your access to knowledge, markets and partners in germany

German Food ClustersYour access to knowledge, markets and partners in Germany

| German Food Clusters2

Germany’s food industry is not only driven by the commit-

ment to deliver the very best, but also by a desire to actively

respond to changing consumer wants and needs. Increasing

health awareness, an aging population, and the resulting

demand for health and wellness products have helped a

number of previously niche market actors to become signi-

ficant industry players. The demand for functional foods has

established Germany as a European leader in the business.

Within the past decade alone, the organic food segment

experienced a threefold increase in sales. Germany stands

at the forefront of food and beverage market development

as it rises to meet the international challenge of increased

demand for safe and healthy food.

Major Industry Sectors

Germany’s food and beverage industry is the fourth largest

industry sector in Germany – generating production value

of EUR 150 billion each year. The industry is characterised by

its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector of about

6000 companies employing 550,000 people. The largest

industry segments by production value are meat and sau-

sage products (23%), dairy products (15%), confectionery

(10%), and alcoholic beverages (9%).

International Trade

Exports of processed foods and agricultural commodities

generate an approximate EUR 50 billion in sales each year.

More than a quarter of all processed foods made in Germany

are exported, with about 80% of all exports going to other

EU member states. Although exports of Germany’s food

industry reached an all-time high, the country is a net

importer of food and beverage products and thereby the

most important European market for foreign producers.

Processed foods and agricultural commodities to the value

of round about EUR 60 billion are imported each year.

Innovative Excellence

The German food industry, as well as public and private

institutes continuously conduct R&D activities to develop

new products, enhance nutrition, and improve general food

safety. The total annual expenditure for R&D in the German

food and beverage industry reaches approximately EUR 350

million. The private sector accounts for the majority of the

total R&D spending and more than 90% of all R&D is conduc-

ted within the branch. More than 2,400 people work in food

and beverage R&D. Almost half of all private R&D spending

in the German food and beverage industry is foreign com-

pany derived – underpinning the importance of local R&D

to adapt products to the local market. Local research teams

are able to research and develop new products according to

culinary customs, tastes, and preferences.

The innovative excellence and market development in the

German food and beverage industry are strongly supported

by professional clusters. The German food clusters are a

good entry point for your access to knowledge, markets and

partners in Germany.

The Food & Beverage Industry in Germany

German Food Clusters | 3

Networks enhance innovation capacities by making use of

widespread expertise and synergies. It is their central concern

to link economy, science and research to accelerate the

transfer of knowledge. Early and intense cooperation between

research and businesses promotes technical progress sustai-

nably. On the one hand businesses benefit from the research

results, and simultaneously research institutes find business

partners for implementing their outcomes more effectively.

Networks are also the growth medium for entirely new pro-

ducts and technologies, frequently reaching across borders of

disciplines and industries.

The Kompetenznetze Deutschland Initiative regards itself

as ”Club of the Best Innovation Networks” in Germany, thus

well-defined criteria have to be fulfilled to be granted access

to the initiative. In turn membership in the initiative consti-

tutes a cachet. This initiative combines the most innovative

and capable national networks in Germany. Even though

regionally concentrated, Competence Clusters (Kompe-

tenznetze) are supra-regionally operating cooperation

associations of multiple high-performance players within a

Competence Networks – Indispensable for Innovation Infrastructure

topical field. Not only do they cover the various steps of the

value chain as well as various sectors and disciplines, but are

also defined by an intense interaction and communication

among the involved players. Hence, Competence Clusters

are enabled to create innovations of a particularly high

value-added potential, and to transform them into market-

able products or services. Finally, they contribute to a profile

development and to the positioning of regions within the

national and international competition.

The successful collaboration and cooperation within the

Kompetenznetze Deutschland Initiative has enabled the

creation of the “German Food Clusters.” Initiators are

foodRegio, GIQS, NieKE and FPI, which all are acknowledged

by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi).

The German Food Clusters are the ideal platform for every-

one interested in this branch. Together they represent the

complete value chain in food processing.


foodRegioAssociation of the North German Food Industry

Founded: 2005, Members: 50

Focus areas: food processing industry, food ingredients, food

processing technology / machinery

Expertise: process innovation (energy, raw materials, cleaning,

logistics), product innovation (trend radar, trend workshops,

R&D), qualification programs, internationalisation

International projects in Denmark, Finland, France, India,

Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden

foodRegio has been established in 2005 by leading food pro-

cessing enterprises as well as R&D facilities and universities in

Germany’s most northern provinces. Due to its demand-driven

approach of delivering value-adding projects, the membership

base has grown consistently and now comprises major parts

of the food supply chain. foodRegio activities concentrate on

projects in process and product innovation which are supple-

mented by qualification programs for all levels – starting from

trainees to management.

