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
What were the main challenges during the innovation process?
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?
Knowledge awareness and exchange, Advisory, consultancy and backstopping aimed at solving complex problems, to be provided during the innovation process and based on demands of actors and the co-construction of solutions, Networking facilitation and brokerage, to help organize or strengthen networks, improve the relationships between key actors and to align services in order to be able to complement each other, Enhancing/supporting access to resources by facilitating access to inputs, facilities and funding, Scaling up the innovation to increase the uptake by a broader group
For sharing experience of the practical case, entre em contato
Jorge Neves
jorge.neves@agromais.pt