The plant-based everyday food of the future

The investment is made to develop new solutions that can contribute to increasing the food sector's competitiveness and ability for sustainable resource utilization when more and more people demand plant-based everyday food.

Now receives a total of 17 project funding from Vinnova with just over SEK 25 million. The projects involve, among others, food companies, industry organizations, municipalities and researchers. The projects focus on a wide range of Swedish raw materials - several types of legumes, cereals, hemp, algae, mushrooms and potatoes.

- We have good opportunities to become self-sufficient in protein-rich crops, but today there is a lack of capacity to take care of, for example, peas and beans that are to be used in food on a large scale, says Jesper Orhammar, who is responsible for the investment in Vinnova.

Some of the projects:

Development of products and processes for food in northern Sweden

A study to map skills and resources for utilizing existing raw materials and cultivation opportunities in northern Sweden, which despite good cultivation conditions have a lower degree of self-sufficiency in mainly plant-based foods than the rest of the country. The long-term purpose is to support small-scale producers in the Norrland food industry to develop and scale up production from an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable perspective. The project is led by Luleå University of Technology.

Locally produced and processed fava beans

In the Swedish market today, plant-based products are largely made from imported soy. The fava bean has so far been underused in the food sector, but interest is increasing due to its high protein content and suitability for cultivation in Sweden. In this project, a process is being developed to produce meat and dairy-like goods that consumers like from locally grown fava beans. The process covers the steps from the choice of bean variety to the commercialization of the end product. The project is led by Havredals biodevelop AB.

Whole grains with optimized availability of minerals

As a source of minerals, whole grains have an important and often underestimated place in the shift to a more plant-based diet, but whole grains also contain so-called antinutrients that prevent the absorption of essential minerals. The project aims to solve the problem of the availability of minerals in whole grains of rye, oats, barley and cultural cereals and thereby contribute to a mineral shift with optimized nutrition from plant-based foods. The project is led by Södertälje municipality.

See all project that receive funding here