ir. BDS (Nard) Clabbers

Nard Clabbers is a strategy and innovation professional at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (WFBR), specializing in nutrition, health, consumer behavior, data-driven innovation and business development. His career has been dedicated to translating scientific advances into practical solutions that create value for consumers, industry and society.

After starting his career in the food industry, where he worked for nearly a decade on nutrition and health innovation, Nard moved into the research domain, focusing on bridging science and application. He also founded and led a startup in personalized nutrition and preventive health, gaining firsthand experience in bringing innovative concepts to market.

Before joining WFBR, Nard served as Director of Strategic Development at Brightlands, where he helped build innovation ecosystems and foster collaboration between academia, industry, government and startups. This strengthened his belief that addressing major health and sustainability challenges requires multidisciplinary and cross-sector cooperation.

At WFBR, Nard works on strategy, innovation and business development in nutrition and health. His areas of interest include personalized nutrition, digital health, consumer behavior, food innovation, data infrastructures and emerging business ecosystems. He is particularly interested in how data, artificial intelligence and connected technologies can support more effective and scalable health solutions.

Nard regularly collaborates with multinational companies, SMEs, startups, public organizations and research partners to develop innovation strategies and accelerate the translation of scientific knowledge into impactful products and services. He believes that progress in nutrition and health depends on combining expertise from food, health, behavioral and data sciences.

In addition to his professional work, Nard is a keynote speaker, moderator and chair at international conferences and industry events. He frequently speaks about nutrition, health innovation, personalized nutrition and ecosystem development. His ambition is to improve public health by connecting people, ideas and organizations, helping transform scientific knowledge into practical solutions for healthier lives and more sustainable food systems.