help build an interregional Learning Community
On Wednesday 2 September 2026, the first edition of the Insect Inspiration Café takes place. It also marks the start of the IPPEC Learning Community, an initiative that brings together entrepreneurs, researchers, governments, educational institutions, technology companies and supply chain partners around the further development of the insect sector.
The sector is entering a new phase of collaboration, with innovation, new business models and growth at its core. Insects offer a growing range of applications in feed, food, pet food, soil improvement and circular agriculture. Realising those opportunities calls for strong collaboration across the supply chain, and that is exactly where IPPEC wants to contribute. At the same time, topics such as technology, regulation, financing, logistics, market development and collaboration call for shared knowledge and practical experience.
That is why IPPEC is setting up a learning community in which participants do not only gain knowledge, but also actively contribute to their own business and to the sector. In doing so, IPPEC connects a cross-border network across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with the Peel region as a natural place for meeting and innovation.
More than a series of meetings
The Insect Inspiration Café is not a collection of separate events. It forms the basis of a Learning Community in which participants meet, inspire and support one another over a longer period while developing new ideas, partnerships and projects. Its strength lies in continuity. Those who take part more than once help build a network in which knowledge grows, experiences are shared and new initiatives get off the ground faster.
The Peel region as a meeting place
The meetings take place in the area around the Peel region, at the crossroads of important agrifood regions in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. From this central location, the Learning Community connects entrepreneurs, researchers and organisations from areas including North Brabant, Limburg, Flanders, Wallonia and North Rhine-Westphalia. The community is explicitly open to participants from all three countries.
What is on the agenda on 2 September
The first meeting takes place at Insect Engineers and Insect School. This opening session is all about getting to know one another and setting direction. Participants meet each other and map out their questions together. In doing so, they explore which parties inside and outside the insect sector can play a role, and where opportunities for collaboration lie. The central question is: which stakeholders are helping build the future of the insect sector? IPPEC also presents the programme of the Learning Community, and participants make their first connections with one another.
What comes later in the programme
After the kick-off, the Learning Community works throughout the programme on themes that are directly relevant to entrepreneurs and organisations. These include:
- Insect farming, processing and value creation
- Applications in feed, food and pet food, and the link with the poultry sector
- Technology for scaling up farming and processing
- Residual streams, logistics and supply chain collaboration
- Soil, frass and regenerative agriculture
- Consumer acceptance and market development
- Education, talent development and entrepreneurship
- Research and innovation
- Legislation and permits, financing, investment and European subsidies
- Interregional collaboration between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany
In addition, IPPEC organises excursions to inspiring examples in the Netherlands, Flanders, Wallonia and Germany, in the spirit of “a peek at the neighbours”
Building the future together
The IPPEC Learning Community offers a place where knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship come together. By connecting entrepreneurs, education, research, government and investors, a strong network emerges in which new initiatives can grow faster. Are you active in the insect sector or curious about the opportunities it offers? Then you are warmly invited to take part in this community. Together we are building a strong, innovative and internationally connected insect sector.
