Denmark has been selected as a beacon region for building short food supply chains from local farmers to consumers in a new European project

21 April 2021

Food & Bio Cluster Denmark is a partner in a new European project, which is to bring food producers and farmers closer to the consumers.

The three-year project, aims to build bridges between producers and consumers, empowering farmers with practical knowledge and support to rebalance their market position through new business and marketing models based on Short Food Supply Chains (SFSC).

The project will develop an innovative multi-actor framework for farmers and food producers, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders and practical support tools to better connect producers and consumers. It will foster the establishment of sustainable business and marketing models based on SFSC models with less intermediaries and an improved market position for local producers.

Development of New Business and Marketing

In the project, we expect to develop new business and marketing models based on short supply chains that have the potential to increase producers' income by 35% by minimizing the number of intermediaries. In the long term, the project is expected to contribute to a 5-8% increase of producers involved in direct sales to consumers. On the shorter term, the goal is to train 150 persons on topics related to food procurement and how to mobilise innovative agri-food supply chains as well as how to support local producers.

- Our role in the project will be to develop and test tools, which local farmers and food producers can use to get closer to the consumers and increase direct sales, says Anni Simonsen, Senior Innovation Manager at Food & Bio Cluster Denmark.

- One of our first tasks will be to establish a Multi-Actor Platform, i.e. a network of Danish producers, consumers, knowledge institutions, authorities, distributors, etc., who will play an active role in the development of the tools. When the toolbox is ready, it will support the local food producers’ possibility to gain direct access to consumers through the construction of short supply chains. The producers can for instance get help with profiling, social media campaigns, conducting events and choosing the right business model, Anni Simonsen continues.
 

About the Project

The project has a budget of almost 3 million Euros and brings together a strong consortium from 11 different countries, which in addition to Food & Bio Cluster Denmark includes: Q-PLAN INTERNATIONAL (Greece), TEAGASC - Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Ireland), FruitvegetablesEUROPE (Belgium), Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy (Finland), Wageningen University (Netherlands), CREA - Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (Italy), Institute of Technology Tralee (Ireland), Fundación Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía CTA (Spain), Unimos Foundation (Poland), VEGEPOLYS VALLEY (France), Sabri Ulker Foundation (Turkey), Rezos Brands Agrifood Company (Greece), Sustainable Innovations Europe (Spain),  Hub Madrid SL (Spain).

The project receives funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101000788. 
 

For further information please contact

Anni Simonsen, Senior Innovation Manager, Food & Bio Cluster Denmark, asi@foodbiocluster.dk,  +45 5074 9830

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