“Food has become a strategic priority,” says Rebekka Küchler, Head of Food Business for the Food Cluster at the Ministry of Economics, Labour and Innovation in Hamburg. “Recent shocks to global supply chains highlighted how critical access to healthy food is.”
Hamburg therefore decided to turn its local food sector into a driver of resilience and innovation. Today, the city’s experience illustrates how public-private partnerships can help rethink the way we approach food systems.
Why food matters in Hamburg
Hamburg’s port is one of Europe’s largest, and nearly 20% of its traffic is related to food and agricultural goods. The food sector also employs almost 6% of people in the metropolitan region.
When global supply chains faltered and food security became a pressing concern, Hamburg acted. It commissioned a study to understand the role of food in its economy and explore how to strengthen cooperation. The findings paved the way for its Food Cluster, set up in 2024 as the central platform for the food industry in the region.
This was not Hamburg’s first step in sustainable food policy. The city had already joined the Organic Cities Network back in 2011, promoting organic farming and healthier diets, starting with school meals.
The city also developed a Food Strategy for the 2025-2030 legislative period, recognising that local agriculture alone cannot feed the city. The strategy highlights the need to also promote organic farming and healthier diets, starting with school catering.
Food has become a strategic priority. Recent shocks to global supply chains highlighted how critical access to healthy food is.
From study to cluster: building a platform for collaboration
Hamburg’s project didn’t happen overnight. The study confirmed that food was a key sector for the city and its region, accounting for thousands of jobs and significant trade flows. It also revealed barriers: smaller companies were hesitant to work with big players, and innovation potential was underused.
On this basis, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation formalised the Food Cluster in 2024, and decided to take advantage of a decade of groundwork done by the Foodactive network. This network had connected companies through workshops and seminars. The city wanted to use the existing connections created through the network and build on it. The new Cluster brings businesses together for joint projects and gives the sector a stronger voice.
The City of Hamburg became the Cluster’s backbone, holding 51% of the shares, with Foodactive holding 44% and around 5% in the hands of the local economic development agency. This public stake gave the cluster credibility and impetus, attracting businesses and creating momentum. Today, 160 members meet regularly to share ideas and tackle challenges together.
Backing ideas with funding
Hamburg has built a deep understanding of its local food ecosystem, mapping stakeholders and learning how businesses of all sizes operate. This knowledge helps Hamburg connect businesses and spark innovation.
For example, the city funded the Food Harbour – a food accelerator that helps startups with product development and branding. While some initiatives, such as cultivated fish or advanced food technologies, may seem highly specialised, what matters is the model: public support enabling private innovation with a deep understanding of the local ecosystem.
EU funding, on the other hand, supports the administrative level – it’s almost like scaffolding that comes on top of your base and allows you to grow according to your ambitions.
By backing these initiatives, Hamburg demonstrates how a city can connect the dots between policymakers, small businesses and larger companies. It creates trust and shared responsibility through co-investment and governance, laying the foundation for long-term collaboration rather than one-off projects.
The city has also secured the financial foundation of the Cluster. “City funding is often faster and more flexible than EU funding,” says Küchler. “It goes directly to the cluster, and helps us build staff and expand our work. EU funding, on the other hand, supports the administrative level. It’s almost like scaffolding that comes on top of your base and allows you to grow according to your ambitions.”
This combination gives Hamburg both stability and room to innovate.
What other cities learned
Hamburg’s approach was at the heart of a recent Cleverfood study visit, which brought together Florence, Warsaw and Wageningen University & Research. Each city came with its own challenges, but they were all inspired by Hamburg’s clear map of its food ecosystem and its collaboration with businesses.
Florence saw parallels with its own efforts to map stakeholders and welcomed Hamburg’s example of cross-ministry collaboration. Warsaw was keen to learn how Hamburg promotes food security by engaging businesses, while Wageningen highlighted the potential to replicate this model for circular economy initiatives.
For all participants, the public-private partnership behind the Food Cluster stood out as a transferable approach – one that could work beyond food systems.
