Food

Advantages of Skåne

Why Skåne is best-positioned for tackling food-related challenges

• Legacy of food industry pioneers 
  Skåne is also home to global food industry giants like Orkla, IKEA Food, Ecolean, Tetra Pak, as well as plant-based milk producers like Sproud, Oatly or DUG, not to mention a strong food research community via academia, business incubators, science parks and research institutes, science research facilities offering advanced analysis tools and services, and innovation within the plant-based market. 
   
• Entire food value chain in once place
  A massive 85% of all Swedish orchards, as well as 35% of Sweden’s packaging industry, reside in Skåne. The expansive network and ecosystem also includes the Greater Copenhagen region. Invest In Skåne is currently in the process of examining the state of food tech in the south of Sweden (Skåne & Halland), with a view of gaining a better picture of actors and projects and activities within food tech in the region. This will be helpful in the context of identifying opportunities for investment. 
   
• R&D Infrastructure 
  Skåne offers excellent research and development capabilities via incubators, science parks, and academic institutions like top-ranked Lund University, where there are extensive R&D activities around the shift to alternative protein sources, with ongoing projects and initiatives involving rapeseed, oats, industrial hemp, legumes, as well as quinoa and amaranth. 
  
  Sweden Agricultural University’s (SLU) Alnarp campus close to both Lund and Malmö, is involved in a number of ongoing projects and activities related to alternative proteins and the future of food22. SLU has been a centre of R&D related to horticulture, plant breeding and the rearing of new species of known food crops.
  
  Research infrastructures Max IV Laboratory & ESS offer additional services and support for R&D related to food.
   
• Well-developed innovation system 
  Skåne region also accounts for about 50% of the country’s food-related R&D investments, with four academic institutions which are food-related, education and research available in the region, along with 20% of the country’s employment in the food industry also located here. 
   
• Plant-based expertise
  In the plant-based sector, Skåne offers excellent research and development capabilities via incubators, science parks, and academic institutions like top-ranked Lund University, where there are extensive R&D activities around the shift to alternative protein sources, with ongoing projects and initiatives involving rapeseed, oats, industrial hemp, legumes, as well as quinoa and amaranth.
   
• Thriving startup scene 
  Skåne has a significant start-up scene for new food companies covering the entire spectrum from sustainable fish farming to biodegradable products and the country’s largest incubator with a food profile.In Skåne, there is a great potential in connecting research and experts from the surrounding verticals such as tech with the food sector to pursue long-term initiatives, potentially leading to disruptive innovation. 
   
• Test bed facilities 
  Skåne offers some production or test bed opportunities for small-scale commercial production, and hopefully, over time, this can lead to more new companies coming in, and increased productivity with a focus on adaptation, growth, and scalability.