The Future of Ingredients | London Pre-FFT Conference Evening

Join Forward Fooding at the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein for an exclusive pre-conference evening ahead of the Future FoodTech London Conference (24–25 September).
Hosted at Imperial's I-HUB in White City, the evening brings together F&B corporates, investors, founders, and researchers to explore what is actually happening at the frontier of sustainable ingredients.
The evening runs across two sessions. Session 1 is by invitation only. Session 2 is open to all.
🔒 Session 1 | Roundtable: The Future of Ingredients (15:30 – 18:00) - By invitation / approval only
A closed-door afternoon at the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, designed for senior leaders from food and beverage companies, investors and researchers who want a serious conversation about where the ingredients landscape is heading.
The session will include a lab tour of the Bezos Centre, a briefing from Forward Fooding on the state of the global FoodTech ecosystem, and targeted roundtable discussions. Numbers are kept deliberately small to allow genuine exchange rather than broadcast.

The final panel agenda with 3 panels will be confirmed closer to the date depending on registered participants' interests and expertise. Topics under consideration include:
Ingredients for the GLP-1 era - as consumers eat less but expect more from every bite, which proteins, fibres, bioactives, and functional systems are best positioned to win?
Climate-vulnerable ingredients: what comes after cocoa? - coffee, vanilla, oils, flavours: which ingredients face the next supply crisis, and what does a credible transition roadmap look like?
Sugar alternatives: moving beyond "less sugar" - rare sugars, sweet proteins, fermentation-derived sweeteners, and flavour modulators: how do brands reduce sugar without sacrificing taste, affordability, or trust?
Precision fermentation, 'From story to adoption' - where do we really stand in terms of unit economics, regulation, and attractivity for investors, and what is ahead of us
Bioactives, biotics, and the food-health convergence - gut health, metabolic health, healthy longevity: which ingredient categories have the evidence to back the claims?
Ingredients for Women's Health: What the Science Actually Supports — from skin-support bioactives and collagen systems to hormonal health and healthy ageing: which ingredients have the evidence behind them, and where does the science still need to catch up with the market?
The future of texture - how fats, hydrocolloids, fibres, proteins, and fermentation-derived systems are rebuilding the indulgence that reformulation so often strips away
Includes access to Session 2. Approval required.

🥂 Session 2 | Startup Showcase & Networking (18:00 – 20:30)
Open to all. A curated selection of FoodTech 500 companies take the floor to showcase their innovations, followed by drinks and networking. Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, corporate, or simply passionate about the future of food.
£10 ticket.

Forward Fooding is the world's leading AgriFoodTech collaborative intelligence platform, connecting corporates, investors, and founders across the global food innovation ecosystem. Home to the FoodTech 500 - the world's most recognised ranking of AgriFoodTech companies - Forward Fooding brings unique data-driven intelligence to every conversation about the future of food.
The Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, supported by the Bezos Earth Fund, is based at the IHUB, Imperial College London. The Centre advances sustainable food through fermentation science, microbial biotechnology and applied research in partnership with industry.