WE WORK WITH
Food Sector
The strongly growing and critical Food Sector is a complex ecosystem facing multiple challenges. Their resolutions depend on the interaction and successful collaboration of diverse players.
We have a proven track record of initiating, enabling, and managing collaborations across different stages and formats. We involve a diverse range of actors. Collaboration formats have a broad range. End-to-end M&A projects, investments, and strategic partnerships; facilitating negotiations to close operational and fulfillment partnerships between suppliers, subcontractors, and client organizations; designing and guiding participatory (strategy development) processes and platform approaches for innovation and learning with multiple actors.
Food sector initiative for startups and SMEs
Join the Food Collaboration Alliance
Why this is important
Never before have food systems been more complex, food worlds more exciting, and taste & food choices more sophisticated.
With 6.5% annual growth, the food industry is not only one of the largest global sectors, but it is also one of the most critical for the livelihood, survival, and health of people and the planet.
It is a complex ecosystem facing multiple challenges whose sustainable resolution depends on the interaction and successful collaboration of diverse players.
Our Vision - 100 partnerships
The Food Collaboration Alliance envisions a future where food ecosystem players embark on innovation and collaboration projects to solve the multiple challenges of the food system quickly.
We accelerate cooperation among Startups and SMEs by:
- fostering mutual knowledge exchange and fast learning
- enabling the financing of collaborative initiatives
- acting as a connector and enabler in the food sector
We aim to create and guide 100 partnerships by 2027 —driving innovation and impact across the DACH & CEE food ecosystem.
Access to Ecosystem players
Collaborative problem solving
Market Expansion
Resource pooling
Brand visibility and trust
Enable financing
The consultation with Konsultori is priceless. They provide a fresh perspective and, above all, expertise in areas where we had less experience.
Konsultori and Petra Wolkenstein are extremely professional. Her experience really helped us to get through the first funding round. We were thrilled that the documents and arguments which we produced in the preparations stage were so well received in our search for investors and during negotiations. I appreciated such a straightforward, hassle-free and honest partner who never forgot our goals and timeline. Without Konsultori, we’d never have managed to achieve everything within such a short space of time.
I just wanted to thank you for your time yesterday, it was so insightful and valuable – our discussion has given me a lot to think about that I wouldn’t have considered. I will reach out if I have any further questions and of course, update you with how everything goes (fingers crossed!).
Above all, the collaboration is reliable. That’s exactly what you need at the beginning: reliable partners who are there for you regularly and provide constant support. It also feels trusting and not like “off-the-peg counselling”.
Petra’s highly structured and positive approach proved to be golden for Goldkehlchen. Her multiple challenges and understanding of our business challenges made her an indispensable sparring partner in the consulting process. She joined us as a coach and remains with us as part of our extended team.
Working with Michael Kubiena was a really fruitful experience. He combines tons of experience and strong conceptual skills with a hands-on attitude: Exactly what we needed. Together we were able to create something entirely new & unique for the Turkish retail & hospitality industry as well as for the global Metro world, something which has become a reference point in terms of quality, innovation and customer focus. Michael not only was instrumental in designing our learning curriculum, he also successfully facilitated the development of our overall organization.
Our Ag-Tech Startup Accelerator always aims at having motivating speakers and workshops in order to develop the founders‘ skillsets further. Petra Wolkenstein held an incredibly informative and exciting negotiations workshop where everyone had a lot fun while taking away numerous learnings. I can highly recommend her negotiations workshop to everyone who needs to improve in this field.
topics we discuss
Growth
01.
Integrated Strategy
If you are new in the world of business, have innovative idea or progressed a bit beyond the initial stages of ideation and development, we support you from there
02.
Corporate startup collaboration
We guide you in leveraging your existing distribution network to create mutually beneficial partnerships with startups, fostering growth and expansion for both parties.
TOPICS WE DISCUSS
Organisation design
01.
Organisational Setup and (Re)-alignment
A holistic and systematic way to analyze, design and actively shape the key elements for future-proofing your organization:
Helping you to prepare your organization for change and transformation, for complex challenges in your organization’s environment and for successfully managing the collaboration with other actors.
topics we discuss
Mergers & Acquisitions
01.
Finding investors
Get prepared to professionally approach investors to accelerate fundraising. Learn how to start fundraising, which documents to prepare and when to share, How to calculate and challenge your company valuation and many more.
02.
Financial planning
You will learn different valuation methods for startups, how to use valuation methods to prepare for investor meetings, where to get benchmark data from and how to prepare your argumentation and defend the value of a startup.
03.
Business valuation
Learn negotiation tactics with suppliers and customers and differences between customer and supplier negotiations, how to prepare for a negotiation, what is tactically important to achieve good results and to de-brief with style to improve tactics in future negotiations.
04.
Selling a company
Take your negotiation tactics to the next level and learn special features of sales, partner and investor negotiations, how to get more out of negotiations, how to deal with challenging settings and set your focus.
05.
Negotiation
Learn legal strategies to efficiently negotiate and successfully complete your M&A process. Find more about legal documents during the investor process, main rules in Term Sheets and general best practice strategies.
with whom you are working
Konsultori Experts
Petra Wolkenstein
Business development is Petra Wolkenstein’s passion. She guides startups and innovative SMEs in growth issues, be it in international market entry, lead generation, new business fields, the development of cooperations, the acquisition of investors or in the accompaniment of company acquisitions and sales.
Michael Kubiena
Michael has over 20 years of international experience as a head of HR departments, both in startups and large companies, especially in the ICT and services industries. He is therefore very familiar with topics such as strategic HR, compensation and performance management, talent management and HR systems.
How we support you
Advisory
Individual projects tailored to your situation but based on our proven framework and approach. You work with your Konsultori expert or team.
Food Collaboration Alliance
Collaborate with other SMEs and Startups in DACH and CEE to solve joint challenges in the Food Sector.
Sneak peek our experts' projects
AWS Collaboration – Driving Sustainability in the Food Sector
At Konsultori, we are proud to collaborate with the Vienna Food Policy Council (Ernährungsrat Wien) on the ‘Welt Teller Feld – Business Impact Program’, selected by AWS’ ‘Sustainable Food Systems – Explore’ call.
Konsultori at GITEX EUROPE 2025 – Growing With Purpose
Visit our panel at the Greentech Stage: “Strategic Collaborations Accelerating Food Startups to Tackle Europe’s Systemic Challenges”. Explore how collaboration and innovation are key to solving Europe’s most pressing food system challenges.
More Resources
Case studies
Insights
Collaboration for a sustainable future via a hands-on exploration of our food system
We are excited to collaborate with the Vienna Food Policy Council (Ernährungsrat Wien) on the ‘Welt Teller Feld – Business Impact Program’.
Konsultori Role Models – Julia Schwarz and Lisi Penker, SIMIÆN
Julia Schwarz and Lisi Penker are the creative minds behind Simiaen and true role models in the food startup sector. Konsultori Interview.
Key ingredients for cooking up successful, sustainable collaborations in the food space
Panel discussion on the transformative power of collaboration in the food system, hosted by Konsultori as part of ViennaUP.