Qual foi o desafio/problema abordado?

Portugal is a major producer of corn, Contudo, the corn consumed as popcorn was

mostly imported from the USA, France and Spain, where Butterfly and Mushroom

varieties are widely produced for the food industry in the production of popcorn and

other snacks.

As one of the largest consumers of national popcorn, NOS Lusomundo Cinemas,

provided strong support and closely followed this project. For this cinema chain, a

production of popcorn in Portugal allows greater control in terms of quantity and

quality of production and also represents an opportunity to reduce the carbon

footprint of the star product of its cinemas: popcorn.

The consortium formed by Agromais, Agrotejo, Consulai and Prosense carried out,

within the Portuguese Rural Development Program – “Cooperation for

Innovation”, an innovation project that focused on the production of varieties of corn

to produce popcorns.

Interactive innovation focused on the entire value chain, from production, através

transformation and logistics, to the final consumer.

Quais são os fatores de sucesso na resolução do problema?

the need to diversify the offer by a producer organization, and the need to acquire ingredients in local markets by the industry; multi-actor approach, including consumer acceptance tests; close communication and dialogue between production and industry

Quais foram os principais desafios durante o processo de inovação?

Risk of poor consumer acceptance; new varieties failing to adapt to edaphoclimatic conditions;

Different agricultural, harvesting and storage practices in a product naturally produced for animal feed, which became for human consumption;

Much stricter food law in this new product

Qual o papel do consultor ou serviço de consultoria no caso prático?

Consciência e troca de conhecimento, Consultivo, Consultoria e backstopping destinados a resolver problemas complexos, a ser fornecido durante o processo de inovação e com base nas demandas dos atores e na co-construção de soluções, Facilitação e corretora de rede, Para ajudar a organizar ou fortalecer as redes, melhorar as relações entre os principais atores e alinhar os serviços para poder se complementar, Enhancing/supporting access to resources by facilitating access to inputs, facilities and funding, Ampliar a inovação para aumentar a aceitação por um grupo mais amplo

Para compartilhar a experiência do caso prático, entre em contato

Jorge Neves

jorge.neves@agromais.pt