NIZO food research and Winclove Probiotics explore microbial innovation

Netherlands-based food innovation hub NIZO Food Research and Winclove Probiotics, a microbiome science specialist, have partnered to discover and scale new probiotic solutions and processing functionalities. 

The collaboration bridges NIZO’s Culture Collection, a proprietary database of food-grade microorganisms, with Winclove’s decades of expertise in probiotic development, formulation, and commercialization.

The partnership plans to characterize the microorganism collection and explore its potential with the ambition to develop innovative probiotic solutions addressing current and future needs for health supplements and beyond.

“At the heart of the collaboration lies a shared belief in the power of interdependency,” says Maarten Pekelharing, CEO of Winclove Probiotics. “The understanding that meaningful innovation emerges when organizations combine complementary strengths, knowledge, and purpose.”

Exploring NIZO’s culture collection

NIZO oversees a team of over 100 experts and operates Europe’s largest independent food‑grade pilot plant, the Biotechnology Fermentation Factory. Its primary business involves helping companies at various growth stages to innovate and scale food products quickly, sustainably, and efficiently.

NIZO’s Culture Collection is a diverse resource, spanning approximately 4,500 strains, around 2,000 of which are owned by the Dutch contract development and manufacturing organization.

NIZO’s Culture Collection is a diverse resource, spanning approximately 4,500 strains, around 2,000 of which are owned by the Dutch contract development and manufacturing organization.

The collaboration will systematically reorganize the collection, with the goal of maximizing its usability for future research and development purposes.

“Beyond the direct scientific and commercial opportunities, both organizations see this collaboration as a starting point for cross-pollination,” state the partners.

Experts from the two organizations — including microbiologists, food technologists, clinicians, bioinformaticians, and product developers — will soon meet to discuss findings through their connected expertise and identify the most promising directions for future probiotic and microbe-based food innovations. 

Intersecting disciplines

Coline Gerritsen, chief research and development officer at Winclove Probiotics, and Susann Bellmann, director of commercial operations at NIZO, say that innovations often arise at the intersection of disciplines.

“At NIZO, we strongly believe that the most impactful innovations are created through collaboration,” says Nikolaas Vles, CEO at NIZO Food Research. “This partnership with Winclove enables us to unlock the potential of our microbial assets in a way that neither organization could achieve alone.”

Previous NIZO partnerships include one with Enzymit on the large-scale production of novel enzymes essential to creating high-value biomolecules, such as hyaluronic acid, without using living cells. This technology and manufacturing process presented a sustainable alternative to traditional biomanufacturing methods and formed the basis of Enzymit’s proprietary cell-free manufacturing platform.