Foodtech Forum, one of Scandinavia’s largest foodtech events, will return to Slagthuset in Malmö on September 15, 2026. Bringing together key actors from across the food system, the forum offers a focused half-day of insights, innovation, and meaningful connections. 

Registration is now open, with a limited number of spots available. 

Register here!

About Foodtech Forum 

Now in its third edition, Foodtech Forum has established itself as a central meeting place for professionals working across the food value chain, from innovation and product development to investment, marketing, and procurement. 

The forum brings together exhibiting companies from the Foodtech Innovation Network alongside industry professionals, investors, researchers, and public stakeholders. The programme combines a curated exhibition, keynote sessions on stage, and the Foodtech Forum Award ,where a jury of industry leaders selects the Company of the Year during the event. 

Hosted in central Malmö, the event is open and free to attend, creating an accessible platform to explore new solutions, exchange knowledge, and connect with peers shaping the future of food. 

Expanded exhibition and new formats for dialogue 

The 2026 edition continues to develop the format, with an expanded exhibition where companies from the Foodtech Innovation Network showcase innovative products and solutions ,offering opportunities to experience, taste, and engage directly with the teams behind them. 

New for this year is an increased emphasis on curated roundtable discussions, enabling focused dialogue between participants from industry, startups, investment, and the public sector. 

Alongside the exhibition and roundtables, the programme includes keynote sessions addressing key challenges and opportunities across the food system, as well as networking opportunities that foster new collaborations. 

The day concludes with the Foodtech Forum Award, recognising the Company of the Year and highlighting impactful innovation within the network. 

Event details 

• Date: September 15, 2026 
• Time: 13:00 ,17:00  
• Location: Slagthuset, Malmö, Sweden 

Registration is now open. Secure your spot early, availability is limited. 

Register here!

On April 7, members of Foodtech Innovation Network gathered in Lund for a hands-on workshop exploring how sensory experiences shape our relationship with food. 

Led by Corina Akner, founder and CEO of VÄRT – Sustainable Food Lab, the session focused on haptics: how texture, temperature, form, and mouthfeel influence not only how we experience food, but whether we accept it at all. 

Through interactive exercises and product testing, participants explored how deeply ingrained habits and expectations affect our willingness to embrace new, more sustainable ingredients.

Haptics, therefore, becomes a powerful tool in accelerating the transition to a more sustainable food system. 

Challenging Norms and Expectations 

The workshop highlighted how food choices are shaped by cultural norms and perceptions of status. 

Ingredients like meat still carry strong status, while others, such as dried fruits, have recently been repositioned and gained new appeal. Shifts like these show that preferences are not fixed, but designed and influenced over time. 

A key insight was that innovation becomes easier when new products fit into familiar formats. Replacing meat with a similar alternative in a well-known dish can be more effective than introducing entirely new concepts that feel unfamiliar on the plate. 

To illustrate this, participants explored how different ingredients and products can be mapped based on complexity and cultural fit, from familiar staples like yellow peas to more challenging options in a Swedish context like tempeh or mussel mince. 

From Insight to Application 

The session also included product testing brought in by community members. We tried legume-based baby food, bake-off cookies designed to reduce food waste, and fermented rosehip creams developed as a functional food targeting osteoarthritis were tested across variations in sweetness and texture. 

These real-world examples grounded the discussion in practical application, showing how haptics can be used as a strategic tool in product development. 

Whether working with new ingredients, reducing waste, or increasing perceived value, the ability to design for sensory experience can make the difference between resistance and acceptance.