AAginov

Tasty, innovative solutions to combat undernutrition in seniors.
The 400th project supported by Valorial in the spotlight: we met Célina Avignon, Research & Innovation Manager for France with Solina, leader of this FUI24-funded project, prior to the kick-off meeting on 8th February.

What is the primary objective of this collaborative innovation project?

The ageing of the population is a major societal challenge. The world population over 60 years of age is projected to reach 2 billion by 2050, compared to 629 million today. Meanwhile, the number of dependent elderly people is increasing in tandem with the ageing of the population: projections foresee a 35% rise by 2030 and a 100% rise by 2060.

For senior citizens, diet is a strategic factor in maintaining good health and autonomy for as long as possible. This does not simply boil down to covering nutritional needs; food should also be a source of pleasure, whether through the activities it generates, the times of sharing it involves or the enjoyment of the food itself.
The AAginov project thus aims to react to market changes by developing a range of culinary solutions to meet the specific needs of these populations and the evolution of their sensory and digestive physiology. These tasty culinary solutions with high nutritional quality will be perfectly formulated to meet the needs and expectations of elderly people, as well as of chefs in care homes.

In what way is this project innovative and what are the expected benefits?

The innovative nature of this project lies both in the composition of the consortium and in the uses of the new culinary solutions which will be developed. The consortium spans the entire sector, from ingredient producer to end user, not forgetting formulators. Finally, the culinary solutions to be developed must be both tasty and healthy, meeting high nutritional quality standards; to do so, brand new formulations and unprecedented sourcing options will be used.

What stage are you at today?

The project was selected in November 2017 under the FUI24 call for proposals. It is set to be launched on 8th February at the kick-off meeting with all the consortium partners.

You ventured into this collaborative innovation project together with several partners. What does collaborative innovation mean to you?

As mentioned earlier, the consortium covers the entire sector: ingredient producers, formulators, care home chefs, hospital sector, enriched food manufacturers and public research stakeholders… so nothing is left to chance in this ambitious R&D project! Open innovation instils the project with the potential to expand, promotes interaction between stakeholders and is expected to ultimately generate in excess of €50 million in revenue for the private partners together with a possible twenty or so jobs.