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27 August 2024
Use case - Nestlé Purina
“The work done by Vitagora enabled us to make rapid progress toward achieving our objectives.”
– Claire Molas, Expert-Senior Innovation Research Scientist , Nestlé Purina
PURINA is a major player in the pet food industry worldwide and in France. For over 125 years, PURINA has been a pioneer in the development of high-quality, complete, balanced, and cutting-edge nutrition. In France, the company has five factories and one R&D center, and markets more than 400 products under renowned brands such as FELIX®, PURINA ONE®, GOURMET®, PROPLAN®, and FRISKIES®. PURINA has been part of the Nestlé Group since 2001.
Their needs
Nestlé Purina's accelerator, Unleashed, based in Switzerland, had identified a Spanish start-up developing promising plant protein texturing technology with which they wanted to pursue a collaboration.
In order to understand the potential for transferring this technology from the laboratory to industry, Nestlé Purina needed to carry out a proof-of-concept project, mobilizing skills outside their areas of expertise, while respecting the confidentiality constraints related to intellectual property.
To oversee this project, Nestlé Purina called on Vitagora, a trusted open innovation partner, which facilitates an ecosystem of cutting-edge expertise in France and internationally.
Solutions provided
Nestlé Purina tasked Vitagora with identifying and managing external expertise for the project from its network of experts. The company also needed help facilitating communication to avoid any contamination of intellectual property.
The project was conducted in two stages:
Concept study:
- Vitagora identified and coordinated the panel of experts in the relevant technological and scientific fields.
- Vitagora cross-referenced meeting reports and literature to assess the potential for industrial-scale development of the technology.
POC experimentation:
- Vitagora was responsible for the logistical organization and coordination of the experiments, enabling the development of pre-industrial production prototypes.
- Vitagora contributed a critical review of the reports provided by the experts.
Results obtained
Fully coordinated by Vitagora, the project was conducted in an agile manner, in accordance with the deadlines.
The experts identified by Vitagora within its qualified network delivered convincing results, enabling Nestlé Purina to evaluate the industrial proof of concept.
Acting as a trusted intermediary, Vitagora enabled Nestlé Purina to accelerate the project while respecting confidentiality constraints relating to intellectual property.
“Thanks to Vitagora's hard work, we were able to make rapid progress toward achieving our goals. We were completely satisfied with this collaboration, the results obtained, and the quality of the services provided!”– Claire Molas, Expert-Senior Innovation Research Scientist , Nestlé Purina
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.
