Cluster Food & Nutrition

What Cluster Food & Nutrition does

Cluster Food & Nutrition is a Swiss non-profit association (Verband) headquartered in Fribourg that connects 209+ actors across the Swiss agri-food ecosystem, including food producers, manufacturers, research institutions (HES-SO Valais-Wallis, BFH-HAFL, Agroscope), public organizations (PromFR, State of Fribourg), and project initiators spanning 15 cantons. Founded in 2015, it provides five core services: innovation support (orienting members to funding tools such as NPR projects up to CHF 150,000, Innovation Booster funding up to CHF 39,000, and innovation checks up to CHF 15,000), events and conferences (anchored by the annual InnoFood&Co forum attracting ~250 participants), thematic workshops, networking and collaboration facilitation, and visibility promotion through its website, monthly newsletter, and LinkedIn presence.

The business model is membership-based and event-driven, with recurring annual membership fees from 209+ organizations and per-event fees for non-members; events are free for members of Cluster Food & Nutrition and partner United Against Waste. Revenue is supplemented by institutional support through NPR regional policy funding, the Fribourg Agri&Food cantonal initiative, and the Innosuisse-backed Innovation Booster Future Food Farming program. The organization operates with approximately 10 employees (a core team of 5 including a director, project manager, event manager, communications lead, and administrative collaborator) and is governed by a committee chaired by Stephan Buchser (Chef Gourmet SA) with vice-president Pascal Toffel (Grangeneuve) and members from PromFR, HES-SO, Agroscope, BFH-HAFL, Swiss Nutrition and Health Foundation, Translait SA, Patric Concept SA, and Wyssa Gemüse. There is no proprietary technology product; the underlying capability is human-led ecosystem orchestration backed by Swiss Triple Impact recognition (2025) and the Socialstor Awards 2023 bronze medal won by member collaborations.

Name

Cluster Food & Nutrition

Legal name

Cluster Food & Nutrition

Website

https://clusterfoodnutrition.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cluster Food & Nutrition is a Swiss non-profit association based in Fribourg that connects 209+ agri-food companies, research institutions, and public organizations across 15 cantons through membership services, innovation-funding orientation, events, and networking to drive ecosystem collaboration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Association Services / Food Innovation Cluster

akta.pro primary industry

Food Systems & Value Chain Development for Nutrition (BPADAJAG)

Keywords

• Agri-food networking
• Innovation support services
• Food cluster association
• Ecosystem facilitation
• Membership association

Headquarters

HQ city

Fribourg

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Association revenue derived from membership fees paid by 209+ member organizations including enterprises, research institutions, and public organizations in the Swiss agri-food sector.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cluster Food & Nutrition is a membership-based non-profit association that connects 209+ actors in the Swiss agri-food sector — including food companies, research institutions, and public organizations across 15 cantons. It provides innovation support (orienting members toward funding and partners), events and conferences (including the annual InnoFood&Co flagship event), thematic workshops, networking facilitation, and visibility promotion through its communication channels.

