Protein Production Technology Podcast · FPG Media

Special Episode: Roderik Bronkhorst - Cosun

·35 min·2 clips

Fermentation could turn sugar into microprotein worth far more per ton.

Roderick Bronkhorst speaks with Nick from Protein Production Technology International about Kosin's latest strategy and its place in the wider food system. The discussion centers on Unlock 30, the cooperative's newest strategy and its vision for 2030. Bronkhorst places the plan in the context of a long company history. Kosin has been around for 125 years, and its vision has always been to unlock the full potential of crops and turn them into plant-based solutions. He presents Unlock 30 as a way to move the cooperative into a new phase without letting go of that core mission. The strategy is tied to innovation and practical food-system impact. The episode then shifts to corporate venturing. Bronkhorst describes how Kosin looks for and works with promising innovators across food and agri-tech, especially in novel proteins and sustainable ingredient solutions. He explains that the company keeps its approach flexible. It does not want to box itself in by sector, phase, ticket size, or geography. That flexibility matters because the portfolio includes companies at different points in their development. Kosin may act as a lead investor in one case and a follow-on investor in another. The interview then turns to the harder side of corporate-startup collaboration. Bronkhorst says the first requirement is governance. Interests have to be aligned. Without that, the relationship becomes fragile. He also describes a structural separation between investment management and business collaboration. The investment side makes introductions, while the business side handles the operational relationship. That setup is meant to keep collaboration from feeling imposed. The business units should not feel they are being pushed into participation simply because HQ wants them to. Bronkhorst makes clear that every collaboration has to stay at arm's length. There is no free lunch for either side. Each partner needs to gain something tangible. That could be commercial access, technical capability, or access to whatever they want to collaborate on. The episode spends time on the risks of getting this wrong. If the business feels forced into a partnership, the arrangement is likely to fail. The discussion also broadens beyond Kosin itself. Bronkhorst suggests that the protein transition will need financial, corporate, and government stakeholders to stay active and work together to fund the transition. The tone stays measured throughout. The host leads with practical questions and gives Bronkhorst room to answer in detail. The result is an interview that links strategy with execution. It shows how a cooperative thinks about investment, collaboration, and the commercial realities of change. For listeners interested in alternative proteins, sustainable ingredients, and food-tech commercialization, the episode offers a clear view from inside the sector. It is less about hype than about how partnerships can actually be made to work. The closing exchange returns to the broader transition ahead. Kosin's role is presented as one part of a wider system that will need multiple stakeholders pulling in the same direction.

As heard by us

A practical look at how strategy, governance, and collaboration shape food and agri-tech venturing.

The episode treats Kosin's 2030 strategy as something practical, not abstract, and that gives the piece its footing. Roderick Bronkhorst's explanation of Unlock 30 and the company's corporate venturing is clearest when it stays on governance: investment management sits apart…

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Why you'd press play

See how a 125-year-old cooperative tries to turn startup partnerships into food-system change.

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