TOP wants to improve long-shelf-life products

Innovation company TOP bv celebrates its tenth anniversary. Since the start in 2006, TOP focuses successfully on product development, process design and innovation management. After many innovations for refrigerated products, TOP now wants to focus on the quality of long-shelf-life products. Ten years ago, in June 2016, TOP was founded by Wouter de Heij, Frank Giezen, Bert Tournois and Herman Feil. In their work at the research branch of Wageningen University, they saw how innovation initiated by the academic world is often not well connected to the industry. To put innovation into practice and create value in the food sector, TOP was founded. Now it has become a mature company and a trusted name in the food industry with 25 professionals. Developments by TOP are being implemented at a global scale. The plant-based alternative for meat – ‘Beeter’ – was developed by TOP: unrivalled when it comes to meat-like texture and sold worldwide as an ingredient for meat substitutes.  Also the AMAP-technology (Active Modified Atmosphere Packaging) for packing fruit and vegetables in a sustainable way, is successfully rolled-out by PerfoTec. The technology is being used by over a hundred small companies all over the world and is becoming the industry standard. Next to that TOP has founded start-up companies to bring complex but promising technologies to market. Like CoolWave Processing, the company behind the PurePulse technology. PurePulse makes it possible to give products a longer shelf life without losing the fresh taste and natural nutrients. Besides these homemade technological developments, dozens of projects with clients and partners are carried out all over the world. “Over the past ten years TOP has mainly worked on technological innovations to make products in the refrigerated section tastier and give them a longer shelf-life,” says Wouter de Heij, CEO of TOP bv. “Over the next ten years we will keep on doing so, but we will also put more effort into improving the taste and health benefits of long-shelf-life products outside the refrigerated section.”