On 24 September 2025, Dr. André Neff and Dr. Marcel Hövels represented Sweethoven Biotech at Ideenfutter Expo in Neuss. As part of the BIO.NRW joint booth, they introduced visitors to the project’s research on sweet-tasting dietary fiber candidates and discussed current questions surrounding their production and potential use in food systems.
The annual event brings together participants from food research, industry and the wider innovation ecosystem. It gave the team an opportunity to present the scientific approach behind Sweethoven Biotech and to gather application-related perspectives from professionals working across the food sector.
Cookie and raspberry jam prototypes developed by Aamir Lonne as part of his master’s thesis provided tangible examples of the project’s application-oriented research. These model foods are being used to explore how selected carbohydrate candidates behave in different formulations. They are research prototypes rather than finished consumer products.
The conversations in Neuss offered useful input for the project’s next validation steps, including further work on process optimisation, material characterisation and application testing. They also provided opportunities to identify questions that are particularly relevant when moving a new carbohydrate candidate from laboratory research towards possible future use.
We thank the Foodhub NRW team, especially M. Lee Greene and Constanze Hepp, for organising the event, BIO.NRW for hosting the joint booth and everyone who visited us for the constructive exchange.