“Des racines & des étoiles, saison #2” is the name of the strategic project that Valorial has co-written with its administrators, members and stakeholders, and which propels the cluster into a new era, up to 2030. It has just been awarded the “Competitiveness Cluster” label by the State for a period of four years, as part of phase 5 of the national policy on competitiveness clusters (2023-2026), with the support of the regions of Brittany, Normandy, Pays de la Loire and the metropolitan areas of Rennes and Nantes. Valorial sees this renewal as genuine recognition of the quality of the work it has accomplished on a daily basis since its creation in 2005 and of the ambition of its new project. It comes in addition to the Innovation Tax Credit approval and the European Gold label “Cluster Management Excellence” obtained in October and November 2022.
With its territorial anchorage in the 3 regions of the Great West of France, its community of 400 members, and its 10,000 committed “innovators”, Valorial intends to accelerate the transitions in the “agri-food” sector through innovation, by deploying a range of adapted services. With its stated ambitions, towards Europe and internationally, and based on its project factory, which is increasingly focused on value creation, Valorial is now positioned as a key cluster in Europe, at the service of responsible food innovation.
In 2022, Valorial conducted a strategic study aimed at projecting itself to 2030. This work was the subject of a broad consultation of its members and stakeholders: public authorities, regional agri-food associations, technology parks, etc. It was also largely inspired by the operational results of the last 4 years and the feedback from the salaried team.
Valorial has formulated its vision as follows: in a “world” undergoing profound transformation, where paradigms are changing irreversibly, the food industries of Western France will have to reinvent themselves. Territorial projects that are sober (aiming to reduce the consumption of energy and natural resources), collaborative (associating different organisations and companies, both private and public, working together to innovate collectively) and economically efficient (creating added value for all) will be the key to success.
Valorial’s mission: to stimulate responsible food innovation by bringing together a community of private and public players and advising them on their innovation projects and approaches, with the aim of accelerating the adaptation of players in the food sectors in Western France to transitions through innovation.
Valorial is therefore ready to take up the challenges ahead, towards an ever more innovative and virtuous food future, with the ambition of accelerating the adaptation of players in the food sectors of Western France to transitions through innovation; in particular by targeting European project opportunities for its members, and by intensifying its involvement in research and innovation programmes in France, as in Europe.
