FoodTech Experts launches to connect the industry with +2,500 vetted specialists

When Floor Buitelaar, CEO of FoodTech Experts and co-founder of Bright Green Partners, talks about the future of food, she insists that ideas alone are not enough. “The breakthroughs that will define the future of food won’t come from ideas alone – they’ll come from connecting those ideas to the right expertise at the right moment,” she says.

That philosophy sits at the heart of FoodTech Experts, a new global platform officially launched this week by Bright Green Partners. For the past five years, Bright Green Partners has built and refined a network of more than 2,500 vetted experts spanning 60 countries, with an average of 15 years’ deep-domain experience. Until now, access to that expertise was reserved for the consultancy’s own projects. The launch of FoodTech Experts marks a turning point, making the network open to the wider food industry – from startup founders and investors to multinationals – at accessible prices and with rapid turnaround.

From consulting tool to global platform

As Buitelaar explains, the concept has been in the making for years. “Over the past five years we’ve always felt the expert network was a real strength for Bright Green Partners’ work. But it was only in the past two years that we really saw just how valuable it was for our clients,” she says.

Clients didn’t just want expert input during consulting engagements. Increasingly, they asked to keep working with individuals after projects wrapped up, especially as they moved into implementation. “That’s when we realized the network had value far beyond how we were already using it in our consulting projects,” Buitelaar recalls. “And that’s really where the idea of spinning it out into a separate company came from.”

Now, through FoodTech Experts, companies can engage directly with specialists – whether for a one-off call, a short-term project, or embedded support. The platform promises speed (a connection within 48 hours), proven quality (every expert vetted through real-world projects), and flexibility.

The smartest person in the room

The premise behind the service is simple but powerful: not every challenge requires an eight-week consulting engagement, but sometimes a single conversation with the right person can save weeks of uncertainty.

Buitelaar puts it plainly. “Sometimes the smartest person in the room isn’t actually in the room. Having that expertise on hand to validate things very quickly really gives the confidence and clarity clients need to move forward, get everyone aligned, and feel assured in their decisions.”

In practice, this might mean dialing in a fermentation scientist who has scaled a bioreactor line before, or a former corporate executive who knows how long regulatory approval processes typically take. “It can save weeks or even months of figuring things out compared to trying to solve it without that direct insight,” she adds.

Sometimes the smartest person in the room isn’t actually in the room. Having that expertise on hand very quickly gives the confidence and clarity clients need to move forward

A network shaped by industry demand

The network has grown organically since its early days. Initially, it was a small group of a few hundred, mostly from the founders’ own circles. During COVID, Bright Green Partners even hosted weekly online drinks for 20-25 experts, swapping ideas and sharing contacts. Many of those early members remain active today.

From there, referrals, scouting at conferences, and targeted outreach broadened the pool. Originally focused on alternative proteins, the network has since expanded into nutraceuticals, side-stream valorization, sustainable packaging, functional foods, and novel food regulation.

Today, diversity is a defining feature. The roster includes founders, scientists, academics, and former corporate leaders. That mix ensures different perspectives depending on the challenge. “Executives tend to be very straightforward and articulate, and you can be sure you’ll get a fairly exhaustive answer right away,” says Buitelaar. “With more technical experts, it’s different – you often need to guide the conversation, unpack the details, and make sure the topic is covered thoroughly. That’s not better or worse, it’s just a completely different way of approaching questions and topics.”

Meeting shifting needs across food tech

With its broad reach, the network mirrors the shifting priorities of the food sector. Right now, two areas stand out.

“The first is fermentation,” says Buitelaar. “Whether it’s precision fermentation, biomass fermentation, or upcycling-related applications, that’s definitely an area where clients are already asking us to bring in expertise.”

The second is business development and market acceleration. “Companies often need someone who can open doors, or help them really understand a specific market or sub-segment. That way, when they build out a sales team, they can move much faster than they would without that expert guidance up front.”

And this isn’t confined to the usual suspects in alternative proteins. Demand is also strong in categories like bakery, snacks, and sports nutrition, where novel ingredients are finding commercial footholds.

The win-win-win model

One of the aspects Buitelaar highlights is what she calls the ‘win-win-win’. Clients gain quick access to the right expertise. Experts, often independent consultants or niche specialists, gain more paid opportunities without having to invest heavily in business development. And the platform itself grows stronger with each successful connection.

She illustrates this with a story from the early days. “Those experts started referring others into the network, and later they worked with clients through us. Sometimes they couldn’t cover a specific topic themselves, so they shared our name with their clients, who then came back to us – and in turn, we could pass on more projects and expert calls to the network. That’s the cycle I mean by win-win-win.”

Ultimately, she argues, everyone benefits from faster, more confident decision-making, and the broader mission of accelerating the transition to a healthier, more sustainable food system.

Speed without shortcuts

One of the platform’s headline promises is speed: clients can be connected with the right expert within 48 hours. In industries where consulting projects often take months just to initiate, this agility is striking.

But Buitelaar emphasizes that quality is not sacrificed. “The bottleneck in speed is usually on the client side, not ours,” she explains. “We can move quickly because we already have the database in place, and our experts are very responsive. As soon as we send out an email, we often get 10, 20, even 30 replies within a short time.”

The critical step is shaping a clear client briefing. The sharper the question, the more precise the match. Bright Green Partners’ own experience – having conducted close to a thousand expert calls internally – gives them confidence in recommending the right people.

Complementary, not competitive

Inevitably, questions arise about how FoodTech Experts fits into the advisory landscape. Is it a rival to traditional consultancies, or something different?

Buitelaar is clear: it is complementary. “With BGP, we’re still very much advisors. We continue to run strategy projects and commercial or technical due diligence, always with an expert-driven approach,” she says. “But for implementation, you don’t need strategy consultants coming in with slide decks and Excel models. You need practical people who roll up their sleeves and get things moving. That’s exactly what the experts in our network do.”

For some clients, particularly startups and investors, a full-scale consultancy project may never be the right fit. But a direct conversation with someone who has decades of relevant experience can make the difference between hesitation and action.

Building confidence to act

Beyond the mechanics of the model, there is a human thread running through it: connecting people who want to solve complex problems faster and more effectively. For Buitelaar, this is also about values.

“Six years ago, I got into food tech through alternative proteins, and since then both I and my team have become deeply passionate about making the food system sustainable and healthy for the decades ahead,” she says. “We’re still far from that today, but if we can contribute – whether through strategy consulting at Bright Green Partners or by connecting clients with the right experts – that’s a step in the right direction.”

She sees FoodTech Experts as a foundation to build on, with plenty of room for expansion. But the core excitement is more immediate. “Often it’s not that the right ideas don’t exist, or that the only barriers are budget or timing. Sometimes it’s simply about giving people the confidence to act,” she reflects. “An expert who has faced the hurdles before and knows what’s feasible can help companies move forward much faster. That’s what excites me most, and honestly it’s what gives me that feeling in my stomach every time I think about it – in the best possible way.”

To request an expert, join as an expert or for more information about FoodTech Experts, click here