Fredrik Gunnar Fernqvist

I am an Associate Professor in Horticultural Science whose research focuses on sustainable food systems transformation, innovation ecosystems and societal impact. My work examines how knowledge, technologies and new practices are translated into implementation through collaboration among universities, industry, public organisations and civil society. Combining perspectives from innovation systems, governance, consumer behaviour and sustainability transitions, I seek to understand and strengthen the mechanisms that support resilient and sustainable food systems.

My work extends beyond research to educational development, stakeholder engagement and the strengthening of institutional capacity for innovation. As a member of the Board of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), contributor to the national Impact Innovation programme SustainGov on public sector innovation, participant in the Nordic-Baltic RegioFoodS initiative on regional food resilience, and former contributor to the EIT-funded NOBALIS programme for innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education, I have gained extensive experience of connecting research, education, policy and practice in support of sustainable societal transformation.

Throughout my career, I have led and contributed to interdisciplinary projects, innovation initiatives and collaborative platforms that connect research, education, policy and practice.

I hold a PhD in Horticultural Science, specialising in Business Administration (2014), and became Associate Professor (Docent) in Horticultural Science in 2023. In 2024, I was awarded the title Excellent University Teacher. Since 2020, I have also been engaged in SLU Future Food, the university’s platform for interdisciplinary food systems research and collaboration.

Research areas:

Sustainable food systems transformation
Innovation ecosystems and innovation management
Food system resilience and governance
Sustainability transitions and societal impact
Consumer behaviour and food choice
Value chains and business model innovation
Horticultural markets

Current and recent projects:

SustainGov - Systemic, Sustainable and Societal Impact through Transformational Governance and Systems innovation. National Strategic innovation programme on public sector innovation and tranformation. 

RegioFoodS - From regional relevance to transnational value: how regional food systems can boost resilience and self-sufficiency in Nordic and Baltic countries. 

AgriFose 2030 - Agriculture for food security, 2021-24

NOBALIS - Nordic Baltic Universities boosting entrepreneurial and innovation support systems”, European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) (SLU participating partner, 2022-25)

Preparatory project SUSTAINGOV. Systemic, Sustainable and Societal Impact through Transformational Governance and Systems innovation. (Vinnova)(SLU participating partner, 2023)

Sustainable food systems and consumer food choice – Knowledge and implications for industry, research and policy (Formas 2021-22) (Project leader: Sara Spendup, Dept. of People and Society)

How to get there? Sustainable yield and quality of tunnel produced strawberry cultivars (Project leader, Sammar Khalil, department of biosystems and technology, SLU. SLF funding 2019-21)

Innovation systems for a sustainable agri-food sector - a review and knowledge synthesis (Formas, 2018)

Plant breeding in Horticultural Field Crop Production (Växtförädling i hortikulturell frilandsodling) (Project leader Sara Spendrup, funded by Grogrund, 2018)

Nya vägar till ökad förädling, kommersialisering och lönsamhet i bärföretag (Projekansvarig Sara Byström, Hushållningssällskapet Norrbotten)(Slutrapporterat projekt, december 2018)

Utredningsuppdrag om mervärden som konkurrensmedel (Jordbruksverket)(Avslutat projekt)

Framtidens grönsaksdisk. Partnerskap Alnarp (Projektansvarig: Fredrik Fernqvist, SLU. Avslutat projekt)

 Teaching at SLU since 2004, as course leader and main teacher for more than 40 course occasions - with responsibilities for both writing the course plan, planning the course design, lecturing, supervising and examining examining. Worked with programme development and other assignments. Awarded the title Excellent University Teacher in 2024. I currently supervise PhD and MSc students. I lead and teach at courses mainly at MSc Level.

• LV0128 Innovation management for sustainable food systems, 15 ECTS, Advanced level, MSc Sustainable Food Systems (Course leader, Spring 2019-current) 
• Fö0488 Consumer behaviour and sustainable food consumption, 15 ECTS, Advanced level, MSc Sustainable Food Systems (Course leader, Spring 2021-current)
• Food Planning, 15 ECTS, Advanced level, MSc Food and Landscape (Spring 2022-2025)
• Marknadsföring av trädgård och landskap, 7,5hp, Trädgårdsingenjör-Design (Course leader, Autumn 2018/Spring 2020)
• Product Development and Innovation Systems in Horticulture, 15hp, MSc Horticultural Science (Teacher, Autumn 2018-2022)
• Horticultural markets (Trädgårdsmarknaden), 15hp, Trädgårdsingenjör-Odling (Spring 2017/2018)
• Environmental economics and managment, 15hp, MSc Agroecology, MSc Horticultural Science Spring (2016/2017/2018)

