Sitting at the centre of one of the world’s most important food nations, Switzerland, and as head of an organisation that brings together some of the most innovative F&B upstarts from across the globe, places Senn-Jakobsen in a seat of enviable knowledge.
She’s headed the four-and-a-half year-old organisation for almost all of its life, having first spent two decades curating a CV that features some of the world’s biggest FMCG names with Mondelēz International.
You want to save lives? You can talk to Doctors Without Borders or you can join the food system. Unleash your superhero powers
Christina Senn-Jakobsen is the CEO of Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley
And with 155-plus partners – from ag-tech to green packaging – signed up to Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley and sharing ideas together in a bid to further and future-proof global food and drink, Senn-Jakobsen’s 2025 F&B wish list makes a logical read.
So what does the food and drink innovation champion want to see happen in the sector this year?
UPF – the myths, facts and its role
Industry, scientists, the media and consumers must “stop using the phrase ultra-processed food (UPF)” as a catch-all, because we’re talking about the wrong thing, she argues.
“We need to talk about food classifications, because it’s about formulation and not processing.”
She agrees that there’s a challenge to bring salt, fat and sugar under control within this space. “It’s challenging and we need to find a way to regulate HFFS through policy or other ways.”
However, the world needs feeding and a lot of the nutrition, food safety and other benefits of the food and drink industry comes through products that are currently being demonised as UPF.
If the processing doesn’t happen, “we’ll just get a lot of other problems down the line”.
The industry has been cautious entering the discussion on UPF, but “they really want to talk about it and we need to get together to put it on the table”, she says.
AI and precision farming
Why is the sector holding back when it comes to throwing itself into technologies such as AI and precision farming? Senn-Jakobsen asks herself. “It’s a no-brainer what precision farming can do. If we look at it, what it can do is significantly reduce harmful chemicals in food production, the use of fertilisers and the impact on biodiversity,” she says.
While the potential benefits for the environment are undeniable, the business benefits are plentiful too, “with increased yield for farmers and lower water use”.
Though it is an expensive technology, especially for what some people might consider a conservative industry – which the food and drink industry can be.
But it will come to a point, Senn-Jakobsen concedes, when the industry has no option but to invest great sums into what are now still new and emerging technologies.
“Right now, it’s all a nice to have,” she says. “But if we look at climate change and how it’s impacted the likes of cocoa prices, it hurts companies and they’re looking for alternatives.”
But there are companies, such as Ecorobotix, developing technologies to reduce the use of pesticides and other chemicals on crops through targeted spray systems.
Alternative proteins
The conversation has to move on to cultured foods in 2025, she believes. “Plant-based has to deliver on taste, and if it doesn’t then it doesn’t work.”
Switzerland has a brand called Planted, which Senn-Jakobsen says delivers on the clean-label front as well as taste. “They’re building a new plant in Germany to produce for six countries in Europe and they’re also focusing on proprietary fermentation technology.”
Cultured food, however, is the way forward because it delivers on so many fronts, from nutrition to the environment.
It will likely be “separated by the believers and non-believers though”, she says. “It will be a religion and you will either stay away from it because you believe it’s Frankenfood or run towards it because it eliminates the use of antibiotics in food.”
Sustainable packaging
As a self-confessed, previous sceptic of the sustainability credentials and necessity of packaging, “I have since changed my mind after a state-of-play meeting with our partners”, Senn-Jakobsen says.
“It’s our friend,” she continues. “And what is the role of it? It’s to keep food safe and extend the shelf life. Scientists say there are two main things we can do to improve climate, which is to reduce meat consumption and reduce waste. And packaging plays a vital role in the latter especially.”
She went from thinking it’s “ridiculous to wrap a cucumber” to “seeing the whole cycle of it”, because without packaging food is damaged, it degrades and is ultimately wasted.
There’s also significant work being carried out to find alternatives like cellulose to stop the use of virgin wood, to make the packaging itself more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
The future will be spray packaging technologies, such as that from companies like Agrosustain which is able to extend the shelf life of strawberries using a spray technology that utilises strawberry roots.
Careers – getting more of the right people into food and drink
When it comes to industry talent, “Switzerland is a bit spoiled” as it is host to many of the food industry’s global headquarters, while the supporting system around it – universities and government funding – encourages people to enter it.
However, there’s an uptick in interest from university students in biochemistry, AI and other sectors, Senn-Jakobsen believes. But that’s not a significant concern.
For the food sector in general, it needs to consider what is driving the young and talent towards any business across all sectors, she explains.
“New talents are very keen on purpose and they want to drive impact and want to work for a company that walks the talk.”
She sums up the food industry’s mission statement to this generation simply: “You want to save lives? You can talk to Doctors Without Borders or you can join the food system. Unleash your superhero powers.”
Away from employment and specific sectors, the food sector as a whole must become better at empowering and making it easy for consumers to go to the supermarket and buy products that are nutritious and good for the planet.
But this can only be done by speaking the consumer’s language: it must be, for example, cheaper, taste good and be enjoyed by ‘the kids’, believes Senn-Jakobsen.
Nicholas Robinson
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