Robin Food transforms food surpluses into healthy products for vulnerable families

Robin Food transforms food surpluses into healthy products for vulnerable families

We develop business models that make the products accessible for vulnerable groups and offer a viable business to the companies that produce them.

The Robin Food project unites companies and organisations in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain to transform food leftovers into valuable products. We develop business models that make the products accessible for vulnerable groups and offer a viable business to the companies that produce them.

Challenges

Throughout the year, the agricultural sector is confronted with temporary production surpluses, due to seasonal fluctuations. When these surpluses enter the regular market, they can have disruptive impact by causing big price drops. Therefore, it’s better to create alternative channels for these surpluses, besides the regular market. Additionally when the prices become too low, some auctions do decide to take the overproduction out of the regular market.

The overproduction can then be used as animal feed or for composting, but it is preferable to use them for alternative markets for human consumption, e.g. processing into soups and distributing them for free to people who live in poverty.

On top of that, COVID-19 has a huge impact on the supply and demand side of the food sector:

  • Demand of some products had dramatically decreased, e.g. potatoes, asparagus.
  • International trade of agricultural products seriously declined.
  • Some processing and catering companies - also young start-ups - have lost part of their sales and had to reduce or stop production, resulting in technical unemployment for their staff.
  • Vulnerable groups in society have been gravely affected. They already had limited access to healthy food, but the economic fallout of COVID-19 significantly increased the number of vulnerable families.

Our strategies

  • New products based on food surpluses and new market combinations are explored through market research. Existing products are improved based on newly gained market information. Healthiness of soups is being improved. A commercialisation strategy is developed accordingly.
  • We explore business models to reach out to “solidary” consumers, willing to support more vulnerable consumers.
  • We explore options of exchanging products between the different participating countries.
  • We support food startups that will be able to develop a sustainable business model.

The impact of the project is threefold:

  • The valorisation of leftovers of farm products;
  • The inclusion of vulnerable groups in the processing of the food products;
  • The availability of those healthy and nutritious food products for large numbers of vulnerable groups in the 3 countries.

New products based on food surpluses are launched (or ready for launch):

In Belgium, our partner enVie launched 5 new soups in the Belgian market in 2020: Cream of Leek, Courgette, Tomato & Basil, Tomato & Smoked Paprika and Cream of Carrot & Herbs. enVie aims for 2 additional products in the first quarter of 2021: 2 healthy and tasty tomato-vegetable sauces that can be used for pasta dishes or as a base for other family dishes. One sauce is spicy and one is more mild to make sure it appeals to children.

In the Netherlands, The Verspillingsfabriek, improved the recipes of the soups, using the Nutriscore methodology. Lower amounts of salt, sugar and saturated fats, resulted in Nutri-Scores A and B.

The Verspillingsfabriek and Wageningen university showed that no waste soup has a lower carbon footprint. Depending on the cultivation method of the tomatoes, the carbon footprint of no waste soup is a factor 3 (open field) or 10 (heated greenhouse) lower compared to other soup.

In Spain the following new products were launched on the market in the year 2020: chocolate cookies, almond and chia cookies, carrot breadsticks and cheese breadsticks. The RobinGood products are artisan and local products targeted to people who are aware of social and environmental issues. The products stand out because of their high quality. Their traditional recipes are prepared in a natural, artisanal way, generating employment for people at risk of social exclusion.

A mixed student team is established

A mixed student team, led by Sebastiaan De Zutter and Andrea Alvarez Mena, has been set up to support product development and business plans of social entrepreneurs. A student team at KU Leuven was supported to work with eco-innovative concepts related to food. For example, the development of a vegetable patty, made from vegetables with overproduction.

Furthermore, a student team at LUCA School of Arts supported the Robin Food project in redesigning the Robin Food Logo and Robin Food house style/branding. This collaboration lead to a renewal of the Robin Food brand in 2021, with the launch of the vegetable sauce and Robin Food as a start-up. We estimate this will be at the beginning of summer 2021.

The students now also play a key role in setting up a new project “RobinFood@School”. More info will follow later.

New startups were supported

In the Netherlands, StartLife, facilitated relationships between retail businesses and nine startup companies: Willicroft, Umameats, Wildcatch, Botanic Bites, Sauwercrowd, Tea by me, Seamore, Sunt, KRUSH.

We focussed on vegetarian and vegan products, as the market study revealed interesting opportunities in this segment. The tasting led to this final selection of products: pulled-oats, mint tea and fruit snacks. Currently these three products are pending to be launched on the shelves. We expect these to go live in the second quarter of 2021.

