Some of the business people, who are gathered from all corners of the world at an international symposium on seaweed in Copenhagen, will be able to travel home with a business deal around e.g. development of new production equipment or processing of the marine crop. This is the goal of a matchmaking event organized by the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark and Gemba Innovation.
When a large part of the people on the planet who know the most about how to cultivate and process seaweed, and how to best use the marine crop in various consumer products, are gathered in one place, it provides a golden opportunity to create links with new businesses partners.
This is why the National Food Institute as the host of the 22nd International Seaweed Symposium in Copenhagen has organized a matchmaking event in partnership with Gemba Innovation. The idea is that e.g. a Danish equipment manufacturer can meet an overseas company who is looking for specific equipment to process the marine crop, or a Faroese producer of sugar kelp can meet an international company that can extract the seaweed’s bioactive substances.
Good match can lead to new cooperation
Participants at the event have ahead of time written a profile with information such as which kind of seaweed they work with, number of employees, where in the value chain they work and their visions for the future. With the help of these profiles potential partners can zero in on who might be a good match, and who they will therefore book time to meet during the speed dating session on the day.
The organizers hope that participants will be able to return home with new business deals in their suitcases.
Participants at the matchmaking event will also have the opportunity to hear two of the symposium’s keynote speakers. One will talk about the market and the global outlook for the seaweed industry. The other will talk about the latest knowledge about seaweed’s bioactive substances.
Denmark’s growing seaweed industry
The Danish seaweed industry has grown rapidly in recent years. The various players in Denmark work with cultivating different species of seaweed and on extracting the valuable substances found in seaweed. These substances can be used in various ingredients in e.g. food, feed and skin care products. Often the businesses cooperate with researchers in developing new and effective extraction methods.
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The 22nd International Seaweed Symposium takes place on 19-24 June 2016 in Copenhagen and is organized by the National Food Institute in cooperation with Aarhus University, University of Southern Denmark and the seaweed industry. The matchmaking event is sponsored by Karl Pedersen and Wife’s Industry Fund, which among other things is a result of Karl Pedersen’s success in importing and processing seaweed.
International and Danish experts will talk at the symposium about the ecosystem’s impact on the natural occurrence of seaweed, risk assessment of potentially harmful substances in different varieties and seaweed’s role in gastronomy.
Find more information about the matchmaking event on the symposium’s website.
Also read how the National Food Institute cooperates with Danish businesses to find methods to extract and sell more of seaweed’s valuable substances in a news item from 26 April 2016:New extraction methods to reduce seaweed industry waste.