For questions please contact:

Rotterdam Food Cluster

Department of Economics

City Development

info@rotterdamfoodcluster.com

www.rotterdamfoodcluster.com

Rotterdam has always attracted

innovators, entrepreneurs, and

businesses alike who seek opportunities

and creative room for their ambitions.

The Rotterdam Food Cluster is here to

create that room, to facilitate business

ideas, and to accelerate growth.

With over 8,000 food-related businesses in a favourable location,

the Rotterdam Food Cluster is unique in the world. We work on

solutions for current and future food issues every day.

Feeding the Citiesof the World

The Rotterdam Food Cluster aims to give a boost to the food sector in

our region! The ‘Roadmap Next Economy’ empowers us to join forces and

create new opportunities for employment. The Rotterdam Food Cluster is

an initiative of the Department of Economics of the City of Rotterdam.

Reasons to invest

Unique region

The Rotterdam Food Cluster is unique the world over.

Its food sector chain is efficiently built up and tightly

interconnected within a 30 km radius concentrated

around the center of Rotterdam.

Over 8,000 flourishing businesses

There are over 8,000 businesses representing

the entire food supply chain. They include Friesland

Campina, Kloosterboer, Nature’s Pride and Rijk Zwaan.

High level of expertise

The combined pool of knowledge and expertise has

become a growing resource in the area. The Rotterdam

region also maintains a high concentration of relevant

businesses, research institutions, and leading universities.

Steady flow of innovation

Robust technologies are developed and used every day in

our region providing tailor-made solutions for the challenges

of worldwide food production.

Cutting-edge developments

Groundbreaking product development and resilient business

models emerge freely thanks to a close collaboration with

other knowledge-intensive clusters in our region such as:

clean tech (bio-based) as well as life sciences.

Gateway to Europe

Our strategic location has become a unique place for state-

of-the-art facilities and connecting hubs such as: The Port

of Rotterdam, Schiphol and Rotterdam-The Hague Airport,

the high-speed trains to Paris, London, and Frankfurt.

Netherlands

The Challenge Ahead

Due to its strategic location and

excellent logistic infrastructure

and facilities, Rotterdam has an

important advantage. The current

economic climate requires major

changes in order to maintain that

lead in a global food economy.

The region also has a very high concentration of relevant

businesses, research institutions, and universities. Together they

work to improve each aspect of the food production chain: from

cultivation and production, to processing, storage, and logistics.

Of equal importance is a unique atmosphere of collaboration across

traditional boundaries. These crossovers with the medical and

clean-tech (bio-based) sectors may lead to even smarter ideas and

breakthrough innovations that will transform the food sector as well

as other related sectors. We believe this approach will become a

template for other similar initiatives in the future.

The Rotterdam Food Cluster

Rotterdam has a lot to offer for any

business in the food sector. Rotterdam

is a master at logistics. Fruits and

vegetables as well as fish and meat

require specialized handling and

logistics. Its ‘fresh corridor’ ensures every

shipment reaches its destination safely

and in time, by ship, truck, plane or train.

Barbara Kathmann,

Vice Mayor for Economy, Districts and Small Localities

The Port of Rotterdam is a major

global trade hub situated in the heart

of the food (logistics) chain. It is

Europe’s largest deep sea port and

the gateway to a market of over 500

million people worldwide. Over a third

of all food from North and South

America, Africa, and Asia flows through

the port of Rotterdam to destinations

all over Europe.

“As the capital port of Europe, Rotterdam defines its

strength with high-quality knowledge and expertise thanks

to a wide range of companies active throughout the food

chain. As a result, this generates leading innovations which

strengthen our global position in food. With our collective

knowledge we are able to help other regions by creating a

smarter and more sustainable food chain.”

• 2,2 million inhabitants

• 8,000 businesses

• 44,000 jobs

• €27 billion turnover annually

• Port of Rotterdam is no. 1 in container transport and transshipment agribulk

• 18,500 shore reefer points

• 18 AGF logistical business parks

• 230 hectares of expanding agro-logistics

• Exporting to over 150 countries worldwide

• Highest production yield per hectare in Europe

• Highest standard output in primary production per company in Europe

Rotterdam Food Cluster Facts and Figures

“The Rotterdam Region is the

favourite location and logistical

hub for the food sector in Europe.

It fosters the development, innovation,

and transformation of the food

industry into a sustainable and

circular sector.”

Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of the City of Rotterdam

The Rotterdam

Food Cluster program:

1 World Food Park Innovation and new business opportunities

2 Food for the Future Research, employment, and education

3 Feeding the City Providing for cities, today, everyday and tomorrow

Sustainable and circular sector The Rotterdam Food Cluster Food for the Future Feeding the City

Port of Rotterdam is world’s

2nd largest importer of fresh food.2ndWorldwide

We aim to give a boost to the food

sector in our region. We facilitate

innovative projects; we connect

companies with knowledge

institutions and local governments;

we offer top locations and

opportunities to multinational,

national and local food businesses.

The Roadmap Next Economy,

blueprint for the development

of the regional economy, helps

us join forces and create new

employment.

By 2050, 9 billion people will have to be

fed, of which 80% will be living in cities.

But new technological developments

and the wish for increasing sustainable

production are also influencing the

employment needs of businesses in

the food industry.

