LUX FORUM LONDON
Bridging the Agrifood Innovation Chasm: Aligning Technology, Policy, and Consumer Demand to Unlock Opportunities

The Modern Innovation Chasm: Rethinking How Agrifood Technologies Scale  

The Innovation Adoption Model describes a gap between early technical success and mainstream adoption, but with rapid policy shifts and difficult-to-decipher consumer expectations, the modern model for innovation adoption looks very different. Companies are acting, but the challenge now is acting with precision and alignment in a landscape where the margin for error is shrinking. 

This keynote introduces the next-generation innovation chasm and what it means for agrifood companies building resilient, future-ready value chains. We will outline the innovation pathways best positioned to succeed in this new environment. 

Joshua Haslun, Ph.D.
Senior Director at Lux Research

Navigating the Global Agrifood Policy Shift: Understanding the Forces Shaping Future Innovation  

The agrifood policy landscape is undergoing rapid transformation, as new regulations and incentives are reshaping what technologies can advance, how supply chains operate, and where investment will flow. In this shifting environment, it is no longer sufficient to track individual rules. Companies must understand the broader policy trajectories that will determine which innovations gain support and which face new barriers. This requires a forward-looking view that connects policy signals to technology pathways and market opportunities. 

This presentation introduces Lux’s Agrifood Policy Compass to highlight the regions and regulatory frameworks most likely to accelerate innovation, slow adoption, or redefine competitive advantage.

Harini Venkataraman, Ph.D.
Associate Research Director at Lux Research

Matilde della Fontana
Analyst at Lux Research

The Lux Innovation Helix: Shaping the Future of Ultra-Processed Foods  

Although ultra-processed foods are receiving increasing scrutiny from consumers, media, and regulators, they continue to play a central role in modern diets. Innovation is accelerating across nutrition, formulation, and processing, but these advances often progress without a clear connection to the evolving consumer expectations they are meant to address. This disconnect creates a widening gap between technical possibilities and consumer acceptance. Closing that gap requires a clearer understanding of how perceptions are shifting, where current offerings fall short, and which emerging solutions have the potential to deliver credible and valued improvements. 

This presentation uses Lux’s Innovation Helix Model, combining consumer insights and technology expertise to highlight innovations that meaningfully align technical capabilities with evolving consumer needs.

Elena Gorachinova
Analyst at Lux Research

Urbi Pathak
Senior Research Associate at Lux Research

Finding and Assessing Innovation Providers

This session introduces Lux Lists and Innovator Assessments, two proprietary tools designed to help innovation teams scout technologies faster and with greater confidence in a resource-constrained environment. Attendees will learn how Lux combines AI-enabled screening with deep analyst curation to deliver a comprehensive view of emerging technology landscapes. The presentation will also unpack Lux’s Innovator Assessment methodology, refined over 15 years, and show how consistent, data-backed evaluation can identify winning startups earlier.

Amelia Shee
Client Experience Manager at Lux Research

Lux Ideathon: Resilience Building

Advances in agrifood technologies are creating new pathways to build resilience across the value chain. Yet translating these innovations into scalable solutions remains challenging due to the persistent innovation chasm that separates technical promise from policy readiness, economic viability, and market demand. Companies and innovators must learn to navigate this gap to deliver impact where it matters most. 

In this Lux Ideathon, we will host a live pitch session featuring emerging agrifood startups developing solutions to strengthen resilience from farm to fork. These innovators aim to bridge the innovation chasm by aligning technological potential with the real-world needs of producers, processors, and consumers in the future of food. 

Moderators:

Deepesh Bista, Ph.D.
Analyst at Lux Research

Hannah Moshay
Research Associate at Lux Research

Gastredner:

Andy Clayton
CEO of Fermtech

Nicolas Kral
CTO and Co-Founder of Phytoform Labs

Minshad Ansari
CEO of Bionema Group

Bianca Forte
Business Development Director at SugaROx