The agro-food sector is one of the largest economic sectors in the Netherlands. In addition, the Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agro-food products worldwide. This means the choices we make here have global consequences. What if we used this position to make a real impact across the food chain and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable food system?
With a series of events, a community, publications and accelerator programs, we bring together entrepreneurs, investors, consumers, government, corporates, and other organisations to accelerate positive change in the food sector. Interested? Join our Food Ecosystem!
Projects
Food Chain Accelerator 2025
SEPT 2025 - APR 2025
Are you leading a startup or scale-up working toward a more sustainable food system? Then this is your invitation to join the 6th edition of Impact Hub Amsterdam’s Food Chain Accelerator — the growth program for entrepreneurs driving the future of food.
Food Pioneers 2025
APRIL - OCTOBER 2025
Are you a budding entrepreneur with a (nearly) completed product, looking for a community that helps you grow both personally and professionally? Then our Food Pioneers Program could be the right fit for you!
Boost je Buurt 2025
APRIL - JULY 2025
Ben jij een impact ondernemer die Amsterdam gezonder, inclusiever en duurzamer maakt? Dan is dit dé uitdaging voor jou! De Boost je Buurt uitdaging van de Gemeente Amsterdam omvat een business development programma ter waarde van €20.000,- en een aanvullend ontwikkelingsbudget van maximaal €7.500.
Food Chain Accelerator 2024
OCT 2024 - JAN 2025
FOOD CHAIN ACCELERATOR IS BACK – Running a startup or scale-up that is working on a more sustainable food system? Apply for our Food Chain Accelerator! In 12 days of training and strategy sessions at Impact Hub, you will work on your strategy, marketing, organisation and investment needs in order to grow your company and…
Food Innovators
For entrepreneurs, the new Food Innovators platform is your gateway to knowledge, funding, and networking opportunities within the Amsterdam regional food innovation ecosystem. This platform is a joint effort by Food Hub (NL), Impact Hub Amsterdam, Rabobank Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, and Flevo Campus. Its vision is to transform the food landscape as we know it, fostering connections between innovators…
Green at Heart – Build an even more impactful SME
March 2024 - 2025
Green at Heart helps social SMEs close all the loops by building a business that is environmentally as well as socially sound, well-governed, and circular. Through state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, expert guidance, and financial support, we empower you to integrate all aspects of sustainability into the heart of your business and prepare you for incoming ESG…
Food Pioneers Program Spring 2024
APRIL - NOV 2024
Are you an early-stage food entrepreneur eager to further develop your idea, business, or project? Are you looking for an inspiring workplace and like-minded community that helps you grow both personally and professionally? Are you in Almere, Flevoland or the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region (AMR)? The Food Pioneers Program has got you covered.
Food Pioneers Program Autumn 2022
SEP - MAR 2023
The Village is the brand new working community for national and international food entrepreneurs, start-ups, students and other food professionals on the Floriade site in Almere. With a focus on stimulating entrepreneurship, it is the perfect place for young and aspiring entrepreneurs in Almere, the Netherlands and Europe. They will get the opportunity to start…
Food Chain Accelerator 2022
OCT 2022 - MAR 2023
Running a startup or scale-up that is working on a more sustainable food system? Apply for our Food Chain Accelerator! In 13 days of training and strategy sessions at Impact Hub, you will work on your strategy, marketing, organisation and investment needs in order to grow your company and impact. Scroll down for more info…
Food Pioneers Program Spring ‘ 22
MAR - SEP 2022
The Village Food Pioneers Program offers fifteen free workplaces for impactful food entrepreneurs starting March 2022. With the guidance of coaches and experts, you will develop both your professional self and your company and become part of a close-knit, international community, welcoming people with all kinds of backgrounds and promoting diverse perspectives. Take your company…
Food Pioneers Program 2021
AUG 2021 - MAR 2022
The Village Food Pioneers Program offers fifteen free workplaces for impactful food entrepreneurs starting September 2021. With the guidance of coaches and experts, you will develop both your professional self and your company and become part of a close-knit, international community. Take your company to the next level!
Food Chain Accelerator 2021
OCT 2021 - MAR 2022
A successful accelerator designed for innovative startups or SMEs (MKB) working on a more sustainable food chain. Our Food Chain Accelerator helps food startups strengthen their revenue models, growth strategies, and impact over the course of 13 training days, with guidance from experts, mentors, financiers, and strategic partners!
Inclusief Eten
MAY - JULY 2021
As part of the Sustainable Food Ecosystem, Impact Hub The Netherlands is launching the 2-month Inclusief Eten programme in collaboration with Stichting Albron. In Inclusief Eten, we match young people in search for purposeful jobs to initiatives that promote social inclusion by means of growing, cooking, saving or sharing food. This programme is in Dutch.