Besides working with existing startups to expand their retail network and knowledge, StartLife also developed an online channel for startups hit by Covid-19. One of the supported initiatives was a spin-off of the Robin Food initiative.

In Belgium, Rikolto, Riso, KU Leuven and StartLife are coaching the creation of two start-ups in line with the Robin Food principles, that will be able to develop a sustainable business model.

The first is the “Robin Food start-up”, that is being established by Riso, with advise of Rikolto and other experts. The Robin Food start-up, will reduce food waste, while making healthy food accessible for people living in vulnerable conditions.

The second start-up is led by a team of last-year students from the UCLL in Leuven, coached by professor Robrecht Van Goolen. They are developing a food product based on surpluses of local fruit. They teamed up with "Kort'om Leuven", a start-up created in 2020 with support of EIT FOOD and Rikolto. Kort'om Leuven is interested in commercialising this local product. Because of Intellectual Property rights, we cannot tell more about this product yet.

KU Leuven and Colruyt Group have given 1-to-1 support to the start-up enVie in 2020.

Rikolto

Rikolto

Rikolto (formerly VECO) means 'harvest' in Esperanto. On the one hand, Rikolto coaches farmers' organisations to become strong business partners. On the other hand, Rikolto, together with farmers, companies, scientists and governments, is harvesting new ideas to feed a growing world population in a sustainable way.

EIT Food

EIT Food

EIT Food is Europe’s leading food innovation initiative, working to make the food system more sustainable, healthy and trusted by consumers.

Community Development Riso Vlaams-Brabant

Community Development Riso Vlaams-Brabant

Community Development Riso Vlaams-Brabant is a Belgian non-profit organization that defends the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable groups in society. Throughout the province of Vlaams-Brabant, we set up local projects offering support in housing, education, work, living together, loneliness, … The uniqueness of our works lays in the close collaboration with our audience and the goal to find structural solutions for poverty.

enVie

enVie

enVie is a Belgian social enterprise located in Anderlecht, Brussels. enVie makes delicious soups from fresh surplus vegetables supplied by Belgian farmers. Our soups are produced by a team of passionate individuals who are re-entering the workforce after a period of long-term unemployment. enVie is supported by four founding partners: Colruyt Group, REO Veiling, McCain and Randstad Group.

KU Leuven

KU Leuven

Situated in Belgium, in the heart of Western Europe, KU Leuven has been a centre of learning for nearly six centuries. Today, it is Belgium's largest university and, founded in 1425, one of the oldest and most renowned universities in Europe. As a leading European research university and co-founder of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), KU Leuven offers a wide variety of international master’s programmes, all supported by high-quality, innovative, interdisciplinary research.

Colruyt Group

Colruyt Group

Over more than 80 years ago, Colruyt saw its first light as a family business in Lembeek, Flemish Brabant. Today, the initial small company has grown into a family of companies: Colruyt Group. A flourishing player with numerous retail formulas and active in 4 countries.

De Verspillingsfabriek

De Verspillingsfabriek

De Verspillingsfabriek wil voedseloverschotten die bestemd zijn voor menselijke consumptie, terugwinnen voor hetzelfde doel. Zij zien de devaluatie van overtollig voedsel tot veevoer en biovergisting als een vorm van afval. De Verspillingsfabriek gelooft dat het essentieel is om hoog te blijven op de afvalhiërarchieladder van Moerman door ons bezig te houden met preventie, hergebruik en recycling. Hun doel is om binnen twee jaar kosteneffectief te produceren en tegelijkertijd een grote groep mensen die minder bedeeld zijn dan de meesten, nieuwe werkgelegenheid te bieden.

StartLife

StartLife

StartLife, supports food and agri startups to develop into leading companies. The world food problem asks for radical changes in the food and agriculture sectors. StartLife believes that startups, because of their innovative abilities, are the driving force behind a more sustainable world. StartLife’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship in the food and agri sector and to support entrepreneurs and their teams in transforming innovative ideas into businesses with a worldwide impact.

Eroski

Eroski

Eroski is a Spanish supermarket chain with nearly 1,000 outlets spread across Spain. It is run as a worker-consumer hybrid co-operative within the Mondragón Corporation group.

RobinGood

RobinGood

RobinGood want to generate job opportunities for people at risk of social exclusion, through the distribution of "food with a soul".