Fran González participated in one of the round tables of the II Agri-Food Systems Summit, held within the framework of Alimentaria 2026, where he spoke about the Blue Economy and innovation ecosystem created by the Cádiz Consortium
Six of the startups housed in the incubator of the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz and linked to the food sector have exhibited their products in this international forum
The delegate of the Free Zone of Cádiz, Fran González, has highlighted the importance of the role of public administrations in matters of sustainability and has argued that they must set an example to advance in this. This was made clear in his speech at the round table on sustainability in which he participated this morning in Barcelona at the II Agri-Food Summit “Global.es Agri-Food Systems” within the framework of the Alimentaria 2026 fair. The summit is organized by the INCYDE Foundation and the Mediterranean Diet Foundation and brings together institutional representatives, experts and companies to address the main challenges and opportunities of food systems at a global level.
The State delegate in the Cádiz Consortium, Fran González, has participated in the round table “The value of sustainability in a global world” and has highlighted the industry model of the Cádiz Free Trade Zone, which has taken a turn from the traditional towards innovation and sustainability, with the Blue Economy as the primary axis, creating an ecosystem that is consolidating the province of Cádiz as a hub of the blue sector, weaving alliances with entities and companies and strengthening itself day by day.
The Cádiz official has pointed out that "our role as a public administration is to set an example, help and offer the tools to promote the sustainability of companies and startups. In this sense, it is important to point out that training and mentoring is one of our priorities so that companies get closer to the consumer and generate trust."
Fran González added that "sustainability and price are sometimes found in a 0 km market, or in a small market, that does not require long logistical journeys. Innovating on the ground promotes precisely all of that. And our proposals: Incubazul-Blue Core especially aim at this: maintaining talent in the cities and territories, promoting the economic development of the area and taking advantage of the raw materials that the bay gives us to generate products that, in their very definition, maintain the concept of circular economy."
The delegate of the Cádiz Free Zone shared the discussion with the deputy permanent representative of Spain at the FAO, Fernando Miranda; with the expert in sustainability and ESG aspects and independent consultant, Mari Luz Castilla; and with the Director of Communication and Sustainability of Unilever Spain, Ana Palencia. The moderator of the table was Oscar Hernández, director of Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability of the Pascual Group and president of Ecoembes Comerciales.
The Cádiz Free Trade Zone and its Blue Economy projects have been very present at Alimentaria 2026 and six of the startups incubated in the Cádiz incubator have exhibited their products in the exhibitor area and one of them, Productos La Salá, has held an exhibition as an example, in which it has highlighted the benefits that participating in the Incubazul acceleration program has brought them.
The six participating startups develop their activity in the food field. These have been Salaria, which extracts artisanal salt in a sustainable way, offering a natural product with many organoleptic and nutritional benefits; Productos La Salá, which produces innovative products based on salicornia collected in the Bahía de Cádiz natural park; Escaramujo Wines, underwater winery; Marisma Biomed, develops functional foods and food supplements with ingredients from the marsh; Flavoom, dedicated to the production and distribution of homemade, vegan and sustainable vegetable sauces and preserves; and SeaBites, natural pet foods with seafood.
The inauguration of the II Food Systems Summit was chaired by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, and was attended by Ministers of Agriculture from Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Ecuador.
The Alimentaria fair is a very important meeting point at a national and international level in the food sector, to which the first exhibitors and visitors joined in 1976 and which, currently, brings together the entire value chain of the food industry. Thus, promoting the evolution and transformation of the industry and reflecting its progress, Alimentaria has established itself as one of the great international references.