What were the biggest difficulties in implementing the project and how did you deal with them?

Finding my target customers without organic certification: targeting the right geographies via mainstream retailers and locally-focused ones.

Which support is (or has been) essential for the success of the project?

Sampling

What would you do differently if you had to start all over again?

Spend less money before launching

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle in promoting a plant-based diet in your country and across Europe?

The demand side: nudging people to match their intent with their actions via education on pulses and plant-based eating.

How could scientific researchers support your cause? Which questions have not yet been answered?

Are there any heirloom beans in Belgium and other european countries that could be sourced, to create a point of differentiation? Are there any best practices on how to convert reluctant flexitarians to embrace pulses?

Which scientific or political funding possibility would help your project?

Funding for consumer education. Currently seeking to create Belgium's first Bean Festival, co-branded with Beans Is How, to showcase how to prepare and enjoy beans with the help of chefs, their nutritional value, what companies offer convenient versions, what agricultural efforts are underway to grow them locally, and any other tangential activities to make beans cool again (ex: jewelry or art with beans)

How can political figures/bodies support your project on a local, national or EU-wide level?

Bring attention to the importance of pulses in our diet and budget for locally made bean dishes in the food budgets of government cafeterias (school budgets are miniscule, cannot offer anything at that low pricepoint).