Imdea Alimentación

What Imdea Alimentación does

IMDEA Alimentación (legal name: Fundación IMDEA Alimentación, also known as IMDEA Food or IMDEA Research Institute Food & Health Sciences) is a Madrid-based, publicly funded, non-profit research institute founded in 2007 that operates precision nutrition research programs and clinical trial infrastructure. The institute's core scientific activity is organized around five research programs — Precision Nutrition and Cancer, Precision Nutrition and Aging, Precision Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Health, Precision Nutrition and Obesity, and Childhood Precision Nutrition — each directed by a recognized principal investigator. Underlying capability is mechanistic research into how food and nutrients interact with the body at the molecular level, including nutrigenomic and nutrigenetic studies that inform individualized nutritional interventions.

The institute commercializes its scientific capability through the GENYAL Platform for Clinical Trials in Nutrition and Health, which serves industry sponsors, hospitals, and laboratories with nutrigenomic and nutrigenetic study execution, and through an Innocom (Innovation, Communication and Education) unit handling technology transfer. Distribution is direct, enterprise-style: industry and hospital partners engage via the clinical trial platform while academic collaboration occurs through consortium participation (ERC, Marie Curie, EIT Food, UAM + CSIC International Excellence Campus). The institute holds Spain's Esquema Nacional de Seguridad (ENS) information-security certification awarded in 2022.

Revenue is generated through competitive public research funding rather than commercial pricing. Funding sources include the European Research Council, Marie Curie Actions (including the AMAROUT Programme), EIT Food, and Spanish/regional sources — the Community of Madrid, EU Structural Funds, the European Social Fund, and FEDER. Headcount sits in the 51-100 range and the institute maintains active recruitment across postdoctoral, predoctoral, technical, and administrative tracks, with a recent emphasis on computational biology, bioinformatics, and natural language processing roles.

Name

Imdea Alimentación

Legal name

Fundación IMDEA Alimentación

Website

https://food.imdea.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

IMDEA Alimentación is a publicly funded Madrid-based research institute running five precision nutrition programs (cancer, aging, cardiometabolic disease, obesity, childhood obesity) and a clinical trial platform (GENYAL) serving industry, hospitals, and laboratories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Science Research

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

akta.pro primary industry

Sample Logistics, Biorepository & IVD Kit Management (Trial Support) (HLAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

eCOA/ePRO/eDiary & Patient-Facing Data Collection (HLACAOAB)

Keywords

• Precision nutrition research
• Clinical trials nutrition
• Nutrigenomic studies
• Food science research
• Bioactive product development

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Public Funding: IMDEA Food is a public research institute funded through competitive research projects, international consortia, research grants from European and regional government sources including European Research Council, Marie Curie Actions, EIT Food, and Madrid's community.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IMDEA Alimentación is a publicly funded research institute that conducts precision nutrition research and operates the GENYAL Platform for Clinical Trials in Nutrition and Health. It delivers nutrigenomic and nutrigenetic studies to industry partners, hospitals, and laboratories, and runs five research programs covering cancer, aging, cardiometabolic health, obesity, and childhood obesity.

Product overview

IMDEA Alimentación is a research institute focused on precision nutrition, operating as a multi-program research organization rather than a single commercial product. The core offerings include the GENYAL Platform for clinical trials in nutrition and health, which supports nutrigenomic and nutrigenetic studies for industry, hospitals, and laboratories. The institute conducts five precision nutrition research programs addressing cancer, aging, cardiometabolic diseases, obesity, and childhood obesity. Additionally, the Innovation, Communication and Education Unit (Innocom) provides technology transfer and industry collaboration services. All offerings are research-oriented services rather than commercial software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GENYAL Platform: Platform for Clinical Trials in Nutrition and Health serving industry, hospitals, and laboratories. Conducts nutrigenomic and nutrigenetic studies to understand the scientific basis of the effects of food on health.

