Food Cluster Hamburg aims to become a leader in Europe
The Food Cluster Hamburg has officially been in existence since September 2, 2024, and its goals and players have now been presented at an event. The aim is to connect the food industry even better and turn Hamburg into a European food anchor point.
The Food Cluster continues a successful strategy
Hamburg has already had good experiences with its cluster policy, explained Andreas Rieckhof, State Councillor of the Ministry of Economics and Innovation. According to the official definition, it is an instrument of modern, efficient economic policy in certain innovative sectors. It differs from traditional economic policy in particular in the proactive approach taken by policy-makers to local business players. Successful examples include Life Science Nord, Hamburg Aviation and the Hamburg Logistics Initiative. For the Food Cluster, Rieckhof set the goal of becoming one of the leading initiatives of its kind in Europe.
In the Hamburg metropolitan region, the food industry employs around 123,000 people in about 4,500 companies. Their interests are now to be represented by Food Cluster Hamburg GmbH, whose shareholders are the City of Hamburg (51 percent), the supporting association foodactive e.V. (44 percent) and Süderelbe AG (5 percent). Managing Director Sascha Taube named economic diversity, innovative strength, sustainability and international networking as key factors for the identity and future direction. And, of course, the result should be both enjoyable and affordable food.
foodactive contributes a great deal of industry experience
foodactive will play an important role in achieving these goals. The association was founded in 2013 and now has 160 members, including a number of startups. The aim of foodactive has always been to bring together representatives from large and small companies, universities, science and research as well as politics and administration. Events on topics such as sustainability, food law, quality management, personnel management and marketing ensure the transfer of expertise. There is an increasing focus on technological progress with artificial intelligence and robotics as well as the transition towards a plant-based diet. This transformation will be one of the Food Cluster's main tasks.