Business Model Challenge | Food & Packaging
2020
In this edition of the Business Model Challenge (BMC), we helped entrepreneurs turn their innovative ideas into a successful impact startup in just three months! We collaborated with experts, mentors and an inspiring group of entrepreneurs working to make food and its packaging more sustainable.
Impact the Food Chain Accelerator 2019
2019 & 2020
A successful accelerator designed for innovative startups or SMEs (MKB) working on making the food chain more sustainable. Our Food Chain Accelerator helped startups strengthen their revenue models, growth strategies, and impact over the course of 13 training days, with guidance from experts, mentors, financiers, and strategic partners!
Soft Landing Program | Food
2020
During our softlanding trip to Berlin, we helped entrepreneurs break into a new market. We introduced entrepreneurs to all the relevant local actors from the local food and impact sector, including food industry players, regulation experts, and impact investors. The program is an initiative of Impact Hub Amsterdam and Amsterdam Impact.
Fix Your Food Hackathon
2020
A third of all food is wasted and eating meat negatively impacts the climate. Meanwhile, food is flown all over the world and we wrap it in plastic that ends up in the oceans. Time for change! Participants turned their business ideas into a concrete business plan with an interdisciplinary team.
Organic Food Against Climate Change
2017
Multinational food company Wessanen wants to contribute to a green future by changing the way we produce our food and by encouraging consumers to make more sustainable choices. The organisation opened up its network and expertise to entrepreneurs that address key challenges of the global food system.
Events
Join us at any of the following events and meet an inspiring network of people who are passionate about working together to build a new economy
Stories
10 April
From Nieuw-West to Noord, Amsterdam is buzzing with social innovators, community builders, and sustainability warriors. These are the people driving positive change in their neighborhoods—and Boost je Buurt 2025 is here to empower them to go even further. Ready to meet the changemakers that are shaping the future of Amsterdam's neighbourhoods?
18 March
Green at Heart is an EU-funded program that supports SMEs in European member states on their path toward comprehensive sustainability. By helping participants create a more transparent overview of their current practices, preparing them for forthcoming ESG reporting requirements, and empowering them to drive measurable impact across people, the environment, circularity, and governance, the program helps turn intentions into tangible results.
18 February
The first edition of the Fair Future Challenge has its winners! 🚀 During a vibrant Product Fair at the offices of Stichting DOEN and the National Postcode Lottery in Amsterdam, 20 finalists presented their innovative, sustainable products and services. And what an inspiration it was! Out of 758 submissions, five entrepreneurs were selected to receive €100,000 each to further grow their impactful businesses.
11 February
Protein from grass made edible for humans, precision fermentation revolutionizing plant-based cheese, the revival of forgotten crops through domestication, and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technologies promoting self-sufficiency and environmentally responsible food production through urban farming — could this be the future of our food system?
13 November
Mojo Mate was set up in 2022 and follows a clear vision: to offer a refreshing, organic craft drink that provides a natural caffeine boost, sourced directly from the mate plant and that gives back to the people and planet. Today Mojo Mate is leading the change in The Netherlands by making regenerative business practises the new norm.
Publications
Het nieuwe plan A.
This report is about the future of proteins. To keep feeding our ever-growing population, we need to find good alternatives to animal protein. Thankfully, innovations in this area are cropping up thick and fast. The trends we see there are many. Download our report.
Climate change. Loss of biodiversity. Famine and obesity. A national nitrogen crisis. Our current ways of food production and consumption are not sustainable. This report investigates two timely questions: how has Covid-19 impacted sustainable food entrepreneurs? And how should Impact Hb Amsterdam proceed to leverage its Food Ecosystem to accelerate the transition to a sustainable food system?
We proudly present our map of the Sustainable Food Ecosystem in the Netherlands. With the people and organisations of our sustainable food ecosystem, we’ve created 4 publications, 12 events, and 7 growth programmes, and accelerated 51 food startups since 2019!
Throughout the food chain – from soil to mouth – people and organisations are working on ways to make the food system healthier and more sustainable. They try to produce with less and less impact on the environment and climate, generating less waste and with more attention to animal welfare. Impact enterprises place this kind of issues at the center of their business operations.
In this report, five cutting-edge pioneers of the short food supply chain discuss their drive and their mission. The founders of De Melkbrouwerij, Herenboeren, Boerschappen, Vokomokum & Atlantis Handelshuis use innovative, short-chain business models to build a fundamentally different system.