Products and services

• GENYAL Platform for Clinical Trials in Nutrition and Health Platform for Clinical Trials in Nutrition and Health enabling nutrigenomic and nutrigenetic studies, serving industry partners, hospitals, and laboratories seeking scientifically validated nutrition research.
• Precision Nutrition and Cancer Research Program Research program focused on understanding the mechanistic effects of food and nutrients on cancer prevention and treatment, with postdoctoral and predoctoral research training pathways.
• Precision Nutrition and Aging Research Program Research program led by Rafael de Cabo focused on precision nutrition interventions to prevent and treat aging-related chronic diseases.
• Childhood Precision Nutrition Research Program Research program co-directed by Jesús Argente and Julie Chowen focused on childhood obesity prevention through precision nutrition interventions.
• Precision Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Health Research Program Research program directed by Alfredo Martínez focused on understanding the role of nutrition in cardiometabolic diseases, including metainflammation and biomarker work.
• Precision Nutrition and Obesity Research Program Research program directed by José María Ordovás focused on precision nutrition approaches to prevent and treat obesity.
• Innovation, Communication and Education Unit (Innocom) Service unit providing innovation services, technology transfer, and educational resources to enable industry collaboration and dissemination of research outputs.
• Clinical Trial Services for Nutritional Interventions Clinical trial services enabling nutritional intervention studies — including studies aimed at boosting the immune system and cognitive ability — through the GENYAL Platform, offered to industry partners, hospitals, and laboratories.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 precision nutrition programs covering cancer, aging, cardiometabolic diseases, obesity, and childhood obesity

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• European Research Council (ERC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean funding body supporting frontier research. IMDEA Food participates in ERC grant programs and collaborates on cutting-edge nutrition research projects.
• Marie Curie ActionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU funding program for researcher mobility and training. IMDEA Food participates in the AMAROUT Programme fellowships under Marie Curie Actions, supporting research in Nutritional Genomics of Cardiovascular Disease, Molecular Oncology, Functional Foods, and related fields.
• EIT FoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Institute of Innovation and Technology food innovation community supporting sustainable food systems. IMDEA Food is part of this European consortium focused on food innovation.
• UAM + CSIC International Excellence CampuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) as part of the International Excellence Campus initiative for academic collaboration.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• INRAE (France): INRAE is France's national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment, with extensive precision nutrition, nutrigenomics, and clinical nutrition programs. It is directly comparable in scope (multi-program public nutrition research), funding model (state + EU), and translational mandate.
• Wageningen University & Research: Wageningen is Europe's leading public food and nutrition research university, running large-scale nutrition, cardiometabolic, and healthy-aging programs with industry-sponsored clinical trials. It is the most direct comparable to IMDEA Food on academic nutrition research scale, clinical trial infrastructure, and EU funding model.
• MRC Epidemiology Unit (University of Cambridge): The MRC Epidemiology Unit runs nutrition, obesity, and cardiometabolic epidemiology research with deep expertise in nutrigenomics and population-level dietary intervention studies. It is directly comparable to IMDEA Food on precision nutrition research methodology and academic-industry trial partnerships.
• CIBER (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red): CIBER is a Spanish networked biomedical research consortium running thematic areas in obesity, diabetes, and aging. It overlaps directly with IMDEA Food's cardiometabolic, obesity, and childhood obesity programs and competes for the same Spanish public health research funding.

Others

• International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI): ILSI is a global non-profit consortium that funds and convenes nutrition, food safety, and health research across academia, industry, and government. It is thematically aligned with IMDEA Food's translational nutrition mission and a potential convening/partner channel for industry-sponsored work.
• EIT Food: EIT Food is a European food innovation consortium of which IMDEA Food is a partner. It functions as an industry-academic convening platform and competing/consortium alternative for food and nutrition research funding across Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Nestlé Research: Nestlé Research is one of the largest private nutrition science organizations globally, operating clinical nutrition and nutrigenomics capabilities that overlap with IMDEA's industrial-project mandate. It is a potential industry partner and competitor for talent and industry-sponsored trial volume.
• Karolinska Institutet: Karolinska is a leading European medical university with strong nutrition, aging, and cardiometabolic research programs. While broader than IMDEA, it competes for top nutrition science talent, EU grants, and industry-sponsored clinical nutrition trials across Europe.
• CSIC (Spanish National Research Council): CSIC is Spain's largest public research body and an active IMDEA Food partner via the UAM+CSIC International Excellence Campus. It competes for the same Spanish and EU nutrition research funding and runs overlapping food, biomedicine, and aging programs at much larger scale.
• EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory): EMBL is an intergovernmental research organization in life sciences with strengths in genomics, molecular biology, and translational research. While broader than IMDEA Food, it competes for the same EU framework program funding and elite life-science talent pool.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/imdeaalimenta
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCeyyqQ91nNzL4tYbpPkq1hA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ImdeaAlimenta
• LinkedInes.linkedin.com/company/imdea-alimentaci%C3%B3n
• Instagraminstagram.com/imdeaalimenta

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Imdea Alimentación