With a background in different categories like margarine, specialized nutrition and plant-based cheese, and a mindset that blends creativity with business strategy, Marie Dobenesque has spent her career exploring the many facets of food innovation. She has worked with major international companies like Unilever and Danone—organisations known for their commitment to driving positive impact through business. Now, as the newly appointed CTO of Cosun, Marie is focused on driving innovation to contribute to an enjoyable, nutritional and circular world. We sat down with her to learn more about her journey, Cosun’s vision for the future of food, and the opportunities she sees to strengthen the collaboration within Next Food Collective (NFC).
What inspires Cosun to be part of NFC, and what does this collaboration mean for your organization?
Marie Dobenesque: “There’s a natural alignment between COSUN and NFC’s missions. Both aim to create a better food system, with COSUN anchored in a chain-oriented approach that reinvests profits into supporting farmers and their ecological transitions. NFC is a collaborative platform that brings together different actors across the food chain in the Netherlands to address systemic challenges. The shared mindset of creating systemic change resonates deeply with COSUN. The NFC’s regenerative agriculture program is a prime example of what can be achieved collectively, addressing challenges not just in agriculture but across the entire food system, including processing and retail.”
What do you see as the main opportunities and challenges in the food industry for Cosun right now?
“The food industry faces external challenges like geopolitical instability, rising costs, lower consumer spending, and climate change, all impacting Cosun. Despite this, Cosun has strong market opportunities with the right products and crops. Internally, the main challenge is prioritizing resources and balancing innovation risks. Operating across multiple divisions adds complexity, making synergy and strategic alignment essential."
What do you see as the key challenges for the plant-based market?
"The plant-based market is evolving, with success stories like plant-based milk alternatives but mixed results in categories like meat and cheese alternatives. The key challenge is meeting consumer expectations for taste, texture, and overall experience. Technology should serve the product, not drive it—consumers buy experiences, not product specifications."
Cosun invests in startups as well. Can you tell us a bit more about your approach and share some lessons you’ve learned working in this space?
“As far as our approach is concerned, we take a multi-faceted approach to identifying promising startups and investment opportunities. This includes partnering with external venturing firms like ICOS, which help us discover regional startups and potential investments. Additionally, we invest in startup incubators, leveraging external organizations to scout and screen potential candidates on our behalf. Alongside these external efforts, our internal team actively searches for emerging technologies fitting our strategic ambition.”
“From working with startups we’ve learned a few important lessons. Diversifying your startup portfolio is essential, much like balancing risk in project management. Putting all resources into one venture is too risky, so having a range of startups ensures a better chance of success.”
“More than just funding, expertise is crucial for startups. Scaling up involves industrializing processes—building production lines, hiring operators, and optimizing production. These are skills we can bring to the table, helping startups focus their efforts on their growth.
“When we partner with start-ups, we learned to listen to their biggest challenge which is scaling, but many struggle much earlier, such as transitioning from lab to pilot scale. Initially, we focused our partnership on industrial scale-up as the key pain point and our Inicio facility for example can provide a space formid-scale production. We’ve since extended our partnership scope to provide expert support and access to small-scale pilot facilities, ensuring startups at different stages of their growth have the support they need to succeed.”
Cosun has also joined the PREDICT project. What does success look like for Cosun in this initiative?
“PREDICT exemplifies the collective power of NFC. AI in R&D is an ambitious frontier, and by collaborating, we can achieve more than we could individually. For Cosun, the goal is to leverage AI to enhance our R&D capabilities while maintaining a critical interface between human creativity and artificial intelligence. The project is an exciting opportunity to push boundaries in how we drive innovation.”
Can you share a success story within Cosun that aligns with NFC’s mission?
“Cosun has expanded beyond sugar and potatoes into plant-based alternatives, developing innovative ingredients like Tendra®, a fava bean protein, and beet-based solutions that enhance texture and sustainability. These products support nutrition, functionality, and sustainability, providing valuable new options for plant-based product developers.”
How can NFC better support Cosun’s goals?
“I believe NFC can go beyond being a typical public-private partnership. It has the potential to synergize all actors in the food chain to create a new system that addresses today’s pressing challenges. Cosun looks forward to NFC driving innovation in food processing and business models that align with sustainability and responsibility.”
Are there any innovative ideas or collaboration opportunities you would like to explore with other members of the collective this year?
"At this time, we don’t have any specific initiatives in mind, but we’re always open to exploring opportunities that align with our goals and vision. Collaboration is at the heart of the collective, and we’re happy to engage in discussions that could bring mutual value."
Where do you see the greatest opportunities for NFC to make impact over the next 12 months?
“The NFC’s regenerative agriculture program has made significant strides, and I’m looking forward to the other pillars defining their strategic directions to drive further implementation. This will strengthen the collective’s ability to address the food system’s challenges holistically.”