foodRegio e.V.

What foodRegio e.V. does

foodRegio e.V. is a registered industry association (eingetragener Verein) founded in Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, around 2005-2007, operating as the leading cluster-management network for the North German food industry across the five states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, and Bremen. It serves 85 active member companies and institutions spanning the full food value chain — from producers such as DMK Deutsches Milchkontor, H. & J. Brüggen, and Schwartauer Werke to research bodies including Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel and Fraunhofer IMTE — addressing fragmentation in the regional food sector through networking, working groups, training programmes, and policy advocacy.

Its core offerings are non-software service lines: the annual foodRegio Trendtag (up to 250 participants since 2007), the NEWTRITION X. Innovation Summit on Personalised Nutrition, ten working groups (Procurement, Mechanical Engineering, Logistics, Market & Communication, HR, Training, Innovation, Quality & Certification, Packaging, Sustainability), and structured training such as Innovation Management (co-funded by ESF and Schleswig-Holstein), Machine Operation in the Food Industry (certified by IHK Lübeck), and the FOODSTARTER apprenticeship campaign launched in 2013. Government co-funded projects including CrossFoodPac (BMWK), KAIZEN Process Management, and Energy Management extend the portfolio.

The association is funded primarily by tiered annual membership dues (€400-€3,000 + VAT based on company size), supplemented by non-member event tickets, training fees, and public-project grants. Operating execution is handled through foodRegio Management GmbH, a private limited company under Managing Director Marco Kuhlow, with association governance led by Chairman Jochen Brüggen. Go-to-market is direct, community-led, and event-driven, with the state of Schleswig-Holstein acting as a structural supporter. The organisation has no proprietary technology platform and no AI/ML capability of its own; AI features only as a thematic content layer for member events.

Name

foodRegio e.V.

Legal name

foodRegio e.V.

Website

https://foodregio.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

foodRegio e.V. is a non-profit industry association based in Lübeck that runs the leading cluster network for the North German food sector, serving 85 member companies and research institutions across five states via events, working groups, training, and co-funded projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Industry Cluster Management

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture, Food & Nutrition Congresses (THAHAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Agriculture, Farming & AgriTech Shows Organizers (THAHABAM), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Food industry cluster
• Industry association services
• Regional networking events
• Food innovation projects
• Cluster management

Headquarters

HQ city

Lübeck

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees based on company size. Companies join the association and pay recurring annual fees. Members receive free participation in working groups and events, exclusive training courses, and networking opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

foodRegio e.V. operates a regional cluster network for the food industry in Northern Germany, providing its roughly 85 member companies with networking events, themed working groups, training and qualification programmes, and joint innovation projects. The association is supported operationally by foodRegio Management GmbH and is funded primarily through membership fees.

