Flanders' FOOD
Since 2018 the agrifood industry has its own spearhead cluster of which Flanders’ FOOD is the central axis. Flanders’ FOOD is a strategy driven platform that contributes to a more competitive, innovative and sustainable agrifood industry. Flanders’ FOOD strengthens the innovation power of the target group by increasing the scientific and technological knowledge and uses an integrated approach to obtain this goal. In this manner Flanders’ FOOD contributes to the economical and societal development of Flanders. As spearhead cluster of the agrifood industry Flanders’ FOOD wants to facilitate the collaboration between companies, research institutions and government, through the value chain, cross-border and cross-sector.
Flanders’ FOOD is a cluster for the agri-food industry, supported by the Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). The cluster aims to facilitate the collaboration between enterprises, knowledge institutes and governments. Discover all clusters at www.vlaio.be/clusters. #growingstrong
Ellen Fierens
Ellen Fierens is Bio-engineer, graduated in 2001 at the KU Leuven. She obtained her PhD also at the KU Leuven in 2007. Since 2017, she works at Flanders’ FOOD as innovation manager.
“After my PhD on a very specific topic, namely one specific inhibitor in the wheat kernel, I broadened my view to all research topic within the laboratory of Food Chemistry and -Biochemistry of the KU Leuven: namely all components present in cereals, from non-starch polysaccharides, to proteins, to starch and back to the biologically active components (enzymes and inhibitors).
During my PhD and also as postdoc I discovered the value of collaboration within scientific research projects, with different research partners, with one single company or with several companies. I always found these collaborations very valuable: universities can learn from the practical experience of the industry and the other way around, scientific knowledge can help the industry to understand their observations and can facilitate the road to new developments.
At the university I learned the value of building bridges between academia and industry but also the importance of collaboration. At Flanders’ FOOD I continue working on those two aspects. As innovation manager I detect the common needs for different industrial partners, and I try to find the right (scientific) partner to offer an answer for these needs. The whole process of bringing together the different parties and trying to start up collaborations within a joint project in which each partner is comfortable and experiences the value, is an interesting job.
Collaboration is the key to a successful future and we, at Flanders’ FOOD, want to serve as the glue that brings and holds together all the pieces.
Kevin Winnen
Kevin Winnen is Bio-engineer, graduated in 2017 at KU Leuven. After conducting research at KU Leuven, he started as Quality officer in the bakery industry. Since 2019, he works at Flanders’ FOOD as innovation manager.
“After my studies I started working on a research project on donuts, namely the influence of process parameters and the functionality of ingredients during donut making, in the laboratory of Food Chemistry and –Biochemistry of the KU Leuven. This project was in collaboration with an industrial partner, which increased the validation and valorization of the results. Later I worked at the quality assurance department of Crelem Bakeries, where I further build bridges between the different departments. Now at Flanders’ FOOD as Innovation manager, I connect the dots and keep stimulating collaboration between different parties to improve further innovative success as well facilitate knowledge transfer to the industry. By inspiring, informing and co-creation between different partners, Flanders’ FOOD stimulates innovation in the agri-food industry.