The food system is under intense pressure to change. The traditional trade-offs between convenience, heavy processing, low prices, and health no longer hold. Consumers are increasingly questioning ultra-processed foods. The industry needs solutions that are nutrient-dense, scalable, and economically viable. Research is delivering answers faster than they are reaching the market.

Today, these developments are largely uncoordinated. The result is fragmented initiatives, inefficient innovation, and slow implementation precisely where speed and clarity are critical. The Sustainable Nutrition Innovation Group (IG SuNu) was founded to break this pattern. As a national, neutral platform, IG SuNu brings together science, industry, and public stakeholders to systematically advance healthy, minimally processed, and sustainable nutrition and translate it into practice.

The focus of her Innovation Group is on the quality of nutrition rather than on product categories alone. Key criteria include nutrient density, bioavailability, metabolic impact, and long-term health benefits, alongside consumer acceptance, sustainability, and economic feasibility. Emphasis is placed on processing methods, especially minimal processing, and fermentation technologies, as well as new protein sources, upcycling, and alternative production systems.

Activity Areas are structured around clear strategic priorities: the impact of processing on nutrient quality and health, the interaction between nutrition, metabolism, and aging, and the linkage between environmental and health outcomes in sustainable food systems. Medical and clinical application areas, such as hospital and institutional catering, are consistently integrated into this approach.

IG SuNu covers sustainable nutrition as a systemic challenge. Health impact, environmental responsibility, and economic viability are not assessed in isolation but evaluated together. The goal is to create robust decision-making foundations for product development, regulation, and consumer information.

Target Group

For professional stakeholders and actors, the Innovation Group Sustainable Nutrition provides access to cutting-edge research, interdisciplinary expertise, and concrete innovation pathways. For companies, it creates a robust framework for product development and market positioning. For policymakers and the public, IG SuNu delivers science-based decision-making support in an emotionally charged environment. For consumers, its impact is indirect but decisive, through more credible products, clearer guidance, and tangible health benefits.

Steering group

The innovation group is led by an interdisciplinary steering board drawn from leading Swiss research institutions. This breadth of expertise ensures that insights are not developed in isolation, but embedded in a market-ready and socially relevant context. The steering group consists of the following persons:

Tiffany Abitbol, EPFL - Materials Science & Engineering
Christine Brombach, ZHAW – Sensory & Consumer Science
Wolfram Brück, HESSO - Life Sciences & Microbiology
Tamara Bucher, BFH – Nutrition & Dietetics
Christoph Denkel, BFH-HAFL - Food Science & Processing
Serge Rezzi, SNHF - Human Nutrition & Analytics
Ferdinand von Meyenn, ETHZ - Health Science & Technology
Fabian Wahl, Agroscope - Microbial Food Systems
Evelyn Wolfram, ZHAW - Natural Chemistry & Phytopharmacy