentrated on developing information and commu-
nication technologies suited for application in inter-enterprise
quality, health, and crisis management in the agro-food sector.
GIQS e. V.
c/o Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-
Universität Bonn
Katzenburgweg 7-9
53115 Bonn, Germany
Dr. Martin Hamer
www.giqs.org
German Food Clusters | 5
NieKE Lower Saxony Competence Centre for the Food Industry, Food Initiative Niedersachsen
Founded:1999, Members: 140
Focus areas: food processing, food safety, functional food,
optimized production lines, agricultural engineering, education,
qualification, knowledge and technology transfer
Expertise:New technologies, production processes, shortage
of skilled labour, R&D, business-oriented networking, public
relations, qualification, education and continuing education
International projects: FOOD FUTURE (German-Dutch border
region), High Tech Europe, FOOD2Market (Belgium, Netherlands,
North Rhine-Westphalia), FoodID (e.g. Sweden), Expert network
“Research” (International, e.g. USA, New Zealand)
NieKE bundles the competences in the agriculture and food
industry within Lower Saxony and encourages synergies between
the participating organisations. Among those networked under
the NieKE umbrella are scientific establishments, production and
marketing enterprises, service industries, banks, educational insti-
tutes etc. The services offered are focussed on SMEs. The network
participants are characterised by very high professional qualifi-
cations and close association with the food industry. This enables
NieKE to contribute towards encouraging enterprise performance
within the food sector and in this way support and strengthen
this second most important economy sector within the state.
The greatest strengths of the network are its actuality, know-
ledge-transfer possibilities and the presentation of services.
It comes into its own in servicing thematic forums, company
meetings, exhibitions or thematic working groups.
NieKE – Lower Saxony Competence
Centre for the Food Industry
Food Initiative Niedersachsen
University of Vechta, Driverstaße 22
49377 Vechta, Germany
Doris Schröder
www.ernaehrungswirtschaft.de
Food-Processing Initiative e.VCompetent-connected-innovative
Founded:2000, Members: 115
Focus areas: food processing industry, food processing techno-
logy, food ingredients, IT solutions, food sciences
Expertise: process and technology innovation, innovation ma-
nagement, quality management, food safety, resource efficiency,
technology transfer, communication, dissemination of research
International projects: FOOD FUTURE (German-Dutch techno-
logy transfer), FOOD2Market (transnational innovation project
Belgium, Netherlands, Germany), FoodSpot (innovation platform),
AgriFoodResults (FP7 dissemination of research results), EU-China
Business matchmaking, business delegations (Bulgaria, China,
France, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Spain, etc.)
In November 2000 the FPI membership association was founded
and has since then developed into an acknowledged platform in
the food processing sector. FPI represents a competent and trus-
ted intermediate between economy, science and politics. FPI´s
networks comprise industry (food and drink producers, food
technology, ingredients, cleaning technologies, IT solutions, etc.),
science (Universities and knowledge institutes in the region),
organisations (branch associations, chambers of commerce, etc.)
as well as local and regional public bodies.
„Access to knowledge, partners, solutions and markets and thus
strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium sized
food companies” - this summarises best the FPI mission. Its main
objectives are the facilitation of innovations and new technolo-
gies in the food sector, the creation of strategic alliances and
co-operations and the establishment of international networks.
FPI fosters communication, provides information, makes
contacts across the food chains and stakeholders, initiates and
supports all forms of co-operation and innovation projects, both
national and international.
Food-Processing Initiative e.V
Herforder Straße 26 -28
33602 Bielefeld, Germany
Norbert Reichl
www.foodprocessing.de
| German Food Clusters6
Our Topics
value chain and from science to business are core missions
of the German Food Clusters. We provide access to know-
ledge and partners to valorise market opportunities.
Product & Process Innovation
Changing eating habits and increasing concerns regarding
the quality and safety of food put new challenges onto
science and industry. For this reason, the focus of R&D is set
on novel efficient processes for shelf life and yield extension.
Besides “minimal processing”, the efficient use of raw mate-
rials is a central stage. In various fields of food technology,
approaches towards the utilization of subsidiary flows have
been developed recently. Moreover, health and consumers’
acceptance of technological innovation have become key
issues for food technologists.
Qualification Programs & Human Resources
The availability of knowledge about trends is the necessary
pre-condition for the sustainable development of food pro-
cessing enterprises. However, this knowledge is only of value
if the employees can successfully transfer this knowledge
into process innovations and new products.
German Food Clusters have therefore focused on human
resource development activities spanning from trainee
education to further training of production workers and
tailor-made study courses on bachelor level, addressing the
current and future need of food processing enterprises.
Apart from delivering the latest knowledge and expertise
the programs use state-of-the-art delivery methods inclu-
ding blended learning as well as full e-learning courses, both
in German and English.
Food Quality & Safety
In the next 20 years a dramatic increase in global trade of
food and feedstuffs is to be expected. Hence the need is
growing for innovative concepts and technologies to improve
food safety and quality standards. The difficulties in reaching
global standards are due to complexities in products and
processes but also to the dynamically changing organization
of the agro-food sector with its multitude of SMEs, its cultural
diversity, its differences in expectations as well as in the ability
to serve transparency needs, and its lack of consistent appro-
priate institutional infrastructure. Aim of the German Food
Clusters is to improve chain wide quality management in food
production, to improve food safety, to support quality and
hygiene management efforts in SMEs as well as to improve
and harmonise chain wide quality assurance systems.
Sustainability & Resource Efficiency
Only with a sustainable and efficient use of resources the
competitiveness of the food sector will be maintained. This
is why these issues are top of the list for food producers as
well as for food technology providers in Germany. Saving
resources (raw material, energy, water, packaging, etc.) and
valorising by-products also helps to reduce production costs.
This is another force in markets with strong price compe-
tition. Sustainability and resource efficiency are on the
agenda of German Food Clusters for many years now. Our
companies and research institutes offer high competences
in optimising the processes and developing new concepts
for resource efficient food production.
Cooperation & Technology Transfer
Small and medium sized companies characterise the food
processing sector. They have fast competences and generate
uncountable ideas for innovative products, processes and
services. Yet most SME suffer limited resources so that their
competences and innovations remain unnoticed in many cases.
This is also true for the collaboration between industry
and research. As there is fast expertise available at German
universities and technology Institutes, science and business
cooperation is a key factor for exploring the innovation
capabilities and potentials. Stimulating cooperation and
facilitating the transfer of knowledge between parties in the
German Food Clusters | 7
Our Targets Due to our competencies and experience we constitute
excellent starting points for international actors who are
looking for new cooperation partners or for sharing good
practice in this sector. To do so, we undertake different
actions and use various instruments:
personal contacts
delegations
seminars
expert database
matchings
newsletter
hotline
exhibitions
. . . GE
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Access to knowledge
product & process
resource efficiency
quality & safety
. . .
technology transfer
human resources
Access to partners
Access to markets
innovation
markets
T O O L S T O P I C S T A R G E T S
We offer AND look for
- access to knowledge
- access to markets and
- access to partners
We benefit from many years of international experience and
participate in numerous multilateral and European projects
and platforms in the food industry sector. Due to this expe-
rience and personal contacts we offer options to partners in
different countries.
Imprint
Editors:
German Food Clusters
Layout:
VDI/VDE-IT, AEZ
Photo credits:
Wirtschaftsförderung LÜBECK GmbH
Print:
Druckerei Thiel Gruppe
March 2012