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18 March 2025
Use case - GREENCELL
GREENCELL – A strategic innovation project for the formulation of new functional and sustainable foods
“Vitagora has been very helpful in guiding us.”
– Giovana Girardi Piva, R&D Project Manager, GREENCELL
Greencell is a subsidiary of the Greentech Group, an expert in industrial fermentation (solid and liquid) and a leader in the research and production of microorganisms of industrial interest for the agri-food, agricultural, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical markets. They have been a member of Vitagora since 2011.
Their needs
The company wanted to launch a strategic R&D project aimed at developing new functional and sustainable foods by promoting the use of co-products from the agri-food industry. This collaborative project involves Greencell, Limagrain Ingredients, Mondelēz International, INRAE, and Clermont Auvergne University. For its first experience as a collaborative project leader in the agri-food sector, Greencell turned to Vitagora for its expertise in setting up innovative projects and its qualified network of agri-food stakeholders.
Solutions provided
Vitagora's proven expertise enabled Greencell to move quickly and efficiently through the various stages of setting up their project, called NUTRITIOUS:
- Identifying partners
Thanks to its network, Vitagora identified an industrial player to complete the consortium, the Mondelez group, while facilitating its integration into the consortium. - Facilitating project setup
Vitagora guided Greencell through the project setup stages by providing support in coordinating and monitoring the stages and deadlines. - Financial guidance
On Vitagora's advice, the project was submitted to the “Innovate for successful agroecological and food transitions” call for projects as part of France 2030. - Advice on optimizing the funding application
The application was critically reviewed by the Vitagora team and went through the certification process. The expert opinion of the certification committee provided constructive criticism that helped strengthen the application by further developing certain points. This certification also serves as a quality benchmark in the context of a highly competitive call for projects..
Results obtained
Funding: Goal accomplished!
The NUTRITIOUS project was selected as part of the call for proposals “Innovating for successful agroecological and food transitions,” with a total budget of €3.81 million and public funding of €2.51 million.
The project's R&D program was launched in September 2024. The NUTRITIOUS project represents a major strategic challenge for Greencell's development. It has the potential to open up new markets for food ingredients and establish collaboration with major industrial groups.
Gaining expertise as a leader in innovation projects
Thanks to this successful experience, Greencell is now well equipped to develop new areas of innovation as a collaborative project leader.
"We received a lot of help from the Vitagora team, who were always available to guide and reassure us throughout the various stages of setting up the project. Their coordination helped us to work smoothly with our partners and meet deadlines.
The certification process provided us with valuable advice to strengthen our application in a highly competitive call for projects.
We will definitely be calling on Vitagora for future innovation projects!"– Giovana Girardi Piva, R&D Project Manager, GREENCELL
About Vitagora
Vitagora is a professional association in the agri-food sector, certified as a competitiveness cluster for the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Île-de-France regions.
For nearly 20 years, we have been working to improve the performance and competitiveness of our members by offering a range of collective services and tools, as well as individual support tailored to the needs of agri-food businesses.
