From 16 to 18 September 2025, SPI was in Bari, Italy, for the WINN-ORGANIC (Widening INNovations for ORGANIC food) Kick-Off Meeting, represented by Igor Lopes, Brimoresa Dhoro, and Matheus Avila. SPI is responsible for the communication of the project progress, coordinating impact, and ensuring alignment across partners as the leader of Work Package 7 (Path to Impacts) and the contact point for the Organic Food Innovation Hub (OFIH) in Portugal.
WINN-ORGANIC is an EU-funded Horizon Europe Innovation Action project designed to invigorate the organic food sector in Europe through the OFIHs. These hubs, to be deployed in eight countries, will serve as collaborative spaces to co-create, test, and scale novel solutions for processing, packaging, digital infrastructure, and business models tailored to organic value chains.
What We Learned in Bari
Over three intensive days, a few recurring themes and milestones stood out:
- Innovative solutions emerging: The project technology providers featured technological, digital, and model-based innovations geared to overcome bottlenecks in the organic food system: small-scale fermentations, low-temperature processing, biodegradable packaging, open digital supply platforms, and much more.
- Presentations from OFIH partners: Representatives from the eight planned Organic Food Innovation Hubs laid out their visions, priorities, and early pipelines for innovation in their local contexts.
- Alignment and commitment: The consortium used the meeting to establish synergies, clarify roles, and build shared commitment to deliver. As WP7 leader, SPI is already mapping out how “path-to-impacts” will integrate lessons from each hub into cross-project impact pathways.
Looking Ahead
SPI is proud to lead communications and impact coordination for WINN-ORGANIC. We look forward to turning the creative energy and partnerships initiated in Bari into tangible, scalable innovations and helping Europe’s organic food sector flourish as a more sustainable, integrated, and forward-looking ecosystem.
