Portuguese retail company Sonae has highlighted the need for innovation in the food sector in a recently-published study, which it presented to the European Parliament in Brussels.
According to the study, titled The Future of Food, academia, research centres, industry players large and small, food sector associations, and other relevant stakeholders all play a role in ensuring the development of innovative food solutions.
"Europe’s capacity to design innovative solutions and technologies is essential for our competitiveness in a globalised world, and is an indispensable pre-requisite for growth, as well as a key factor in ensuring a more sustainable future," the study concluded.
Sonae has been a proponent of such innovation, implementing initiatives such as its retail tech start-up programme, which launched last autumn.
Cost of Innovation
According to the study, innovation is costly, and the insufficient support provided to potential risky investments is commonly recognised. The study suggests that financing mechanisms should thus be equipped to cope with this risk and be able to support investments in innovation.
Whilst investments largely come from the private sector, policymakers at EU and national level could help by supporting transnational and EU-wide projects, or by introducing a mandatory innovation component for structural funds managed at a national level, the study suggested.
Role of Retailers
Retailers play a crucial role in fostering this collaboration, as they are at the heart of a network, reaching out and gathering feedback from all parts of the supply chain.
However, according to the analysis, this role is sometimes overlooked, as decision-makers define the policy in which retailers operate with a focus on those on either side of their role in the value chain.
This oversight can ultimately stifle investment, according to the study, as the sector depends on an enabling framework to deliver fully on its innovative capacities.
Necessary Collaboration
The study highlighted some of the conditions that are particularly urgent and contains recommendations on the role of the EU, as well as national policymakers.
Individually, these entities will not be successful – joint undertakings and common objectives is therefore key to developing a sustainable future of food in Europe, it concluded.
Reflecting this finding, Sonae recently announced an e-commerce partnership with the national postal service of Portugal, CTT, in order to improve its online offering.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Padideh Aghanoury. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
