These six Food Heroes are making an impact in 2025

On Friday, November 21, the Ballroom of BlueCity Rotterdam fills up with food innovators, partners, and jury members. The energy rises as the Food Heroes of 2025 walk across the red carpet. Six people who, sometimes against the current, keep working toward a fairer, smarter or more sustainable food system.

A stage for impact makers

The Food100 gives impact-driven professionals in the food sector a visible platform. AgriFood Capital, Food Hub, Food Inspiration and Slow Food Youth Network bring together fifty young talents under 35 and fifty experienced impact makers over 35. Many participants focus on reducing food waste, advancing the protein transition or researching tomorrow’s ingredients.

The selection is made by an independent jury of eight food professionals, including Bas Turk (TommyTomato), chef Sheila Sheila Struyck and farmer Ivar van Dorst of Ekoto. They look for determination, innovation and the ability to engage others in the food transition. Author Mary van Hoek-Hendriks sees what drives this group: “Ongeduldige aanjagers zijn nodig. Juist dankzij dat aanjagen worden veranderingen mogelijk gemaakt."

The Food Heroes of 2025

Under 35:

• Zoë van Helvoirt (BeeGrateful): strengthens urban biodiversity through bee hotels like the Streetlight Bee&Bee, offering nesting space and valuable research data.
• Bas van Kranen (restaurant Flore**): works completely without dairy, uses plant-based milk made from Dutch split peas, soy, walnuts and chestnuts, and chooses sustainable animal products with intent.
• Zuzanna Zielińska (HarvestCare): connects regenerative agriculture and health through the Food Pharmacy model for chronically ill patients.

Over 35:

• Maartje Nelissen (The Food Line-up / Plant FWD): brings plant-forward concepts and the protein transition to festivals, hospitality and companies.
• Ruud Barth (SAIA Agrobotics): develops robotics and A.I. for greenhouse horticulture, using a system where plants grow short, vertical and move toward the robot.
• Sam Emons & Jorian Damen (Gelukkige Groentes): run nature-inclusive food gardens where more than five hundred members harvest their own vegetables, herbs and flowers each week.

Food100.nl