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SMART FOOD FACTORY: What we built, what comes next

Published on 08 October 2025

highfive final event imec

On 30 September–1 October 2025, we gathered our community in Leuven and Brussels for HIGHFIVE’s “Smart Food Factory” finale — two days of case-driven talks, live demos, and open dialogue on how Europe’s food processors (especially SMEs) are making the digital-green transition real.

Day 1 opened at imec with a focus on the concrete technologies and partnership models shaping the sector’s future. Mila Valcárcel Pato (Eatable Adventures) set the stage with Cracking the Code: Critical Technologies Shaping the Future of Food Systems, mapping where deep tech is already delivering value across the chain. From generative AI and quantum computing to smart robotics, omics sciences and blockchain-enabled traceability, Mila shared real startup cases showing how these tools help small food companies address waste, nutrition and climate impact simultaneously. 

Her core message was clear: the true power of food tech lies in pairing bold entrepreneurs with the right digital breakthroughs—turning big challenges into scalable, sustainable solutions. Veerle De Graef followed with Building Bridges for Digital and Green Innovation, highlighting how HIGHFIVE’s cross-regional approach links needs, providers and funding to de-risk SME adoption.

Project overview

01.12.2022 – 30.11.2025 · €11.6 m budget / €8.1 m EU funding · 33 partners (15 clusters, RTOs, regional development agencies & 18 SMEs) · 9 EU countries / 39 NUTS-2 regions · 9 large demonstration projects · 16 innovation projects via cascade funding · 45 SMEs investing in digital innovation · 27 digital solutions implemented or market-ready

Company success stories then took the floor—aligned with your speaker list and the official agenda:

  • Pomuni (Tim Van Meer) on using sensor and camera data to reduce food waste.
  • Mortoff (Zoltán Beke) on real-time, AI-based packaging quality control.
  • Benco (Marjus Saulis) on circular bottle-recycling pathways for beverages. 

After a panel with these SMEs, the second round of pitches showcased downstream applications:

  • Captic (Jonathan Kesteloot) on AI-driven cameras in vegetable processing;
  • Metronik (Katarina Lamovec) on AI-enabled production planning in dairy;
  • Ikologik/Prophesea (Thomas van Oyen) on energy management in frozen foods;
  • AOTech (Iker García) on optical sensing for inline butter monitoring.

A keynote by Xu Zhang (imec NL – OnePlanet research center) connected these use cases to the underlying technology trajectory—on-chip sensing and application-driven research that can be deployed cost-effectively in SME settings. The keynote focused on novel on-chip sensors based on photonic integrated circuits and their potential for measuring texture and composition in food processing. He discussed applications spanning speckle sensing, Raman spectroscopy, and NIR/MIR absorption spectroscopy, outlining how these approaches can underpin the next wave of data-driven quality and process insights in the sector.

In the afternoon, guided demonstrations across the imec campus translated ideas into practice: from “data to insights” pipelines, a mobile cobot on the shop floor, cost-efficient energy routing, integrated data monitoring of digitalised lines, a digital twin for wine fermentation, IoT for mayonnaise quality, a smart data platform for valorising waste at scale, and AI-based planning for cream-cheese manufacturing. Each station underscored the same point: digital makes green possible when it is embedded in day-to-day decisions.

The final keynote by Alexander Naessens (University of Antwerp & delaware) introduced a practical Industry 4.0 benchmarking tool—a way for companies to assess where they stand, plan coherent roadmaps and compare progress with peers. A closing panel (University of Antwerp/delaware, QING, Eatable Adventures, imec, Flanders’ FOOD) looked ahead to the next innovation wave and how to keep momentum across regions.

Day 2 was dedicated to shaping policy recommendations that help proven digital solutions travel faster across Europe’s food sector. The aim was practical: connect policy and ecosystem perspectives with what SMEs and clusters are already delivering, and translate those lessons into clear, scalable actions.

The day opened with a brief reflection by Simon Maas (Agrifood Capital). As a bridge between strategy and purpose, we then shared an inspirational video featuring the children of our consortium and partner organisations. In their own words, they imagined how food will be produced, processed and enjoyed in the future—reminding us that resilience, quality and sustainability are commitments to the next generation, not abstract goals. The video set the tone for the plenary inputs and workshops, grounding our recommendations in what ultimately matters.

Looking into the future we will face huge challenges in the agrifood industry. At imec we develop nanoelectronics and digital technologies which can help the food production ecosystem to optimize processes from farm to fork.

Kris Van de Voorde, imec

Children answer questions about food and its future

"Children see the future with clarity – they want food that is sustainable, healthy, and fair. And that’s exactly what we’re working on in European collaborations like HIGHFIVE. They remind us that food innovation isn’t about abstract technology. It’s about solving real-world problems in ways that benefit future generations. To make that happen, we need strong ecosystems that accelerate smart, digital solutions across the food value chain." - Simon Maas, Agrifood Capital 

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Stephanie Gallatova (FAO) outlined how innovation in small-scale food processing strengthens regional economies and why collaboration—both within the EU and North–South—is essential for resilience. Simon Maas (AgriFood Capital) presented Smart Solutions 4 Agri-Food and the SS4AF innovation hub collaboration with FAO, highlighting concrete routes to more sustainable and robust production. Tomislav Pinter (DG REGIO) introduced the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) instrument and current policy developments, situating HIGHFIVE’s cross-regional deployments within the EU framework. Veerle De Graef followed with a concise overview of HIGHFIVE, focusing on how the project connects regional needs, providers and funding so SMEs—across less developed regions, transition and more developed regions—can adopt and scale solutions with lower risk.

With this context, participants worked through thematic topics that anchor the policy recommendations:

  • Digitalisation & technology adoption — How sensors, data and AI move from pilots to everyday operations in SMEs; what support makes implementation stick on the shop floor.
  • Funding & scaling — How to align instruments (including cascade funding) with cross-regional replication so results in one region become templates in another.
  • Intersectoral collaboration — How clusters connect food processors with technology providers and research partners, speeding up problem-driven innovation.
  • Ecosystem strengthening & clusters — How regional partners coach SMEs, share playbooks and build capacity across LDR, transition and more developed contexts.

The working sessions emphasised measurable outcomes (quality, yield, resource use), replicable methods and cross-regional transfer, ensuring that policy recommendations are grounded in what SMEs, clusters and technology providers are already achieving through HIGHFIVE.

The closing day brought the results into focus. The innovation projects funded via cascade support showed near-market solutions designed to travel across regions, while the implementation and demonstration projects evidenced what happens when sensing, data and AI are embedded in day-to-day operations: tighter quality control, smarter use of energy and water, and clearer decisions on the shop floor.  

Over two days, the Smart Food Factory made a simple point: coordinated, cross-regional action turns promising ideas into repeatable outcomes for SMEs. With 16 innovation projects, 9 large demonstrations, 45 SMEs investing in digital innovation, and 27 solutions implemented or market-ready, the foundations are in place—use cases, playbooks and partners—to keep adoption moving. The real impact begins now, as proven solutions spread and scale—factory by factory, region by region—until what we call “innovation” becomes the everyday way Europe makes food.

Stay in touch

Under the SS4AF umbrella, follow SIXFOLD—the programme connecting and empowering Europe’s living labs—to track calls, tools and case studies that help HIGHFIVE results scale across regions. We’ll share updates on upcoming webinars, plus our participation at the World Food Forum and Synergy Days.

Let’s keep building the Smart Food Factory—together! 

Resources

Photo gallery
Online self-assessment (Alexander Naessens)