The high concentration of food processing enterprises in the

areas of cereals, spices, confectionery, fine food and ingredients

makes the headquarter location Lübeck the ideal spot for

international enterprises and institutions seeking to develop the

German-speaking food markets. The unique geographical posi-

tion of foodRegio close to the Baltic Sea is an exceptional advan-

tage. This proximity favours cross-border cooperation between

food processing enterprises and food-related institutions. Based

on this accessibility to Europe’s fastest growing economic region,

foodRegio has initiated the association of Baltic Sea Region food

networks, baltfood. The baltfood secretariat is also located in

Lübeck making this Hanseatic City a hotspot for the food sector.

foodRegio e.V.

c/o Wirtschaftsförderung

Lübeck GmbH, Falkenstraße 11

23564 Lübeck, Germany

Dr. Björn P. Jacobsen

[email protected]

www.foodregio.de

GIQS e. V. Grenzüberschreitende Integrierte Qualitätssicherung e. V.

Founded: 2001, Members: 45

Focus areas: research driven network for the agro-food

industry (food safety and food quality, food chain management,

ICT and sensor technology)

Expertise:innovation management: support of partners in

food chains and research bodies during planning, preparation,

implementation of R&D-Projects as well as communication and

knowledge transfer of results for different target groups

International projects in the Netherlands, Europe, China, Africa

The core task of GIQS e.V. is to support partners in food chains

and research bodies during planning, preparation, imple-

mentation and communication in collaborative research and

development projects. Therefore GIQS generates ideas for new

projects from an intensive dialogue with network partners. The

cooperation follows the public private partnership-approach.

GIQS acts regionally, nationally, and internationally.

The team of GIQS is very qualified regarding various national

and international funding programmes. Due to this, the selec-

tion of the particular projects and the information of the part-

ners about the conditions along with knowledge transfer within

the agro-food industry is one of its main tasks. The technological

focus is concentrated on developing information and commu-

nication technologies suited for application in inter-enterprise

quality, health, and crisis management in the agro-food sector.

GIQS e. V.

c/o Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-

Universität Bonn

Katzenburgweg 7-9

53115 Bonn, Germany

Dr. Martin Hamer

[email protected]

www.giqs.org


NieKE Lower Saxony Competence Centre for the Food Industry, Food Initiative Niedersachsen

Founded:1999, Members: 140

Focus areas: food processing, food safety, functional food,

optimized production lines, agricultural engineering, education,

qualification, knowledge and technology transfer

Expertise:New technologies, production processes, shortage

of skilled labour, R&D, business-oriented networking, public

relations, qualification, education and continuing education

International projects: FOOD FUTURE (German-Dutch border

region), High Tech Europe, FOOD2Market (Belgium, Netherlands,

North Rhine-Westphalia), FoodID (e.g. Sweden), Expert network

“Research” (International, e.g. USA, New Zealand)

NieKE bundles the competences in the agriculture and food

industry within Lower Saxony and encourages synergies between

the participating organisations. Among those networked under

the NieKE umbrella are scientific establishments, production and

marketing enterprises, service industries, banks, educational insti-

tutes etc. The services offered are focussed on SMEs. The network

participants are characterised by very high professional qualifi-

cations and close association with the food industry. This enables

NieKE to contribute towards encouraging enterprise performance

within the food sector and in this way support and strengthen

this second most important economy sector within the state.

The greatest strengths of the network are its actuality, know-

ledge-transfer possibilities and the presentation of services.

It comes into its own in servicing thematic forums, company

meetings, exhibitions or thematic working groups.

NieKE – Lower Saxony Competence

Centre for the Food Industry

Food Initiative Niedersachsen

University of Vechta, Driverstaße 22

49377 Vechta, Germany

Doris Schröder

[email protected]

www.ernaehrungswirtschaft.de

Food-Processing Initiative e.VCompetent-connected-innovative

Founded:2000, Members: 115

Focus areas: food processing industry, food processing techno-

logy, food ingredients, IT solutions, food sciences

Expertise: process and technology innovation, innovation ma-

nagement, quality management, food safety, resource efficiency,

technology transfer, communication, dissemination of research

International projects: FOOD FUTURE (German-Dutch techno-

logy transfer), FOOD2Market (transnational innovation project

Belgium, Netherlands, Germany), FoodSpot (innovation platform),

AgriFoodResults (FP7 dissemination of research results), EU-China

Business matchmaking, business delegations (Bulgaria, China,

France, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Spain, etc.)

