Switzerland promotes itself as a global hub for food technology and innovation, but it is not always easy for start-ups to gain a foothold. Swissinfo spoke to four food entrepreneurs who took the plunge. Switzerland has topped the global innovation rankings by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the last 15 years. A large part of its dominance is due to the high number of patents it generates for such a small country. The Alpine nation has the most registered patents per capita, and food technology (foodtech) is the second-most patented sector after pharma. Food entrepreneurs benefit from support from the government and industry bodies like Innosuisse and the Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley that help with funding, office space, renting specialised equipment and networking events. Swiss regulations are also up to date when it comes to novel foods like lab-grown meat, and the country is a food-packaging hub with universities and companies working on developing new …