A large proportion of European food companies are defined as small-medium enterprises (SMEs), producing a wide variety of regional specialities and traditional foods, yet they are not immune to commercial pressures. The TRADEIT project aims to help strengthen regional economies and protect Europe’s food heritage, as Dr Helena McMahon explains
Protecting Europe’s food heritage The European food market is extremely diverse, with small-medium enterprises (SMEs) across the continent producing a wide variety of regional specialities and traditional foods. While these SMEs are an integral part of the local economy in many areas of Europe, they still need to adapt and evolve in line with wider commercial and technological advancements, which is a key part of the TRADEIT project’s agenda. “The TRADEIT project was developed specifically to support small-scale food producers, particularly those in the dairy, meat and bakery sectors that produce traditional or artisan food products,” explains Dr Helena McMahon, the project’s coordinator. These foods are often closely associated with a specific region; “for example, cured meats are an important part of food heritage in Italy, Spain and many parts of Poland. We also work with a lot of traditional cheese producers and bread makers in Germany and Ireland,” says Dr McMahon.
Cultural heritage These foods in many cases are an important part of an area’s cultural heritage, yet this does not make the smaller companies that produce them immune to commercial pressures. The TRADEIT project provides support through a number of different
activities, aiming to help protect Europe’s food heritage. “Firstly through the creation of an EU-wide network of stakeholders in the traditional agri-food sectors, and secondly through the promotion and support of innovation. The third is through technology transfer, and then the fourth is through enabling collaboration between food experts and researchers,” outlines Dr McMahon. The project is set up around nine hubs across Europe, each of which has a sub-network of food producers, which enables localised support for companies. “In addition to technological inputs around process optimisation, packaging, food safety and new product development. However as we know there are technological and organisational aspects of running a business and taking this into account TRADEIT provides advice on operational issues such as pricing strategies, new business models, marketing, smart technologies and digitisation.” Many of these smaller companies tend to be family-run, typically (98% ) with less than 10 employee, using long-established production processes. As a result there can be generational issues in play in relation to the perception of the role of innovation within a company that produces traditional foods, typically produced in a specific way within a region for more than 50 years.
Whilst a company may be highly resistant to changing the production process, Dr McMahon says that adopting new technologies in other areas can lead to commercial benefits. “For example, while you don’t want to tamper with the ingredients or the production methodology, maybe you can improve the packaging to extend its shelf-life. That will then enable the food producer to make savings and keep their product on the market for longer,” she explains. The TRADEIT online ‘Marketplace’ enables companies and researchers to share information on this kind of technology. “The Marketplace is an online open innovation platform that enables researchers and companies to post technology needs and offers. It enables them to network online, and to match technology experts and solutions to the operational and technological challenges they face,” outlines Dr McMahon. This can help smaller companies adapt to the changing commercial landscape and build for the future. While smaller companies may hold some advantages over their larger counterparts in terms of commercial flexibility, they may not be able to invest in technology to the same extent, says Dr McMahon; “financial limitations can prevent small companies from investing in new technology, while some businesses don’t
Jackie Kennedy of Marsh Pig UK, sharing her expertise with attendees at Gubbeen Farm, West Cork.
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