UTRECHT, Netherlands — In a major move linking physical trade exhibitions with digital agritech matchmaking, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs has officially announced the acquisition of Foodbytes, the globally recognized food and agriculture innovation platform developed by Rabobank.
The high-profile transaction was formally unveiled on June 2, 2026, during the opening ceremony of VIV Europe 2026—the premier “Feed to Food” global exposition currently underway at the Jaarbeurs exhibition center in Utrecht (running June 2–4). The acquisition marks a structural shift in how agricultural technology, livestock innovation, and startup capital will be integrated across international supply chains moving forward.
Strategic Shift: Unlocking Foodbytes from Rabobank
Launched by Rabobank in 2015, Foodbytes began as an elite physical startup pitch competition and grew into a powerful, data-driven international digital insight and connection hub. Today, it hosts over 10,000 verified corporate users, investors, and startup profiles, facilitating critical cross-border investments in regenerative agriculture, farm robotics, sustainable animal protein production, and bio-based alternatives.
However, operating a high-velocity corporate matchmaking and scouting software within the strict, highly regulated perimeter of a global financial institution placed structural limitations on Foodbytes’ scaling potential.
“It is impressive how the Foodbytes team has grown from a physical event into a fully fledged international digital innovation platform,” noted Roland van der Vorst, Strategic Advisor to the Board of Rabobank and former Head of Innovation. “As Rabobank, we see that Foodbytes has greater potential to grow beyond the confines of a strictly regulated financial institution. With Jaarbeurs, we have found the ideal partner.”
Rabobank will not exit the platform entirely; it will maintain a highly active role as a primary strategic partner, feeding its world-renowned Food & Agribusiness research insights directly into the platform’s digital infrastructure.
Building a 365-Day Hybrid Agri-Food Network
For Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs, acquiring Foodbytes accelerates its long-term corporate digitization framework. Through its VIV Worldwide network, Jaarbeurs has been a dominant force in live global agricultural events for over forty years, orchestrating massive physical marketplaces for the livestock, poultry, dairy, and feed processing industries.
Jeroen van Hooff, CEO of Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs, emphasized that the purchase allows the organization to evolve from a periodic trade-show host into a year-round, hybrid intelligence provider.
“Live encounters are and will remain crucial; with Foodbytes, we are expanding our online offering of relevant meeting spaces for decision-makers, investors, and entrepreneurs,” van Hooff stated. “We gain data-driven insights and knowledge that we can share continuously with the food and agri community to support their global growth.”
VIV Europe 2026: The “Showroom of the AH World” Launches
The acquisition announcement provided an explosive start to VIV Europe 2026, which is celebrating its milestone 25th edition. Attended by HRH Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parme, the opening ceremony set the stage for an expo floor hosting over 400 global exhibitors and drawing an estimated 19,000 international trade professionals spanning 142 countries.
This year’s event officially marks VIV Europe’s transition to a biennial schedule (moving away from its legacy quadrennial cycle) to keep pace with the blistering speed of agricultural technology development. The event floor and its concurrent 70+ technical conference sessions are explicitly anchored by four critical pillars:
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Protein Transition: Commercializing alternative, sustainable raw materials for animal feed and human consumption.
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Digitalization, AI, and Robotics: Deploying automated farm workflows, automated feedmill operations, and digital twins to optimize live bird and swine production.
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Animal Health and Welfare: Showcasing next-generation solutions from institutions like Wageningen University to reduce international reliance on antimicrobials and improve biosecurity fences.
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Climate-Smart Agriculture: Hardening facilities with high-efficiency microclimate control hardware to insulate herds from changing weather patterns.