In November 2000 the FPI membership association was founded

and has since then developed into an acknowledged platform in

the food processing sector. FPI represents a competent and trus-

ted intermediate between economy, science and politics. FPI´s

networks comprise industry (food and drink producers, food

technology, ingredients, cleaning technologies, IT solutions, etc.),

science (Universities and knowledge institutes in the region),

organisations (branch associations, chambers of commerce, etc.)

as well as local and regional public bodies.

„Access to knowledge, partners, solutions and markets and thus

strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium sized

food companies” - this summarises best the FPI mission. Its main

objectives are the facilitation of innovations and new technolo-

gies in the food sector, the creation of strategic alliances and

co-operations and the establishment of international networks.

FPI fosters communication, provides information, makes

contacts across the food chains and stakeholders, initiates and

supports all forms of co-operation and innovation projects, both

national and international.

Food-Processing Initiative e.V

Herforder Straße 26 -28

33602 Bielefeld, Germany

Norbert Reichl

[email protected]

www.foodprocessing.de


Our Topics

value chain and from science to business are core missions

of the German Food Clusters. We provide access to know-

ledge and partners to valorise market opportunities.

Product & Process Innovation

Changing eating habits and increasing concerns regarding

the quality and safety of food put new challenges onto

science and industry. For this reason, the focus of R&D is set

on novel efficient processes for shelf life and yield extension.

Besides “minimal processing”, the efficient use of raw mate-

rials is a central stage. In various fields of food technology,

approaches towards the utilization of subsidiary flows have

been developed recently. Moreover, health and consumers’

acceptance of technological innovation have become key

issues for food technologists.

Qualification Programs & Human Resources

The availability of knowledge about trends is the necessary

pre-condition for the sustainable development of food pro-

cessing enterprises. However, this knowledge is only of value

if the employees can successfully transfer this knowledge

into process innovations and new products.

German Food Clusters have therefore focused on human

resource development activities spanning from trainee

education to further training of production workers and

tailor-made study courses on bachelor level, addressing the

current and future need of food processing enterprises.

Apart from delivering the latest knowledge and expertise

the programs use state-of-the-art delivery methods inclu-

ding blended learning as well as full e-learning courses, both

in German and English.

Food Quality & Safety

In the next 20 years a dramatic increase in global trade of

food and feedstuffs is to be expected. Hence the need is

growing for innovative concepts and technologies to improve

food safety and quality standards. The difficulties in reaching

global standards are due to complexities in products and

processes but also to the dynamically changing organization

of the agro-food sector with its multitude of SMEs, its cultural

diversity, its differences in expectations as well as in the ability

to serve transparency needs, and its lack of consistent appro-

priate institutional infrastructure. Aim of the German Food

Clusters is to improve chain wide quality management in food

production, to improve food safety, to support quality and

hygiene management efforts in SMEs as well as to improve

and harmonise chain wide quality assurance systems.

Sustainability & Resource Efficiency

Only with a sustainable and efficient use of resources the

competitiveness of the food sector will be maintained. This

is why these issues are top of the list for food producers as

well as for food technology providers in Germany. Saving

resources (raw material, energy, water, packaging, etc.) and

valorising by-products also helps to reduce production costs.

This is another force in markets with strong price compe-

tition. Sustainability and resource efficiency are on the

agenda of German Food Clusters for many years now. Our

companies and research institutes offer high competences

in optimising the processes and developing new concepts

for resource efficient food production.

Cooperation & Technology Transfer

Small and medium sized companies characterise the food

processing sector. They have fast competences and generate

uncountable ideas for innovative products, processes and

services. Yet most SME suffer limited resources so that their

competences and innovations remain unnoticed in many cases.

This is also true for the collaboration between industry

and research. As there is fast expertise available at German

universities and technology Institutes, science and business

cooperation is a key factor for exploring the innovation

capabilities and potentials. Stimulating cooperation and

facilitating the transfer of knowledge between parties in the


Our Targets Due to our competencies and experience we constitute

excellent starting points for international actors who are

looking for new cooperation partners or for sharing good

practice in this sector. To do so, we undertake different

actions and use various instruments:

personal contacts

delegations

seminars

expert database

matchings

newsletter

hotline

exhibitions

. . . GE

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Access to knowledge

product & process

resource efficiency

quality & safety

. . .

technology transfer

human resources

Access to partners

Access to markets

innovation

markets

T O O L S T O P I C S T A R G E T S

We offer AND look for

- access to knowledge

- access to markets and

- access to partners

We benefit from many years of international experience and

participate in numerous multilateral and European projects

and platforms in the food industry sector. Due to this expe-

rience and personal contacts we offer options to partners in

different countries.

Imprint

Editors:

German Food Clusters

Layout:

VDI/VDE-IT, AEZ

Photo credits:

Wirtschaftsförderung LÜBECK GmbH

Print:

Druckerei Thiel Gruppe

March 2012

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