Industry Insights · 10min read
8 Women Driving Innovation Along the Food Supply Chain
To celebrate International Women's Day, on March 8th, we shine a spotlight on eight exciting professionals who are driving innovation along the food supply chain.
Dr Britta Winterberg | Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) & Co-Founder, Formo
Guided by the mission of bringing the next generation of sustainable, healthy and equitable dairy products to consumers, Dr Britta Winterberg co-founded the food biotech company Formo (formerly LegenDairy Foods) in 2019 together with Raffael Wohlgensinger.
As Europe’s first cellular agriculture company developing cultivated dairy products, Dr Winterberg's skilled team of scientists works with high-tech precision fermentation techniques to produce dairy using real, animal-free milk proteins. Prior to embarking on this pioneering startup venture, Dr Winterberg had a scientific career at Max Planck Institute in Marburg, Germany and the Australian National University in Canberra.
Visit legendairyfoods.de | Connect with Dr Britta Winterberg on LinkedIn
Emilie Dellecker | Co-Founder & Community Builder, Foodhack
Hailing from Switzerland, Emilie Dellecker is taking the food industry to new heights as a catalyst for change as FoodHack’s Community Builder. In her role, she hand-picks entrepreneurial changemaker talent from around the globe to act as FoodHack Ambassadors and therefore drive innovation in food tech locally. FoodHack is hosting its next summit on May 12th and 13th of this year. Some of the brightest minds in food tech are expected to attend.
Visit foodhack.global | Connect with Emilie Dellecker on LinkedIn
Hedwig Trottnow | Founder, frufree
After years of struggling to find sweet treats she could enjoy, in 2016, Hedwig Trottnow took her fructose intolerance into her own hands and founded frufree. Today, the Berlin-based brand’s portfolio delivers an exciting assortment of fructose-free, glucose-free, lactose-free and vegan cookies, chocolates and sweets to retailers across Europe. Trottnow’s vision? To become the leading brand in the ‘free-from’ category and help ensure that consumers always have a range of delicious ‘free-from’ foods to choose from on all supermarket shelves.
Visit frufree.de | Connect with Hedwig Trottnow on LinkedIn
Dr Karin Beukel and Aviaja Riemann-Andersen | Co-Founders, Agrain®
What began as an exciting thesis in food innovation at the University of Copenhagen quickly transformed into an entrepreneurial journey in upcycling industrial food waste – namely, spent grains from the beer and whisky industry. In 2018, Dr Karin Beukel and Aviaja Riemann-Andersen won the startup competition Venture Cup. They co-founded Circular Food Technology in March 2019 and launched Agrain® in June that same year. Today, Agrain® works with top Danish microbreweries to transform their excess spent grains into granola, crisps, crackers and baking mixes.
Visit agrainproducts.com | Connect with Dr Karin Beukel and Aviaja Riemann-Andersen on LinkedIn
Marina Schmidt | Founder and Podcast Host, Red to Green
If there is one woman in food tech with whom changemakers in the industry should sit down and have a chat with, it has to be Marina Schmidt from the exciting sustainable food innovations podcast Red to Green. Together with her talented team of content creators, she explores the intersections between the food tech space and sustainable solutions.
Throughout four podcast seasons, Schmidt has delved into the topics of cultivated meat and cellular agriculture, plastic alternatives, promoting alternative proteins and food waste together with leading industry voices. In 2022, she plans to venture further into food history and synthetic biology spheres. Her podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, amazon music and more. Schmidt has a background in leading the analysis of business model opportunities and markets in healthcare and mobility.
Visit redtogreen.solutions | Connect with Marina Schmidt on LinkedIn
Mila Valcárcel Pato | Co-Founder, Eatable Adventures
With over 20 years of combined professional experience in marketing and communication in both media and F&B under her belt, it was only a matter of time until Mila Valcárcel Pato decided to roll up her sleeves and transform topics she is passionate about into an entrepreneurial mission – namely the crossroads of foodtech, agtech, innovation and corporate venturing. Eager to help the innovative food companies of tomorrow hit the ground running and thrive in global markets, Valcárcel Pato co-founded Eatable Adventures in 2015. As Managing Partner, she continues to help startups build the infrastructure and relationships they need to scale and run their businesses sustainably.
Visit eatableadventures.com | Connect with Mila Valcárcel Pato on LinkedIn
Tarryn Gorre | CEO & Co-Founder, Kafoodle
In 2014, Tarryn Gorre co-founded the London-based, end-to-end food management software company Kafoodie with the vision of helping foodservice businesses improve the ways they manage and communicate allergen information. Having been appointed CEO of the award-winning company in 2018, she continues to scale her team and expand the businesse’s product offering. The latter currently extends from food labelling and recipe management to food stocking and ordering, and beyond. Gorre is credited as a highly experienced and knowledgeable professional who seeks to propel women forward in business and STEM spheres.
Visit kafoodie.com | Connect with Tarryn Gorre on LinkedIn
Looking to connect with other women who are driving change in food? Head over to our 2021 feature on 11 Inspiring Women in the Food Tech Industry.
Imagery: (1) ThisisEngineering RAEng via Unsplash, (2) Dr Britta Winterberg, (3) Emilie Dellecker , (4) Hedwig Trottnow , (5) Dr Karin Beukel and Aviaja Riemann-Andersen, (6) Marina Schmidt , (7) Mila Valcárcel Pato and (8) Tarryn Gorre