Dutch real estate developer Schipper Bosch has signed an agreement with NIZO Food Research to acquire the real estate of the Food Innovation Park in Ede, the Netherlands, and take over its further development.
Under the deal, Schipper Bosch becomes the site’s new owner and developer, while NIZO, the contract research organisation that has operated from Ede since 1953, retains its position as the park’s lead research institute.
Existing facilities at the site
The site already hosts the Biotechnology Fermentation Factory (BFF), an open-access scale-up facility for precision fermentation, along with a food-grade pilot plant that NIZO describes as the largest of its kind in Europe. NoPalm Ingredients, a Dutch producer of fermentation-derived microbial oil positioned as an alternative to palm oil, is separately building a demonstration factory on the site.
Nikolaas Vles, CEO of NIZO, noted, “With Schipper Bosch as our partner, bringing strong experience in developing innovative campuses, we can transform the site into an open, future-proof ecosystem where companies and knowledge institutions can scale up faster. This is an important step for the region and for the international food transition.”
Developer to fund shared facilities
Amersfoort-based Schipper Bosch, a family-owned developer that says it has more than 35 years of experience in area and property development, plans to invest in sustainability upgrades to existing buildings, new shared facilities including a restaurant and meeting spaces, and a connecting development the companies refer to as the “Food Innovation Strip.” According to the company, the long-term plan is intended to support closer collaboration between companies, researchers and entrepreneurs based at the park.
Continuation of a growing research hub
NIZO first announced plans to convert its Ede campus into a food innovation park in September 2025, working alongside the Province of Gelderland, the Municipality of Ede, the FoodValley Region and Oost NL. Since then, the site has added a fermentation upscaling line supplied by GEA Group, and BFF recently confirmed that its pre-pilot lab had become operational.
Bart Schoonderbeek, CEO of Schipper Bosch, stated, “The Food Innovation Park has everything it needs to grow into a truly distinctive hub where science, entrepreneurship and technology reinforce one another. With NIZO as a key user and driver of innovation, we can build on what is already here and create space for the continued growth of the ecosystem.”
