What is Hybrid Foods Europe?

Hybrid Foods Europe is the first European conference on hybrid foods — products blending animal and plant proteins across meat, dairy, fish and egg categories. It connects senior decision-makers from retail, food service, brands, manufacturers and ingredient suppliers to scale adoption.

When does Hybrid Foods Europe 2026 take place?

14 to 16 September 2026. Monday opens with a welcome reception and speakers dinner. Tuesday is Strategy Day. Wednesday is Innovation Day, closing at 14:00.

Where is the conference held?

Van der Valk Hotel Amsterdam Zuidas, Tommaso Albinonistraat 200, 1083 HM Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

What are hybrid foods?

Hybrid foods blend animal and plant proteins in a single product — hybrid meat cuts, hybrid cheeses, milks and yogurts. They aim to deliver mainstream taste while improving climate footprint, affordability and nutrition versus fully animal-based equivalents.

Senior B2B professionals across the hybrid food value chain: retail buyers and category managers, food service operators, brand leaders, manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, machinery providers, R&D and sustainability leads.

What does the programme cover?

Planetary health strategy, retail climate challenges, food service outlook, hybrid dairy and meat opportunities, consumer positioning, category building, B2B ingredients, regulatory naming, AI in product development, and a hands-on Innovation Plaza with tasting sessions.

Register at https://www.foodconnextfoundation.com/register. After registering you receive a code for the delegate hotel discount.

Is there a hotel discount for delegates?

Yes. Delegates receive a discount code for rooms at Van der Valk Hotel Amsterdam Zuidas, sent after registration.

How do I get to the venue from Schiphol Airport?

Take a direct train from Schiphol to Amsterdam RAI station, about 9 minutes. The venue is a short distance from the station.

Can my company become a partner or sponsor?

Yes. Contact gkleinessink@thefoodconnectors.com or info@foodconnextfoundation.com to discuss partnership and sponsorship options.

Hybrid foods are reshaping the protein landscape.
The first European Hybrid Foods Conference connects leaders from across the value chain - retail, food service, food brands, manufacturers, ingredient and machinery suppliers - to accelerate the journey from innovation to large-scale adoption.

Discover how hybrid meat, dairy, fish, and egg products can help build a more sustainable, affordable, and resilient food system. Learn from pioneers driving hybrid development, explore real-world success stories, and uncover strategies for formulation, scaling, and positioning that turn potential into profit.
Join the decision-makers, innovators, and technical experts shaping the future of food in Europe.

Be part of the movement. Shape the hybrid future.

Hybrid Foods Europe

14-16 September, Amsterdam

Where Strategy meets Innovation

Become a Partner Register Now

Programme

Monday 14 September

18:00 - 19:30 Welcome Reception

20:00 - 21:30 Dinner speakers/panel members

Tuesday 15 September - Strategy Day

08:15 - 09:00 Registration

09:00 - 09:10 Welcome & Opening - By Chairs:
Michel Mellema, Global Innovation Director, IFF (NL)
Jaap Harkema & Gerard Klein Essink, Co-Founders, FoodConNext Foundation (NL)

09:10 - 09:20 Community Building

09:20 - 09:45 Driver Health: The Bigger Hybrid Foods Planetary Health Diet Perspective
> Hybrid foods can be a bridge to achieving planetary‑health diets?
> How meat‑ and dairy‑plant hybrids can lower emissions, improve nutrition and affordability, and fit into mainstream European retail and food service?
> How to develop an effective Planetary Health Diet company and product strategy?
Speaker tba

9:50 - 10:15 Driver Climate: The European Hybrid Food Climate Challenges for Retail
> How do the climate and protein goals of leading European retailers look like?
> What retailers can and can not do?
> How can governments make these goals achievable?
Nico Muzi, Co-Founder, Madre Bavre (BE)

10:20 - 10:45 The European Hybrid Food Service Outlook
Hybrid food service in practice:
> How Vermaat’s hybrid strategy evolved?
> Which categories and business cases work?
> How partners across the value chain can scale hybrids for affordability, health, and climate impact?
Veronique Dries, Sustainability Specialist, Vermaat - Compass Group (NL)

10:45 - 11:30 Morning Networking Break

11:30 - 11:55 The European Hybrid Dairy Retailing Outlook
European dairy outlook:
> How hybrid cheeses, milks and yogurts can unlock new commercial opportunities in European retail?
> From margin and sustainability gains to consumer acceptance and category growth
> The B2B options to get the successfull product-market strategies
Jakob Skovgaard, Co-Founder & CEO, PlanetDairy (DK)

12:00 - 12:25 The European Hybrid Meat Opportunity
European hybrid meat outlook:
> Where blended meat‑plant products can win first?
> What it takes to get them on shelf and menu?
> How to build profitable, scalable concepts that consumers actually adopt?

Jos Havekotte, Founder, Innovate.NU (NL)

12:30 - 13:55 Lunch & Networking Break Meeting

13:55 - 14:05 Community Building

14:05 - 14:25 The Strategic Consumer Challenge: Getting Positioning and Placing right?!
> Positioning hybrids so consumers “get it”?!
> Where to place them in store and on menus?
> How to name them, and how to avoid confusion between hybrid, plant‑based, and conventional products?
Lidl (NL)

14.30 - 14.55 Hybrid Food Categories Building: Where to Start and What is the End Game?

