Digital Innovation Hub

Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) are “one-stop-shops", piloted by the European Commission, that help companies to become more competitive with regard to their business/production processes, products or services using digital technologies.

As a regional first pont of contact and doorway onto a multi-partner innovation ecosystem, they provide SMEs and other companies with:

• Access to the latest knowledge, expertise and technology to support their customers with piloting, testing and experimenting with digital innovations.
• Business and financing support to implement these innovations.

Vitagora, as an agri-food innovation cluster of the French regions Burgundy-Franche-Comté and Ile-de-France (Paris region), helps its members in their digitalization process, innovation projects, search for financing, and through its acceleration program ToasterLab, meets the EC definition of a DIH.

Below are examples of services that Vitagora offers as a DIH:

Examples of Vitagora's Digital Innovation Hub activities

1. ToasterLab acceleration program

ToasterLAB is an Agri-Food business acceleration program, launched by Vitagora.

Client profile: Start-ups and SMEs from the agri-food sector

Client needs: scientific advice, business opportunities, relevant contacts, scale-up, market access, industrialization...

Provided solutions: ToasterLAB is backed by top players from throughout the food business value chain (mentors). ToasterLAB helps promising start-ups and SMEs to scale up and industrialise their products and services and accelerate their time to market - faster, further, smarter.

Services:

• 12 months of personalised acceleration support, with a daily contact with the ToasterLAB startup manager and regular assistance from your mentor. See “How it works” below for more details
• Access to a pool of more than 40 experts in all areas (finance, management, HR, law etc.). They give you the tools to get a foothold on Europeans food markets
• The full benefit of membership to Vitagora, a leading European food innovation cluster, with a network of 550 food businesses, including major food corporations
• 3000€ in vouchers to spend on your specific needs among ToaserLAB’s experts: legal assistance in drawing up contracts, IP protection, branding and marketing support, financial planning etc.

Examples of start-ups accelerated by ToasterLAB in relation with digitalization of the agri-food sector:

• Kuantom: KUANTOM is the meeting point between modern and intuitive science, Technology, and a know-how passed down through the ages, Mixology. From this meeting, ORKESTRA is born: the very first connected solution capable of making a perfect cocktail in a few seconds.
• Aveine: Aveine has created the 1st Smart Wine Aerator in the world. Thanks to the Aveine Smart Aerator, everyone can now serve and taste any wine instantly in perfect conditions.
• R-tech: digitalization of the wine sector. R-Tech is specialized in producing innovative products for the food, wine, beer and spirits industries (sensors…). R-tech technologies include: Cleaning and disinfection solutions, winemaking monitoring technologies...
• ScanUp: With ScanUp, you can choose the right product for your health through a better diet by co-creating Clean Label products. Vote for the future characteristics of the clean label products of the engaged brands for healthy and sustainable food production. Scan a product, add it in your shopping list and get an overview of the nutritional profile of the selected food product. Get propositions of similar but healthier products...

Online reference: https://toasterlab.vitagora.com/

2. SME support services

The 'SME levers' are offered by Vitagora as part of its regional collective action program. They offer agrifood companies in the region individualised support at an advantageous cost around a strategic theme for their growth and competitiveness.

Client profile: mostly SMEs

Client needs: expert advice, training, audit, performance assessments, expert identification, service improvement...

Solution provided: tailored program lasting several days with, for example, 2-days audit of a specific service/product, 2-days of action plan definition with experts, strategic on-site visits of pilot plants, networking opportunities with other companies, follow-up through a complete report with best practices...

Vitagora has organized several actions linked with digital transformation of the agri-food sector. For example, an action called 'what digital tools to chose for a first step in your digitalization process' in which several tools were presented for traceability, energy optimization, data transmission, packaging, ERP,... 

Another action was organized called 'industrial performance : Optimize your internal / customers / suppliers information flow management tools' during which audits were made on information systems within the targeted agri-food SMEs, visits of technological companies equiped with the newest tools were organized etc.

3. Ecosystem animation

Vitagora's network gathers together more than 550 members: start-ups, SMEs, RTOs, universities, large companies, public research laboratories... who often lack communication between their structures, especially when it comes to the digitalisation of the agri-food sector. Vitagora's role is therefore to animate this network by creating relevant connections between its members.

Client profile: start-ups, SMEs, RTOs, universities, big companies, public laboratories

Client needs: business opportunities, networking opportunities, scientific expertise, project partners...

Solution provided:

• 1 to 2 times a year: Appetite for Innovation event gathering all Vitagora network
• Vitagora Café events: thematic events for example "The digitalisation of the wine sector: from the field to the consumer", "Digital factories and fields", "Robotics of tomorrow: what are the challenges for the agri-food sector?", "Workshop on artificial intelligence", "Smart packaging"...

Online reference: https://www.vitagora.com/centre-de-veille/ressources/pagesommaire-agroalimentaire-numerique-publivit/

Find out more

Contact Elodie Da Silva, Innovation and Ecosystem Manager.   Email : elodie.dasilva@vitagora.com Telephone : +33 (0)6 18 20 26 29