Therefore, much work needs to be

done! With these new collaborations

the educational institutions can prepare

themselves for the future by making

sure education fits the needs of the

Rotterdam Food Cluster.

Necessity

Research, employment, and education Providing for cities, today, everyday, and tomorrowInnovation and new business opportunities of

the world’s most innovative food park located

in the heart of the Netherlands

World Food Park

The food industry is becoming

digitised and is busy with

innovation and sustainability

at a record-breaking speed.

The international character

of the food sector offers many

opportunities for research and

educational institutions as well

as for the employees and the

entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

We want to make Rotterdam the

healthiest city of the Netherlands.

Not just for ourselves, but also for the

world by creating new revenue models

and markets worldwide. The Rotterdam

region is a front runner of plant

compounds research, personalized

food, and greening schools.

Together with our businesses, our knowledge, and our

educational institutions, we will stimulate the industry’s

innovation capacity and prepare the next generation for

the future. Our educational institutions, businesses, and the

City of Rotterdam plan on tackling this challenge together.

Every day our region works together on building solutions for

theinternational food issues of today and tomorrow. We develop

groundbreaking pilot projects with local food producers and urban

farms. We also do research in other areas such as the positive effects

of ‘green classrooms’ as well as studying foods that have been proven

to prevent and cure diseases. We keep expanding on our efforts and

developing our skills for the benefit of our global society.

The Rotterdam Food Cluster

activates the regional food

industry’s transition with innovative

products, sustainable logistics,

and even more favourable business

conditions for the food industry

as a whole.

As the world prepares for ‘The Next Economy’ applying digital

data and smarter use of resources, energy, and residual flows,

the Rotterdam Food Cluster stimulates this transition into

sustainable logistics and an even more attractive business

climate with research and business cases. We focus on

creating value from our (collective) residual flows, developing

well-trained employees through a collective ‘Human Capital Pool’

and a ‘Smart Logistics’ system that will strongly reduce the carbon

footprint of food miles as well as the overall cost.

our partners:

Together with food businesses we work

towards a shared digital platform for

agrofood logistics. The platform receives

logistical data from participating businesses

and compiles the smartest routes without

empty loading space.

Smart LogisticsDigital platform for efficient and

smart loading

TNO examined which components from

our residual flows are of commercial

interest for processing. We are now

investigating our volumes in order

for investors to get insight into possible

returns.

Value Creation from Residual FlowsNew destinations for bulk volumes

of residual waste

The Rotterdam Food Cluster examines

new opportunities and collaborations

with innovative business models for

a resilient region. We are looking for

partners and businesses for our pilot

projects as well as investors interested

in circularity. Want to join us?

Please visit:

Will you join us?

www.rotterdamfoodcluster.com

How can we make this sector appealing

to young people? By having students,

reflect on new ideas to market fruit and

vegetables. In 2018 we organized the

first edition of the ‘Student Challenge’

together with food businesses &

educational institutions.

Market Match 2019Wanted: innovative (marketing) ideas

for the food sector

The knowledge connector creates active

interaction between education institutions

and entrepreneurs. This way we show

career prospects and educate students

to the challenges of tomorrow.

Knowledge connector Connecting food education with

food businesses

During the world’s largest Agro-logistics

fair in Berlin 20 internship students will

perform tasks offered by food companies for

market and competition research while also

providing hospitality at various stands.

Fruit Logistica Student trip to Berlin 2019

We are hosting IFAMA World Conference

2020 connecting academia, government and

industry leaders from the global food and

agribusiness system. It fosters new talent

and provides thought leadership on the

management of agribusiness.

IFAMA 2020 in Rotterdam, June 15th–20th 2020Gathering world’s leading agrofood

and business industry, scientists

and students

In October 2019 the third edition of World

Food Day Rotterdam will take place in and

around the Market Hall. On this day,

thousands of (international) consumers

will take a look behind the scenes of food

entrepreneurs in the Rotterdam region.

World Food Day Rotterdam Consumer gets acquainted with

the Rotterdam food sector

We support various events. VEG. is an

event by and for the VFP professionals.

EU Fresh Info is a forum and round table

about the latest developments in the

supply chain of fresh produce.

Food Industry’s eventsSupporting opportunities for the

food business

We are realising new sites for agrofood

businesses that want to establish or expand

in the region. By developing areas with

different identities, from food wholesale

market to large industrial sites, we create

space for every food entrepreneur.

Areal DevelopmentCreating space for new

agrofood businesses

We need to invest in our British trade

relations. The Hub realises a quick and

efficient connection with all needed

customs facilities and checks. We are also

able to conduct value added processes

for fresh products that after Brexit are

no longer attractive to do in the UK.

Brexit HubA facility for an efficient and

reliable trade connection

Human Capital PoolA pool of committed flex workers

in agrologistics

To overcome low and peak workloads,

Rotterdam Food Cluster and agrofood

companies started a pool with well-trained

and flexible staff who are regionally

employable.

The Rotterdam Food Cluster, high-tech

companies and agrofood businesses are

working on an iconic vertical farm to

show Dutch knowledge and experience

in horticulture.

Vertical FarmingCreating an icon for the

Dutch horticulture sector