The Food Innovation Camp presented the trends in the food industry
The food industry is one of the most important employers and drivers of innovation, especially in Hamburg. The Food Innovation Camp (FIC), which took place for the seventh time on June 23, 2025, has served as a trend barometer for years. Visitors were able to experience in a variety of ways how the future of food is shaping up.
Hamburg as a location for food innovations
The venue for the networking event - a combination of trade fair, congress and culinary experience - was once again the Chamber of Commerce. A key topic was Hamburg's development into a food metropolis, which is to be accelerated by the Food Cluster founded last fall. Numerous startups have already established themselves here with technological innovations that ensure greater sustainability in the industry. One of these is traceless, which produces compostable disposable cutlery from plant waste. MushRoots served meatballs in which the main ingredient is mushrooms. Vegan alternatives to animal products are still a trend, and they are becoming increasingly similar to their animal counterparts. For example, there were deceptively real-looking and tasting “fried eggs” made from plant proteins.
International guests and art experiences at the FIC
If you don't want to do without meat altogether, you can opt for hybrid meat with a plant-based component, such as algae. In countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, such products are already widely available on the market. These countries were each represented with joint stands, which illustrates both the international appeal of the FIC and Hamburg as a springboard into the German market.
The Forum Foodsense was a new addition to the Food Innovation Camp programme. Here, artists were able to show how the future of food can be experienced with all the senses. The exhibits included various photos and paintings, a hot dog made of papier-mâché and a dürüm gate, although no real kebab was used for this. A performance group caused a sensation with their imaginative and somewhat eerie costumes.
Two startup competitions in the core programme
Two pitch competitions were once again among the most important programme items at the FIC. The main prize in “Dein Newcomer” was a test listing in REWE Nord supermarkets. Three startups qualified for the final, with the title going to O-SOME TASTE from Viernheim in Hesse for its original pesto creations. In addition, a pitch stage in the Expo area offered a total of 30 startups the opportunity to present themselves to the audience of trade professionals. There were two winners from Berlin: Wholey with products for breakfast and Tsarona with African superfoods. This startup represents another trend, namely the discovery of ever new culinary worlds for German kitchens.
