FEDERACION ESPANOLA DE INDUSTRIAS DE LA ALIMENTACION Y BEBIDAS

Their core work

FIAB is the main trade federation representing Spain's food and beverage industry, one of the largest agri-food sectors in Europe. In H2020 projects, they serve as the industry voice — providing access to food manufacturers, gathering real-world data on energy use and supply chains, and channeling research outputs toward practical adoption by Spanish food companies. Their involvement bridges EU-funded research with the operational realities of food production, packaging, cold chain logistics, and energy management across the sector.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

FIAB's early H2020 involvement (2016-2017) focused broadly on energy efficiency methods and food value chain understanding, with no distinguishing keywords recorded for those projects. From 2018 onward, their work became more specific and consumer-facing — engaging with cold chain logistics, supply chain optimization, and consumer perceptions around food ingredients like sweeteners. This shift suggests a move from general industrial energy topics toward the intersection of food safety, sustainability, and consumer demand.

FIAB is moving toward consumer-oriented food research — health perceptions, sustainable supply chains, and cold chain efficiency — making them a strong partner for projects linking food industry practice with consumer behavior.

How they like to work

FIAB never coordinates projects — they join as a participant or, more often, as a third party linked to a consortium member. This is typical for a national industry federation: they bring sector-wide reach and industry data rather than leading research. With 90 unique partners across 26 countries from just 5 projects, they operate within very large consortia (CSA and RIA schemes), meaning they are comfortable in broad multi-country collaborations where their role is industry representation rather than technical delivery.

Despite limited direct project participation, FIAB has touched 90 unique partners across 26 countries — a remarkably wide network for a third-party contributor, reflecting their involvement in large-scale coordination and support actions across Europe.

What sets them apart

FIAB's value lies not in technical research but in sector access: as Spain's main food and beverage federation, they represent thousands of companies and can facilitate industry uptake of research results. For any consortium needing a credible route to the Spanish agri-food market — whether for energy efficiency solutions, supply chain tools, or consumer studies — FIAB provides an institutional gateway that individual companies cannot match.

Highlights from their portfolio

• VALUMICS
  Largest funded contribution (EUR 139,469) and longest-running project (2017-2021), focused on food value chain dynamics — a core topic for an industry federation
• ICCEE
  Directly combines FIAB's two strengths — energy efficiency and food supply chains — through cold chain optimization, the most specific and applied of their projects
• SWEET
  Longest project span (2018-2024) addressing a high-profile public health topic — sweetener safety and consumer perception — showing FIAB engaging with regulatory and consumer-facing issues