Chicago, IL, April 4th, 2023 – Mérieux NutriSciences, a world leader in food safety, quality and sustainability, announces the acquisition of Blonk, a leading international expert in food system sustainability. Blonk supports organizations to better understand their environmental impact in the agri-food value chain by offering LCA-based advice (Life Cycle Assessment) and developing tailored software tools based on the latest scientific developments and data.
Making food systems more sustainable is a major challenge and is becoming increasingly urgent with a growing world population that is expected to reach 10 billion people by 2025, with limited natural resources. Regulations are rapidly evolving and actors in the agri-food sector must be able to rely on expert partners in food sustainability to initiate or accelerate their transformation.
Blonk was founded in 1999 and today counts 50 food and sustainability experts, software developers, data and methodology specialists based in the Netherlands. Working with various players in the food chain, from ingredient producers to food manufacturers and retailers, Blonk has a proven track record of providing customized, science-based advice and intelligent software solutions to define the environmental footprint of products. They are also at the forefront of sustainability research in the agri-food sector. In particular, they work with international and governmental organizations to define sector-specific standards and build databases allowing thorough assessment of environmental impact of food products and combining with nutritional parameters for optimized diets.
“Bringing together Blonk and Mérieux NutriSciences is an exciting step in strengthening and accelerating our contribution to the sustainability of food systems.” said Nicolas Cartier, CEO of Mérieux NutriSciences. He added “Sustainability is at the heart of Mérieux NutriSciences’ vision, mission, and business roadmap, which is highlighted by our ESG commitments for “Better Food. Better Health. Better World.”. Our ambition is to become the reference partner for science-based sustainability solutions in the food sector to support the transition to more positive food systems. With its specific experience in standards definition and data collection for the agri-food sector, Blonk strategically consolidates our existing capabilities in the field of environmental footprinting and enriches the sustainability solutions we already offer in packaging, new food alternatives, responsible sourcing and soil health, as well as transparent labeling.”
“Blonk is looking forward to realizing its global ambitions as part of Mérieux NutriSciences. The matching vision, values and global presence of Mérieux NutriSciences accelerates the growth ambitions of Blonk’s business on environmental footprint management”, said Hans Blonk – CEO and founder of Blonk. He continued: “I am happy to pursue and strengthen my mission to make the food industry a more sustainable business by creating the necessary knowledge, capacity and technical infrastructure to significantly reduce environmental impact.”
