Insights
Open Innovation Forum: creating opportunities for collaboration and growth
The food, drink and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors are experiencing rapid transformation, driven by changing consumer expectations, advances in technology and the urgent need for more sustainable practices. To respond effectively, organisations are increasingly turning to collaboration to accelerate innovation and deliver solutions with impact.
The Open Innovation (OI) Forum provides a trusted environment where senior leaders from across the value chain can share insights, explore emerging opportunities and form partnerships. A key benefit is the Open Innovation Forum Pitching Event for Start-ups, which connects members directly with entrepreneurs, universities and innovation providers developing breakthrough solutions to the industry’s most pressing challenges.
About the OI Forum
The OI Forum, established in 2010, brings together senior leaders from across the food, drink and FMCG value chain to accelerate innovation through collaboration. As companies look to advance their technologies, the Forum helps members to combine their internal thinking with external insights, ideas and paths to market.
With members including multinational corporations such as Mars, Kerry, Diageo and Müller, the OI Forum represents organisations from across the core value chain as well as the wider innovation ecosystem. Membership spans brand owners and manufacturers through to raw materials and packaging producers, machinery and logistics suppliers, retailers, food tech and services organisations, and even waste management specialists.
Members meet three times a year, hosted at the site of one of the participating organisations. Each meeting is structured around a theme drawn from the Forum’s rolling landscape of future drivers, opportunities for innovation, technology and capability needs. This approach ensures that every gathering is closely aligned with industry priorities, while also providing a space for members to share experiences and strengthen their open innovation practice.
External Innovation Director for Mars Inc says, “The Forum offers a real opportunity to create a breakthrough in consumer and community value as we further collaborate with our peers in the industry. We at Mars want to create a mutuality of benefits by doing business in ways that are good for our company, good for people and good for the planet. The unique feature of this Forum is the focus on our industry value streams, and membership from companies representing every stage. This enables discussions on best practice to be more productive, as they are in a shared context. It also means we can explore real innovation needs and opportunities such as sustainability, traceability, health and wellbeing. These kind of networks and collaborations enable opportunities that can impact our strategy and innovation efficiency.”
Spotlight on the annual pitching event
The annual Open Innovation Forum Pitching Event offers innovators the chance to present their solutions to an audience of senior decision-makers from some of the world’s leading companies. Taking place as part of the Forum’s autumn meeting, the event allows members to engage with start-ups, scale-ups, universities and innovation providers whose solutions align with the priorities set out in the Forum’s shared innovation landscape.
The event has two main parts. First, entrepreneurs deliver five-minute pitches to showcase their innovations, which are scored by Forum members, who also provide feedback. This is followed by a “speed-dating” session, where members hold short, face-to-face discussions with the pitchers that interest them, helping to spark connections and initiate follow-on activities.
“The application and pitching process was straightforward and professionally managed,” says Morgan McElligott, CEO of 2025 winning company, Inpute Technologies Limited. “The pitching format itself was concise, which encouraged focus and clarity in delivering our message.”
Innovators consistently emphasise how valuable it is to present the wide-range of senior decision-makers present at the event, and the significant the visibility and impact the feedback they provide has on their companies.
“The most valuable aspect of the experience was the opportunity to connect with a network of like-minded professionals and potential partners,” says Morgan. “The feedback from the judges and attendees also provided valuable insight into how our solution is perceived and where we can further differentiate ourselves in the market.”
This sentiment is echoed by Robert McCarthy from 2025 Highly Commended, Protex AI, “The quick pitches along with the speed dating component was a valuable way to get in front of the right people in the largest FMCG and Ingredients business, whilst providing the judges a valuable experience in learning of the newest technologies on the market.”
For Forum members, the pitching event is a highly effective way to engage with early-stage innovation in a structured setting. The carefully selected start-ups present cutting-edge solutions to shared industry challenges, from food security and resilience, and waste stream valorisation, to developing sustainable packaging and healthy nutrition.
Members benefit by gaining early visibility of breakthrough ideas, the opportunity to shape new technologies through feedback, and the chance to initiate partnerships that can lead directly to pilots or commercial collaborations.
Kerry Whiteside, Head of Science and Technology, Samworth Brothers says, “The pitching event gives a great visibility of businesses, technology and individuals in a curated and concentrated forum that is difficult to find elsewhere. We have engaged with the expertise of those who have previously pitched at the OI Forum sessions.”
FEEDBACK FROM PAST WINNERS
Benefits of open innovation
Beyond the pitching event, Forum membership provides a comprehensive platform for accelerating open innovation. Members gain access to a diverse network of peers and partners, insights into future trends and sector-wide priorities, and exclusive research and tools from the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM). The annual OI Report and the OI Practice Self-Assessment model enable members to benchmark their practice and plan strategically.
The Forum offers unique opportunities for collaboration, not only between corporates and start-ups, but also across SMEs, intermediaries, and universities. Together, members share best practices, shape innovation agendas, and build connections that deliver both commercial and societal value.
Michèle Routley, Industrial Associate at IfM Engage and Lead for the OI Forum says, “Collaboration is the only way to achieve resilience and growth in today’s disruptive environment. The OI Forum provides a trusted and evolving network of diverse and open professionals to identify and address opportunities.”
Get involved
For innovators: find out about our upcoming events where you can pitch your solution to senior leaders from global food and drink companies.
For FMCG organisations: Find out more about joining the OI Forum and the benefits of membership.
