EVENTS
LUX FORUM LONDON
Bridging the Agrifood Innovation Chasm: Aligning Technology, Policy, and Consumer Demand to Unlock Opportunities
Location: Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, Piccadilly, London W1J 7BX, United Kingdom
Date: Thursday, 19 March 2026
Time: 8:30 – 14:00 GMT
Lunch will be provided.
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LUX FORUM LONDON
Bridging the Agrifood Innovation Chasm: Aligning Technology, Policy, and Consumer Demand to Unlock Opportunities
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About the Event
Agrifood innovation is entering a pivotal era. Breakthroughs from precision fermentation and climate-smart inputs to AI-enabled agriculture promise to transform how we produce and consume food. Yet, despite rapid scientific progress, many solutions struggle to scale. This modern innovation chasm is not caused by a lack of technology but by the growing misalignment between what science can deliver, what policy will support, and what consumers are willing to adopt. Policies are shifting unevenly across regions, creating uncertainty for investment. For instance, consumers claim to demand sustainability and transparency but often behave inconsistently, and companies must commercialize solutions that are not only novel but also cost effective and resilient amid geopolitical and climate volatility.
Join us at Lux Forum London as we explore how to build an integrated human–centric innovation strategy that bridges these gaps. Through a series of strategic and actionable presentations, attendees will:
- Break down the evolution of the agrifood innovation chasm and identify the technology pathways with substantial potential for near- to midterm impact.
- Explore the policy and regulatory landscape that is determining the agrifood technologies that can scale and where growth is most likely to occur.
- Build evolving consumer expectations into innovation priorities to improve decision-making aligned to real market pull.
Event Details
- Location: Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, Piccadilly, London W1J 7BX, United Kingdom
- Date: Thursday, 19 March 2026
- Time: 8:30 – 14:00 GMT
Lunch will be provided.
| Time (GMT) | Description | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|
|
8:30 – 9:00 |
Welcome & Coffee Networking |
|
|
9:00 – 9:40 |
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. |
|
9:40 – 10:20 |
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. Matilde della Fontana |
|
10:20 – 10:50 |
Networking Break |
|
|
10:50 – 11:30 |
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 Urbi Pathak |
|
11:30 – 11:40 |
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 |
|
11:40 – 12:30 |
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. Hannah Moshay Guest Speakers: Andy Clayton Nicolas Kral Minshad Ansari Bianca Forte |
|
12:30 – 14:00 |
Networking Lunch |
|
Expert Speakers
CTO and Co-Founder at Phytoform Labs
Founder and CEO of Bionema Group
Business Development Director at SugaROx
Founder and CEO of Fermtech
Customer Experience Manager
Analyst
Research Associate
Senior Research Associate
Analyst
Analyst
Senior Director
Associate Research Director
About the Lux Forums
At the Lux Forum, subject matter experts will provide meaningful insights relevant to oil and gas, utilities, industrials, chemicals, and consumer products innovation leaders. In this exclusive setting, attendees will make connections with executive-level industry counterparts through networking sessions and will take in cutting-edge research from the leading provider of sustainable innovation research and advisory services, Lux Research. These forums will deliver the thinking you need to accelerate the pace of innovation at your company.
