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Ensuring a digital transition and the sustainability of the food processing sectors

An interview with Mr François HEROUFOSSE, Director General of the Wagralim competitiveness cluster

What are the key figures for Wagralim? The Cluster gathers together 170 active members and has given its label to 45 projects (30 in research, 15 in training) for a combined global amount exceeding €95M (public and private funding). In addition, Wagralim calls on two lasting technological platforms.

Could you tell us about the tasks and strategies of the cluster? An expert in the food processing sector, Wagralim relies primarily on collaboration between those working in industry, universities, research centres and training centres in order to speed up the creation of value within Walloon companies in the sector through innovation, partnerships and openness to the world. The Cluster is therefore positioning itself as the reference partner in the area of technological, business and managerial innovation in the food processing sector. In order to do this, it has defined three strategic orientations: nutrition and health, industrial efficiency and sustainable industries.

In September 2018 we launched Ffeedback, a swift and high performance market validation tool. This innovation started out from an observation: some food processing companies do not carry out any cutting-edge research and yet they innovate. It is therefore a matter of bringing them into contact with consumers in order to align their new concepts to the needs of the latter. Along with Ffeedback, we do not hesitate to call on university researchers, Higher Colleges

© Wagralim

and approved research centres to gain a better grasp of the evolution in purchase terms and conditions and offer our members the opportunity to explore new businesses.

Could you tell us about your members? They are representatives of the academic community (5 universities, food processing research centres, approved research centres and Higher College Associates), training players (skills centres, private players, sectoral funds that back food processing projects) and of course companies: thirty multinational companies and for the remainder SMEs active throughout the sector and a few service companies that provide technological or organisational solutions. © Wagralim

What services do you offer your members that carry innovation projects? The food processing sector is constantly looking for new new products, processes and services, as well as the tools needed to train its workers in a timely and targeted manner. Wagralim therefore helps its members to bring concrete shape to their R&D projects (idea for a project either internally or in collaboration with other Walloon, Belgian or international businesses), training (in particular for jobs with labour shortages) and investment (proposals for advantageous financial incentives for their projects).

By committing to a Cluster innovation project, a company is a winner three times over: it taps into the largest sources of funding in the Walloon Region for research, with subsidies up to 80% depending on the size of the company and up to 100% for those directly involved in research; it oversees the implementation of an innovative training programme tailored specifically to its needs; lastly, it receives a maximum 5% bonus in traditional investment grants.

Thanks to its expertise and its network in the food processing industry, Wagralim supports companies with due confidentiality: the innovative idea is assessed, a solid partnership is built up with companies, training and research players to give it concrete shape and the project’s assembly is taken care of (taking into account expert recommendations, market analysis support, searching for funding and the filing of the dossier with the Walloon Region). Once the project has its label, the Cluster

Inauguration of the Natextra platform

assumes responsibility for its follow-up, which implies help with the promotion of results, recourse to a neutral point of contact in the event of a disagreement and the provision of communication support.

Could you give us a few examples of projects in progress? The project “Porc Biota” concerns the development of prebiotic solutions that favour the development of bacterial microflora in animal feed. Piglets are at the heart of this project. It is a matter of avoiding the use of antibiotics in the food chain and increasing animal farming productivity.

In addition, the Cluster supports “Wallep”, a sector project intended to stimulate spelt cultivation (Wallonia is in second position nationally in terms of surface area for this niche cereal). The aim of this project is to launch a new range of spelt-based products with new versions for pasta, fermented drinks, raw materials for the industry (cereal syrup), bread products etc. It is about developing the first transformation of the spelt and investigating formulas for the introduction of this raw material into the regional food processing sector.

What does the Keyfood platform consist of? This platform aims to pool university expertise and act as an intermediary with companies who are seeking scientific expertise services for the resolution of certain problems. These services are short-term offers: they generally ranges from between 2 to 3 weeks and a few months. This scientific and technological support, which is founded on existing knowledge, makes it possible to add density to the Cluster’s network and raise the interest level of companies which may, in a second phase, envisage the implementation of research programmes.

What international support services do you place at the disposal of your members? Wagralim answers “present” for its member companies who want to establish themselves internationally on a new market or find skills via scientific partnerships abroad. Its international support services make it possible quickly to target the best foreign partners by activating its international network, enhancing other available export support systems (AWEX) and limiting risk and uncertainty.

Wagralim aims to be an international business accelerator thanks to its business packages, approach to distant and complex markets via specific actions (organisation of fringe events during international trade fairs, establishing collective offices, pooling consultancy and market research costs etc.), providing contacts with thousands of potential scientific partners and international projects such as New Frontiers in Food (NF4), which offers a comprehensive support service to stimulate international collaboration and the business development of European SMEs in the food processing sector in 4 foreign target markets (Brazil, Canada, China and the United States). NF4 brings together 5 food clusters: Clusaga (Spain), Food Valley NL (Netherlands), Valorial (France), Vitagora (France) and Wagralim, specialising in 3 food industry value chains which are processed foods, health and nutritional food products and connected foods. On top of this, the Cluster has carried out missions in Canada, the United States, China and Brazil and has associated with several European regions through European projects involving other clusters.

Could you tell us about your training activity? The Cluster offers training in managerial innovation (to increase the industrial excellence of its members) and purely technological innovation (particularly via Keyfood). By way of an example, the purpose of the “Key process” project, which has recently been completed, was to train staff in the food processing industry on the virtualisation of production equipment control (ability to control remotely).

In addition, the Cluster has launched mobile training units. These are semi-trailers equipped with training workshops and sent to business sites to train their employees as well as job seekers using the raw materials of the businesses concerned. As this training is approved by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA), the businesses are able to market the products formulated on this occasion.

Could you give us a few examples of Wagralim's success stories? Internationally, the Cluster has developed a partnership with the Chinese authorities with a view to facilitating the placing on the market of food products that meet nutritional needs (health nutrition) and comply with Chinese standards.

The Keyfood platform is a center of scientific and technological expertise for companies.

I would also like to talk about the Natextra platform: this consists of the extraction of bioactive components for food ingredients. Within this framework, the Cluster has just launched an industrial facility to allow for transition to the production phase. Thanks to a consortium of businesses and research centres, it becomes possible to develop these products and produce them on demand.

What events are you planning to organise in 2019? In March we will be in Chicago (United States) to lead a prospecting assignment there and attend the ProFood Tech trade fairs. In addition, two new calls for projects will be organised, one at the end of March and the other at the end of June. In September the Cluster will organise its annual event: Wagralim Food Connections. As every year, it will bring together its members and international visitors around a rich programme of conferences.

In your opinion what will be the main challenges that economic players in the food processing sector will have to face in the years to come? I can envisage several. The first concerns the integration of the digital dimension into the business model of our member companies. These companies are confronted with a nagging question: how will people consume tomorrow? Wholesale distribution is under pressure: it needs to adapt to the change in value chains and the increasingly strict sustainability requirements of the food processing sectors in order to overcome the challenges that face us in terms of the environment, growth and consumption. This adaptation will have to take place on several levels: sourcing (raw materials), protein independence of the European Union compared with other regions of the world, the higher share of vegetable proteins in the consumption of Europeans, increased production efficiency to avoid waste etc. Lastly, there is an urgent need to create a genuine connection between the food processing and the agriculture sector in order to design an agricultural system and not simply a transformation industry. There are serious links to be cultivated between the two!