As the SIXFOLD Living Lab network continues to grow across Europe, Finland brings a strong example of how applied research, industry collaboration, and sustainability can come together under one roof. As coordinator of the SIXFOLD project, SEAMK Food Labs is helping food innovators test, develop, and scale solutions for a more resilient food system while connecting Living Labs and stakeholders across Europe.
Based at the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences campus, SEAMK Food Labs operates as a multidisciplinary development environment for the entire food chain - from primary production and raw material analysis to pilot-scale manufacturing, sensory evaluation, and consumer testing. The facilities combine education, research, and real-world experimentation, creating an ecosystem where companies, researchers, students, and public actors can collaborate on practical innovation challenges.
What makes SEAMK Food Labs particularly valuable as a Living Lab is its ability to bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial production. Its pilot plant environments allow companies to test manufacturing technologies and optimise processes before investing in full-scale production. The infrastructure supports work with plant-based products, beverages, bakery applications, meat processing, food safety, packaging, shelf-life testing, and side-stream valorisation.
The Living Lab also demonstrates how sustainability can be integrated throughout the innovation process. Beyond food processing technologies, the SEAMK ecosystem includes services related to carbon neutrality, renewable energy mapping, life-cycle assessments, cultivation trials, soil monitoring, and circular economy approaches for the food sector. This whole-chain perspective aligns strongly with SIXFOLD’s ambition to support systemic transformation in agriculture and food innovation.
SEAMK Food Labs works closely with businesses of all sizes, from startups to established manufacturers. Their case examples highlight the practical impact of this collaboration model. In one project, startup Aircohol Oy worked with the lab to test spray drying and extrusion technologies for algae-based side streams, accelerating development of new food ingredients without requiring major upfront investments in industrial equipment. In another collaboration, the company behind the Pritz beverage concept partnered with SEAMK experts to move from an early-stage idea to a technically functional recipe and manufacturing process.
A key strength of the SEAMK approach is its hands-on methodology. Companies participate directly in piloting, testing, and process development alongside researchers and students. This creates not only technical validation, but also valuable knowledge transfer that helps innovators continue development independently after the collaboration phase.
The facilities themselves reflect this integrated approach. Alongside process laboratories and advanced analytical equipment, the environment includes microbiology and chemistry laboratories, automation and robotics facilities, and the educational restaurant Prikka, where sensory testing and consumer-oriented evaluations can take place in authentic settings.
By joining the SIXFOLD Living Lab network, SEAMK Food Labs strengthens the network’s expertise in sustainable food systems, food technology piloting, and industry-oriented experimentation. Their experience in supporting companies through agile testing, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical innovation development makes them an important contributor to the growing European Living Lab ecosystem.
The SEAMK team can also be met in person at the upcoming SIXFOLD Final Conference Food Tech Innovations: Connecting Europe's Living Labs, where network members and stakeholders will gather to exchange experiences and showcase Living Lab activities from across Europe.