Product overview

Cluster Food & Nutrition is a membership-based association (not a technology product) that provides a unified suite of innovation support services to over 200 agri-food actors. Its core offering consists of five interconnected services: innovation support (guiding projects toward funding and partners), events and conferences (including its flagship InnoFood&Co annual event), thematic workshops, networking facilitation, and visibility promotion. These are complemented by three structured support programs — Projets collaboratifs NPR, Fribourg Agri&Food, and the Innovation Booster Future Food Farming — which provide tiered financing and incubation pathways from early idea validation to collaborative R&D.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Soutien à l'innovation (Innovation Support) Guides members toward the right tools, partners, or funding mechanisms to structure and realize high-potential innovation projects in the agri-food sector. Targeted at enterprises, research institutions, and project initiators in the Swiss agri-food ecosystem.
• Événements, conférences & visites (Events, conferences & visits) Conferences, company visits, forums and networking aperitifs that connect members with the sector's challenges, actors and innovations. Targeted at member organizations and non-members across the Swiss agri-food ecosystem.
• Ateliers thématiques (Thematic workshops) Short, interactive formats to explore key themes, discover expertise, or co-create new content with members. Targeted at agri-food professionals seeking skill development and knowledge exchange.
• Réseautage, échanges & collaborations (Networking, exchanges & collaborations) Facilitates targeted connections and creates concrete bridges between agri-food sector actors through a rich, interdisciplinary network. Targeted at the 209+ member organizations across 15 Swiss cantons.
• Visibilité, découverte & inspiration (Visibility, discovery & inspiration) Promotes members' activities through communication channels including the website, monthly newsletter, LinkedIn publications, in-depth articles and event features. Targeted at member organizations seeking sector visibility.
• Projets collaboratifs NPR (NPR Collaborative Projects) Collaborative innovation projects bringing together companies and academic actors, funded up to CHF 150,000 with support from INNOSQUARE. Targeted at companies and academic actors in the agri-food sector seeking R&D collaboration funding.
• Fribourg Agri&Food Cantonal initiative combining financing tools, support services and an active regional network to bring agri-food innovations from idea to market. Targeted at companies and project leaders in the Canton of Fribourg.
• Innovation Booster Future Food Farming Innosuisse-supported national program fostering radical, high-impact solutions to bridge the gap between food production and consumption through co-creation workshops and 6-week incubation with coaching, with project funding up to CHF 39,000. Targeted at entrepreneurs and project leaders with innovative food-system ideas.
• InnoFood&Co (annual flagship event) Annual flagship conference gathering Swiss agri-food ecosystem actors for keynotes, innovative project showcases, thematic sessions, B2B meetings and networking. Targeted at the full Swiss agri-food ecosystem; next edition slated for May 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• 209 members and partners connected in 2025
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nouvelle Politique Régionale (NPR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss regional policy program funding collaborative innovation projects with up to CHF 150,000 per project, focused on bioeconomy/agri-food and Smart Territory priorities.
• Région Capitale SuisseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting regional economic development in the Swiss Capital Region.
• State of Fribourg (Etat de Fribourg)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCantonal government providing institutional support and funding through NPR (Nouvelle Politique Régionale) for collaborative innovation projects.
• INNOSQUAREcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINNOSQUARE is a key implementation partner for NPR collaborative innovation projects, providing project structuring support and financing request assistance throughout the process.
• Fribourg Agri&FoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCantonal initiative led by Canton of Fribourg to support agri-food innovation from idea to market, combining financing tools, support services, and regional network.
• Innosuisse (Innovation Booster Future Food Farming)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational innovation program supported by Innosuisse to develop radical solutions for sustainable Swiss food systems, including co-creation workshops, 6-week incubation, and project funding up to CHF 39,000.
• United Against WasteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization fighting food waste, co-organizing events with Cluster on food waste reduction and co-product valorization.
• Swiss Food & Nutrition ValleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization part of broader Swiss food and nutrition ecosystem network.
• Swiss Food ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss research network for food innovation, member of the ecosystem.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley: Swiss food and nutrition ecosystem network that similarly convenes industry, academia, and public actors to drive innovation — overlapping membership and mandate with Cluster Food & Nutrition and acknowledged as a partner organization.
• Swiss Food Research: National research network for food innovation in Switzerland; both Cluster Food & Nutrition and Swiss Food Research serve as bridges between academia, industry, and government in the Swiss food sector.
• foodward: Austrian food cluster that connects agri-food actors, facilitates innovation projects, and runs member-driven events — closely analogous operating model to Cluster Food & Nutrition in a neighboring Alpine market.
• InovCluster: Portuguese agro-food industry cluster operating as a membership-based association that supports innovation, internationalization, and collaboration among agri-food SMEs — directly comparable cluster-management business model.
• AgriFood Capital: Dutch agri-food cluster organization supporting SMEs and startups through networking, innovation programs, and events — a closely comparable cluster-management operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Food Valley NL: Larger and more established Dutch agri-food innovation cluster; a broad incumbent that similarly aggregates companies, knowledge institutions, and government, with deeper funding and international reach than Cluster Food & Nutrition.

Regional players

• Clusaga: Galician Food Industry Cluster, a regional industry association in Spain focused on connecting food-industry members with research and innovation support — comparable scope, mandate, and membership-driven model.
• BioAlps: Swiss life sciences cluster serving as the entry point for the canton's life-sciences ecosystem; comparable association-structure model for connecting industry, research, and public actors in Switzerland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clusterfoodnutrition/?originalSubdomain=ch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cluster Food & Nutrition