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Welcome to VITAMIN C®
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Read time today: 2:41 min
Hi friend,
It’s Friday morning. You are reading VITAMIN C 🍋.
There are 5M+ posts this week about foodtech and food innovation. I hunted down 5 that deserve your attention.
Here they are:
1. [Science | Report] ⚖️ Policy is the new product
The World Economic Forum is happening again in Davos next week.
And just in time, the WEF released The Food Rules - a new report on food regulation.
It’s key message:
Regulation is no longer “the thing you deal with later.” It’s the thing that decides whether you get built at all.
Here’s what’s happening:
Colombia just launched a 20% tax on ultra-processed foods.
India cut taxes for plant-based meat and dairy.
China & Singapore are racing to approve cultivated meat while Italy banned it outright.
TikTok is now forced to disclose ad targeting for food thanks to the EU’s Digital Services Act.
And Chile’s black warning labels are reshaping food packaging across Latin America.
So we see:
↳ What you make matters less than how it fits into a country’s agenda.
↳ Regulation makes innovation credible. Because rules build industry and consumer trust and trust is what turns new ideas into scale.
Check out the full report here.
2. [Food for Thought] 🐮 Cow cuddling is a business now
Milk prices are down. Costs are up. So farmers are getting creative.
Across the US and UK, dairy farms are pivoting from milking cows to charging people to cuddle them.
You read that right.
Some farms now offer 30-minute cuddle sessions with calves. Others run full-blown “cow therapy” experiences, complete with classical music, hay bales, and slow cow heartbeats.
Why? Because people pay to feel grounded.
And cows are giant, warm, sleepy zen masters.
In Minnesota, cuddle sessions cost ~$15
In England, full cow-cuddling events go for $150+
Some farms have quit milk entirely and now run on hugs
The trend started during the pandemic but now, it’s quietly taking off again as dairy prices soften and farmers look for more resilient business models.
My take?
In a world obsessed with scale and tech, this weird trend is a good reminder: sometimes the most innovative business model is emotional connection.
More cow cuddling here.
3. [People & Startups] 📌 126 food organisations you should know
Food Tank just released a global list of 126 organizations shaping the future of food. Our Food Campus Berlin is missing, but it is still a solid overview worth bookmarking.
Browse the full list here.
4. [Recommendation] 📆 Food events in 2026
You could spend the entire year hopping from one food conference to the next. So as Food Campus Berlin, we curated a list of the top food events in Europe for 2026.
Where you’ll definitely find me:
GDI Food Innovation Conference (18.06, Rüschlikon, Switzerland)
I’m on the advisory board of the GDI, and I can promise you - this year’s food innovation conference is going to be really good. Details will be announced soon!
The Drop (15–16.09, Malmö, Sweden)
A highly curated event for VCs and startups in the climate tech space. As Women in Climate Tech we’re planning to host a global women gathering there again this year.
ZEIT Agrar & Ernährung (tbc, fall 2026, Berlin, Germany)
Last year, as Food Campus Berlin we partnered with DIE ZEIT for their food and agriculture conference and it was awesome. Planning to do it again this year.
Check out the full list here.
5. [Fun] 😂
Germany is covered in snow right now and looks like a proper winter wonderland.
And then Bavaria did the most German thing imaginable.
Instead of spreading environmentally damaging road salt, a city there is de-icing its streets with pickle juice.
Yes. The salty leftover brine from a nearby pickle factory.
Sounds smelly but is a win-win: Cleaner roads and fewer damaged trees in spring.
Stay awesome,
Lia
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