Nadine Lacroix Oggier, Director of the Food & Nutrition Cluster

Three questions to Nadine Lacroix Oggier, Director of the Food & Nutrition Cluster

How did the Food & Nutrition Cluster come about?

The Fribourg-based Food & Nutrition Cluster was set up in 2015 to strengthen collaboration and enhance synergies across the regional and national agrifood chain. An academic research paper published the previous year concluded that given Fribourg’s agricultural tradition and high concentration of local companies with links to the food industry, the canton was the ideal home for such a platform.

What is the platform’s mission?

A cluster is only powerful as its network. One of our primary objectives is fostering collaborative innovation within our association. We now have almost 100 members and partners, including representatives of the academic community. Their involvement is particularly important for the transfer of technology. It means costs can be pooled, risks can be mitigated and the effectiveness of innovation activities can be enhanced.

Does the Cluster foster multidisciplinarity?

Absolutely. For example, the Cluster is working on the development of an ambitious project that applies the principles of the circular economy by taking agricultural byproducts and transforming them into something new, in this case plastic packaging. The project also benefits from the involvement and expertise of the plastics industry, another leading-edge sector of the region’s economy.