Women in food: shaping the future of the industry

Every day, women are driving innovation and sustainability across the food sector. This shift towards a more inclusive and resilient food system is driven by women scientists, entrepreneurs, food lawyers, advocacy professionals, economists, and many others in the workforce.

But diversity and inclusion challenges remain – especially when it comes to leadership opportunities in the food industry. Thankfully, barriers are being broken down by inspiring professionals, and EIT Food is accelerating this change through programmes like Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA), WE Lead Food, and Supernovas.

Here, we celebrate the diversity of roles that women are playing in food systems transformation. These rising stars are accelerating progress toward a food system that works for people and the planet.

• Alice Legrix de la Salle: Investing in a net positive food system
• Juliana Romero Guzmán: from academic to entrepreneur
• Daniela Garcia and Mileva Gojkovic: inspired young innovators
• Vanessa García Polanco: supporting the next generation of farmers
• Katarzyna Młynarczyk: transforming bread waste into sustainable solutions
• Salina Abraham: community advocate for global impact
• Virginia Cepollina: from lawyer to corporate affairs manager

Alice Legrix de la Salle, a French professional at AXA Climate, invests in regenerative agriculture solutions, and crafts financial instruments to support the transition to more sustainable food systems. She believes the food system can be transformed to achieve net positive outcomes. This includes sequestering carbon, preserving water resources, restoring biodiversity, and ensuring social and health benefits.

Alice says that a significant problem in the food system is the lack of consideration for the cost to nature, leading to extractive practices. Complex supply chains often prevent farmers from receiving fair value, or sharing risks equitably. Risks to farmer livelihoods should be reduced through insurance, off-take agreements, or regulation.

For Alice, networking and collaboration across sectors are essential to driving meaningful change. For her, regenerative agriculture is about building resilience in the face of climate change, ensuring productivity and supporting farmers over the long term. She wants to see better ways of sharing data that illustrate successful transitions at the farm level.

Juliana Romero Guzmán, a Mexican PhD graduate from Wageningen University, is the CEO of Cano-ela, a startup innovating the next generation of plant-based foods. Cano-ela extracts innovative ingredients from oil-rich seeds – providing new ingredients for more natural and sustainable plant-based foods. The company’s process aims to reduce waste and preserve nutrients that can contribute to healthy diets.

Juliana's journey from academia to entrepreneurship was accelerated by the Global Food Venture Programme (GFVP), an EIT Food programme to support talented PhD graduates with business skills and an entrepreneurial mindset. Juliana went on to participate in the EIT Food entrepreneurship programmes Seedbed and Food Accelerator Network (FAN), which helped her to fine-tune her value proposition and launch Cano-ela into the market.

Girls Go Circular (GGC) is an EIT Community initiative to equip women aged 14–19 with critical digital and leadership skills. By fostering curiosity and confidence through online learning about the circular economy, GGC builds the foundation for a more diverse and inclusive workforce. The programme has already hit its 2027 target of training 40 000 girls, and is continuing to offer educational and innovation support services across Europe.

Vanessa García Polanco is Government relations director at National Young Farmers Coalition (USA). In this role, Vanessa co-designs the strategy and implementation of Young Farmers’ policy campaigns. Her organisation pursues and advocates for equity-driven, farmer-centric research, policy, and programmatic interventions.

Vanessa says it is critical for young people, especially young farmers and global food systems advocates on the frontline, to be included in key climate talks and policymaking in general. She asks: “How can we make good policy if there are people who will be affected by it who are not at the table, consulted or have access to the policy and decision-making spaces?”

As an Afro-Dominican immigrant living in the USA, Vanessa brings her experiences and identities to her policy and advocacy activities. She serves as the organisational council member and co-chair of the Farming Opportunities & Fair Competition Committee of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Moreover, she is a James Beard Foundation Scholar, AFHVS Innovation Leader, and an Emerging Leader in Food and Agriculture.

Katarzyna Młynarczyk is the co-founder of Rebread, a Polish startup tackling bread waste by transforming surplus bread into valuable resources. As a former bakery co-owner, she witnessed the environmental and economic impact of unsold bread, inspiring her to create a circular solution.

In 2023, Rebread was named one of ten winners of the Affordable Nutrition Scale-Up Challenge, an initiative by EIT Food and Blendhub. This recognition helped accelerate the company’s growth, leading to the development of a baking mix incorporating its protein- and fiber-rich CrumbsUp – a functional ingredient made from surplus bread and fungi that is.

Beyond product innovation, Katarzyna is committed to driving systemic change – shaping industry practices, influencing consumer behaviour, and promoting circularity in the food system. She is set to deliver even more impact, as Rebread recently joined EIT Food's Waste2Plate project, which aims to deliver over 1 million healthy and nutritious servings annually, all sourced from valorised side streams.

Salina Abraham is an Eritrean-American strategist and passionate advocate for community-led action in nature and climate. She currently serves as the Chief of Staff to the CEO at CIFOR ICRAF, a leading global institute that leverages deep expertise and wisdom on forests, trees and sustainable landscapes.

Based in Kenya, Salina wants to see a less compartmentalised approach to global challenges. “Food systems sit at the nexus of climate, livelihoods, and equity. The way we produce and distribute food directly impacts land health, culture, and economic prosperity,” she says.

Salina believes that policy and negotiations today suffer from a lack of creativity. She says that too often, we default to outdated models that fail to match the speed and scale of the crises we face. Leaders must anticipate future trends and embrace new ways of operating, which includes listening to youth voices. “Young people bring fresh perspectives, bold ideas, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. They are not just the future – they are key players in the present.

Through her work at CIFOR-ICRAF, Salina builds strategic partnerships for sustainable landscapes. She also collaborates with the FAO and World Economic Forum on forestry, agrifood systems, and climate resilience, shaping global sustainability discussions. Salina believes true progress comes from diverse perspectives and energetic collaboration, even when the process is complex and unpredictable.

Virginia Cepollina’s career path is an interesting one. A trained lawyer with a background in international cooperation, she transitioned from legal consultancy to food systems transformation, driven by a passion for social impact. Her work focuses on the vital role food plays in shaping communities, economies, and the environment.

Now, as Corporate Affairs Manager at the Future Food Institute, Virginia focuses on building partnerships, fostering innovation, and advocating for a more equitable and sustainable food system.

The Institute collaborates with EIT Food to deliver the Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) programme, which provides female entrepreneurs with mentoring, networking, and business training. Virginia has played a key role in supporting this initiative, helping to create an ecosystem where women can lead and innovate.

She finds particular inspiration in the women she supports. After the first Italian EWA cohort, several alumni joined forces to create a support network in the Cilento region, empowering other aspiring businesswomen. Their success reflects the lasting impact of mentorship, collaboration, and shared vision – values that Virginia embodies in her work every day.

Through her leadership and advocacy, Virginia Cepollina continues to shape a more inclusive and sustainable future for agrifood innovation.

EIT Food implements gender and diversity mainstreaming as an ongoing process embedded in all aspects of our organisational performance.