Product overview

foodRegio e.V. is a network organization for the North German food industry, not a unified software product. The organization offers a portfolio of services including annual events (foodRegio Trendtag and NEWTRITION X. Innovation Summit), training and qualification programmes (Innovation Management Training, Machine Operation Training, Engineering Economics Degree), industry projects (CrossFoodPac, KAIZEN Process Management, Energy Management), the Foodstarter apprenticeship campaign, Trend Radar for market intelligence, Facility Finder for location services, and the Food bites blog for trend content. The organization coordinates working groups across Procurement, Mechanical Engineering, Logistics, Market & Communication, Human Resources, Innovation, Quality & Certification, Packaging, and Sustainability. These services are provided primarily to member companies in the Northern German food industry value chain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• foodRegio Membership Annual membership in the foodRegio e.V. association, open to food-industry firms and supporting partner organisations in five Northern German states. Membership grants access to cluster events, themed working groups, training programmes, and joint innovation projects.
• foodRegio Trendtag Annual flagship networking and innovation event bringing together member companies, scientific partners, and invited guests to discuss current trends in the food industry. Open to members and external attendees.
• NEWTRITION X. Innovation summit format dedicated to forward-looking nutrition and food topics, convened for cluster members and partner organisations.
• foodRegio Working Groups Themed working groups (Arbeitsgruppen) that allow member companies to collaborate on defined topics relevant to the food industry, meeting on a regular basis and producing outputs shared among participants.
• Foodstarter Campaign Campaign targeting food-sector start-ups, providing visibility and access to the foodRegio cluster network, member companies, and partner institutions.
• foodRegio Training Programmes Training and qualification programmes covering topics such as KAIZEN process management, energy management, innovation management, and machine operation, delivered to staff of member companies and partner organisations.
• CrossFoodPac Project Innovation project coordinated across the Northern German states under the foodRegio umbrella, addressing cross-state food-industry topics with member and scientific partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85 active member companies across 5 North German states
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CrossFoodPac project is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy according to a resolution by the German Bundestag. This funding enables the network to conduct roadmapping for packaging requirements in the food industry.
• Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CrossFoodPac project, focused on future food packaging requirements and technologies, is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy according to a resolution by the German Bundestag.
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK Lübeck)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCertificates for the machine operation training programme are issued by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The training was developed in cooperation with IHK for the food industry.
• Lübeck University of Applied Sciences (Technische Hochschule Lübeck)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated to create the Engineering Economics degree programme (B. Eng.) for the food industry, which began in winter semester 2011. The programme combines academic study with practical industry experience.
• Ministry for Economic Affairs of Schleswig-HolsteincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe network is supported by the Ministry for Economic Affairs of Schleswig-Holstein and operates as an initiative of the state.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Food Valley NL: Food Valley is the Netherlands' leading agrifood innovation cluster, connecting companies, research institutes, and government around the food value chain. It is the most direct European peer to foodRegio in terms of membership-network model and industry convening role, with foodRegio playing a similar role at a regional rather than national scale.
• AgriFood Capital (NL): AgriFood Capital is a Dutch public-private partnership focused on the agrifood sector in the Food Valley region, convening companies, knowledge institutions, and government. It is functionally analogous to foodRegio — a regional cluster body driving innovation, training, and collaboration across the food value chain.
• Food Processing Initiative e.V. Food Processing Initiative is a German industry network specifically focused on the food processing sector, headquartered in Bielefeld. It is the closest German peer to foodRegio, offering comparable membership services, working groups, and training for food manufacturers — making it the most direct regional competitor for member mindshare.

Regional players

• Bayern Innovativ GmbH: Bayern Innovativ is Bavaria's state-wide innovation network connecting companies and research across multiple sectors including food. It is a comparable German state-level cluster organization but with a broader cross-sector remit and significantly larger scale than foodRegio.
• BioCon Valley GmbH: BioCon Valley is the cluster management organization for life sciences and health economy in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and beyond, coordinating networks among companies and research institutes. It shares foodRegio's cluster-management structure and northern German footprint but focuses on life sciences rather than food.

Others

• DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft): The DLG is Germany's leading agricultural society, organizing flagship trade fairs (including Anuga FoodTec), training, and quality certifications for the food and agriculture sectors. It serves as a wider industry umbrella organization that foodRegio members and projects engage with, particularly for Anuga-hosted events like NEWTRITION X.
• Fraunhofer IVV (Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging): Fraunhofer IVV is a leading German applied research institute for food process engineering and packaging. It is an enabling research partner analogous to foodRegio's Fraunhofer IMTE member relationship, providing technical expertise for food industry projects like CrossFoodPac.
• ttz Bremerhaven: ttz Bremerhaven is a food research and innovation service provider in northern Germany that is itself a listed foodRegio member. It is an adjacent research-driven ecosystem participant that foodRegio collaborates with, providing technology and testing capabilities rather than competing for memberships.

Broad incumbents

• EIT Food: EIT Food is the EU's flagship food innovation partnership, backed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. It operates at a pan-European scale, providing funding, accelerator programs, and networking across the food value chain — a broader incumbent offering overlapping capabilities to foodRegio's working groups and innovation projects.

Emerging players

• Food Innovation Network (UK): The Food Innovation Network is a UK-wide initiative supporting food and drink manufacturers, particularly SMEs, with innovation support and connections. It mirrors foodRegio's working-group and training model at a national UK scope, representing a comparable emerging network format.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foodregio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 foodRegio e.V.