Young IFFI Event – Building resilience in a changing industry

‘Mental strength, high performance’ by Michael Kortekaas, Trainer Police Academy

Keynote speaker Michael Kortekaas, a Trainer at the Police Academy with over a decade of experience in the police and defense sectors, will deliver a session titled “Mental Strength, High Performance.” Drawing from his background training specialized units and coaching high-performing corporate teams, Michael will share practical strategies to boost mental resilience, focus, and leadership. His insights—shaped through work with organizations like FrieslandCampina, Facebook, Reebok, and Adidas—will equip young professionals with tools to become the resilient leaders of the future.

Parallel Sessions – 13:30 – 15:30

Session 1 ‘Salt replacement and Innovation’

Sonali Sirdesai and Edwin van Harmelen, Corbion

In this session the focus will be on the National Approach to Product Improvement (NAPV), highlighting the business opportunities this creates for food ingredient producers, particularly through Innovation. Corbion will showcase real-world applications of NAPV guidelines, inviting participants to explore how innovation under NAPV can drive sustainable and resilient business growth. Experts from Saltwell and MCLS Europe will reflect on the case presented by Corbion and encourage participants to exchange potential solution approaches.

Session 2

‘Fat alteration and Operations’ by Eric Mulder, Bunge

In this session, the spotlight will be on Operations, examining how companies can align their production processes with NAPV guidelines. Bunge will present a real-world application, and participants will discuss how operational strategies can contribute to sustainable and resilient business models. An expert from Process Engineering NL will reflect on the case presented by Bunge and encourage participants to exchange potential solution approaches.

Session 3

‘Salt replacement and Markets’ by Ger Wessel, Burg Group

We will focus on the National Approach to Product Improvement (NAPV), exploring the business opportunities this initiative offers to food ingredient producers, featuring Markets. In this session we will specifically highlight the market potential of NAPV, with Burg group presenting a practical example and engaging participants in discussions on building sustainable and resilient businesses in response to evolving health guidelines. An expert from Bamboo Brands will reflect on the case presented by Burg Group and invite the participants to share possible solutions with each other.

Marte Schuurmans – moderator
Marte is a young and enthusiastic moderator, focused on keeping the energy high. With her background in communication and experience on stage, she knows what the key ingredients are for a great conference: take Energy as the base, add some Engagement and top it off with Expertise! With a personal passion for healthy food, Marte is sure it’s going to be a tasteful day. See you s(p)soon!

Michael Kortekaas
Trainer, author Mental Strength
The general public knows Michael Kortekaas from his role in the NPO TV show Hunted and his ability to move people into action. Michael is an inspirational speaker on work happiness, leadership and mental resilience. In his engaging sessions, he offers practical tools and insights that anyone can use to change their habits and improve their personal and professional lives. Michael reaches out for growth tools at various levels, both individual and team. With his focus on performance psychology and mental resilience, he creates awareness about how the brain works, offers insight into attention training and the distractors that affect us.

Vera Hoynck van Papendrecht
Programme manager Healthier Food, Foodvalley
Vera blends a background in international business and nutrition to drive change in the food industry. After launching two innovative food concepts, she now leads the Healthier Food program at Foodvalley, pushing for impactful, market-ready solutions that make healthier eating the easy choice.

Sabine Poelmann
Community Manager Food & Health, Foodvalley
With her combined experience in commercial roles at major food companies and in community management, Sabine serves as a connector and catalyst—bringing together stakeholders to drive both business success and positive health outcomes.

Eric Mulder
Innovation Product Developer Manager, Bunge
Eric has a background in food science and a degree from Wageningen University, he specializes in developing and launching new food products and processes. Eric combines technical expertise with market-driven innovation and collaborates closely with cross-functional teams in R&D, marketing, and operations. His role contributes to Bunge’s global innovation strategy within the agrifood sector.

Ger Wessel
Group Vinegar Innovation Expert, Burg Group
Ger holds a degree from Van Hall Institute and focuses on developing and optimizing vinegar products across the Burg Group’s global portfolio. Recently he returned to Burg Group after a fruitful period at Brouwerij ’t IJ, where he gained valuable cross-industry experience.

Edwin van Harmelen
Senior Food Application Technologist, Corbion
As a passionate food technologist with a strong background in microbiology, Edwin is always seeking innovative and sustainable solutions within the food industry. His experience in customer-focused recipe optimisation enables him to design preserving ingredients for various food matrices, with salt reduction being a recurring theme. Together with his colleagues, he has developed several Corbion products, including a patented product that improves efficiency and safety in the dry salting of fish.

Thijs van de Water
Trainee Corporate Development Royal Cosun
Chair of Young IFFI Board

Jantine Kievit
Analytical Technician R&D at Corbion
Chair of Young IFFI Commission

Theo Toering
Founder of Bamboo Brands
In 2019, Theo Toering founded Bamboo Brands, with the aim of drastically changing the innovation process at FMCG companies. In his career at various A-brands, he saw that innovation processes are not efficient, effective and sustainable. That is a waste of time, money and talent, but it also encourages food waste. To counter this, he developed a research method that gives you insight into the potential of an innovation at an early stage.

Kees Boon
Senior Project Manager at Process Engineering NL
A chemical engineer with over 25 years of experience in process development and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), followed by 12 years in the dairy industry focused on infant nutrition. In various roles, he has gained extensive experience in implementing new products and processes in existing equipment, as well as supporting CAPEX projects in operational factories. For the past year and a half, he has been working at an engineering firm, applying his expertise to support the development of a healthy and sustainable process industry in the Netherlands.

Tim Piels
Account Manager, SALTWELL
Tim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Food, Commerce & Technology. He worked in the food industry for four years as a Product Developer and later as a Product and Account Manager at a leading distributor in the Netherlands. Nearly five years ago, he launched his own company in the food sector, specializing in distribution with a strong focus on sodium reduction.

Sonali Sirdesai
Senior Application Technologist, Corbion

Sonali Sirdesai is a Senior Application Technologist at Corbion. She holds a Master of Science in Food Biotechnology from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, focused on Food Microbiology. At Corbion, Sonali collaborates closely with food processors to tackle key challenges such as food safety, shelf-life extension, oxidation and technical challenges. In so doing helping processors meet evolving demands of consumers. Before joining Corbion, Sonali spent five years at Micreos Food Safety (PhageGuard), where she worked extensively with bacteriophage-based products across various sectors of the food industry.