> When does hybrid become mainstream, not niche? What's the aim for the ratio animal and plant proteins?
> Hybrid meat: Which cuts and formats first? Fresh vs frozen vs processed? How to price vs 100% dairy or meat?
> Hybrid dairy: Which cheese, milk, and yogurt roles fit hybrids? Retail vs food service priorities?
Panel

15.00 - 15.25 The wider B2B Hybrid Food & Ingredients Opportunity in Europe
> How to meet consumers’ taste & texture needs, and how can new ingredients help here?
> How to add health, CO2 footprint and affordability to the equation, to strengthen the value proposition?
> How to position hybrid foods in such a way that they appeal to consumers?

Hubert Lehnard, Head of Business Unit, Elsa Group (SW)
Christopher Busch, Head of Research & Developement, Crespel & Deiters (GE)

15:25 - 15:55 Networking Break

15.55 - 16.20 Taking Hybrid Meat Food Service Solutions to the Next Level

> What can Europe learn from North America?
> How to raise the quality bar for hybrid meat?
> What's next for hybrid foods in the European Food Service?
Roland Snel, Technical Director Proteins, ADM (NL)

16.25 - 16.50 Getting the Regulatory Dairy & Meat Naming Right?! - Panel
Dairy & meat naming under the microscope:
> What EU rules allow?
> Where hybrids risk mislabelling?
> How brands can work with labs and regulators to get claims, categories and on-pack wording right?

Hans Zijlstra, Quality, Technology & Innovation Lead, FarmDairy (NL)
Laura Goossens-van den Heuvel, Manager Product Compliance, Eurofins Food Safety Solutions (NL)
Martine van Haperen, Expert Food & Health, ProVeg (NL)

16.55 - 17.20 The Consumer Bar for (Chilled) Hybrid Meat by 2028? - Panel
> What do consumers expect?
> What are the top 3 current product challenges?
> How can a retailer, manufacturer, and ingredient supplier get there?
Henk van Os, Consultant Health & Taste, Albert Heijn (NL)
Vincent van Kuijen, Commercial Director, Hilton Food (NL),
Fabian Griens, Technical Sales Manager, Cosun Beet Company (NL)

17.20 - 17.30 Strategy Conclusions
Michel Mellema, Global Innovation Director, IFF (NL)

17.30 - 18.30 1-on-1 Networking

19.30 - 21.30 Community Dinner

Wednesday 16 September - Innovation Day

08.00 - 08.50 1-on-1 Networking

08.55 - 09.00 Welcome by Chair

09.00 - 09.20 Using AI to Develop the Best Hybrid Foods
> What is "Best" Packaging-wise?
> What are the do and dont's with AI?
> How use the best practices from a 300,000+ retail product database?
Jochen Matzer, CEO, Red Rabbit (GE)

09.25 - 09.45 Formulating Hybrid Dairy: Challenges & Opportunities
> What are the big challenges for making the best hybrid dairy products?
> Where is the current quality bar for consumers?
> How can ingredient suppliers help to accelerate uptake?
Dennis Favier, Founder & Owner, Studio Fava (NL)

09.50 - 12.30 Innovation Plaza: Hands-on hybrid tasting: small-group sessions with innovation partner discussing also formulations, cooking performance, shelf life, colour, ratio animal - non animal proteins, nutrition, and live feedback
> Hybrid cheese & dairy - PlanetDairy (DK)
> Hybrid dairy - Farm Dairy (NL)
> Vegetable proteins
> Wheat & Pea - Crespel & Deiters (GE)
> Soy - ADM (NL)
> Sugar beet + Faba - Cosun (NL)
> Mycoproteins - Planetary (SW)
> New Technologies - JBTMarel (US)

12.30 - 13.00 Lunch break

13.00 - 13.45 The Hybrid Value Chain Outlook 2028 - Expert Panel

13.45 - 14.00 Strategic Wrap Up - By Chairs
Michel Mellema, Global Innovation Director, IFF (NL)
Jaap Harkema & Gerard Klein Essink, Co-Founders, FoodConNext Foundation (NL)

Partners

From concept to scalable business

Learn how others are industrializing hybrid products: from formulation, co-manufacturing, to supply, quality, and CAPEX.
Identify what can be done within existing assets and where new capabilities, partners, or technologies are required.

Why Attend ?!

Attend Hybrid Foods Europe to get a clear, investable view on where value will be created in hybrid foods — and what that means for your strategy, P&L, and risk profile.

Strategic clarity on the hybrid’s role in your portfolio

Understand how hybrid meat, dairy, fish, and egg products can support growth, margin, and ESG targets simultaneously.
See where hybrid fits versus conventional and fully plant-based in terms of consumer acceptance, scalability, and economics.

Access to the full value chain in one room

Meet senior leaders from retail, food service, food brands, manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and machinery providers.
Use curated networking and structured sessions to accelerate partnerships, pilots, and route-to-market deals

Direct insight into European market dynamics

Gain a Europe-focused view on regulation, retail, and food service priorities, and country-specific demand patterns.
Benchmark your roadmap against peers and early movers to avoid false starts and stranded innovation.

De-risk decisions and accelerate execution

Pressure-test your assumptions on pricing, positioning, and
assortment with experts and peers.
Translate high-level sustainability and nutrition commitments into concrete hybrid initiatives with clear business cases