• PhD Horticultural science, 2014
• MSc Horticultural Science, 2004

• Spendrup, S., Tellström, R., & Fernqvist, F. (2026). Strategic Pathways to Sustainable Food Choices: Insights from Sweden. EuroChoices.
• Fernqvist, F. (2026) "Credence." Methods in Consumer Research, Volume 2. Woodhead Publishing, 2026. 365-381.
• Spendrup, S., Eriksson, D., & Fernqvist, F. (2026). Consumers’ perceptions of quality traits in fruit and vegetables: implications for plant breeding and communication. Acta Horticulturae 1454: 495-504.
• Ipara, B. O., Otieno, D. J., Oluoch-Kosura, W., Andago, A. A., Jirström, M., Mackay, H.,Fernqvist F. & Rajala, E. (2025). A farm typology approach for targeted policy responses: The case of pastoral and agro-pastoral households in West Pokot County, Kenya. Local Development & Society, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/26883597.2025.2544538
• Ipara, B. O., Otieno, D. J., Oluoch-Kosura, W., Andago, A. A., Jirström, M., Mackay, H., Fernqvist F. & Rajala, E. (2025). Does production diversity support dietary diversity? Evidence from pastoral and agro-pastoral households in West Pokot County, Kenya. Frontiers in sustainable food systems, 9, 1512272.
• Fernqvist, F., Spendrup, S. & Tellström,R. .(2025) Kostråd i praktiken. Policy Brief, SLU Future Food.
• Fernqvist, F., Spendrup, S., & Tellström, R. (2024). Understanding food choice: a systematic review of reviews. Heliyon Volume 10, Issue 12e32492, June 2024.
• Spendrup, S., Tellström, R. & Fernqvist, F. (2024). Därför äter vi som vi gör : en kunskapsöversikt om matval. Rapport 28, SLU Future Food.  (In Swedish only)
• Richardson, L. & Fernqvist, F. (2024).  Transforming the Food System through Sustainable Gastronomy - How Chefs Engage with Food Democracy.  Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition 19(2): 260-267.
• Sadovska, V., Fernqvist, F. & Barth, H.  (2023). We do it our way – small scale farms in business model transformation for sustainability. Journal of Rural Studies, 102: 103090.
• Stridh, I., Fernqvist, F., Thörning, R. & Andrae, L. (2023). Food losses in the potato supply chain in field, at harvest, in storage and pack house. Report 2023:2, Swedish Board of Agriculture.
• Drottberger, A., Bergstand, K.-J., Fernqvist, F. & Spendrup, S. (2022). Adoption of technological innovations in production of leafy vegetables in Sweden. European Journal of Horticultural Science  87 (4) 1-11.
• Fernqvist, F., Sadovska, V. & Langendahl, PA (2022). Sustainable value creation–a farm case on business model innovation. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review  25 (4): 543 - 554.
• Wünsche, J.F. & Fernqvist, F. (2022). The Potential of Blockchain Technology in the Transition Towards Sustainable Food Systems. Sustainability 14 (13), 7739.
• Spendrup, S., Eriksson, D. & Fernqvist F. (2021). Swedish consumers´ attitudes and values to genetic modification and conventional plant breeding – The case of fruit and vegetables. GM Crops & Food 12(1): 342-360.
• Fernqvist, F. (2021). The Farm to Fork Strategy – A Consumer perspective. Future Food Reports, 16:3. SLU, Uppsala. Available at: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/26251/
• Fernqvist, F. & Göransson, C. (2021). Future and recent developments in the retail vegetable category – a value chain and food systems approach. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 24(1): 27-49
• Alsanius, A., Rosberg, A.K., Löfkvist, K., Bergstrand, K.J., Fernqvist, F., Khalil, S. & Dorais, M. (2020). New challenges for organic greenhouse horticulture in Sweden. Acta Horticulturae 1296: 1079-1083
• Spendrup, S., Fernqvist, F., Ramestam, L., [...] et al. (2020). Växtförädling i hortikulturell frilandsodling - SLU Grogrund. Alnarp
• Spendrup, S. & Fernqvist, F. (2019). Innovation in Agri-food Systems – A Systematic Mapping of the Literature. International Journal on Food System Dynamics 10(5): 402-427. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18461/ijfsd.v10i5.28    
• Fernqvist, Karlsson & Sadovska (2018). Mervärden som konkurrensmedel
  – affärsmodeller och kompetenser för framgångsrika mervärdesstrategier. Rapport Jordbruksverket, 2018:23.
• Fernqvist, F. (2018). Credence. In Ares, G. & Varela, P. (eds.) 2018. In: Methods in Consumer Research, New Approaches to Classic Methods Vol 1, Ch. 20, p. 531-555. Woodhead Publishing, UK.
• Fernqvist F. & Göransson, C (2017). Framtidens grönsaksdisk. Rapport 2017:9. Fakulteten för landskapsarkitektur, trädgård, växtproduktionsvetenskap, SLU.
• Persson, J. & Fernqvist F. (2016). Socioekonomiska konsekvenser av vindkraftsetablering och tillämpningen av vindbonus – en kunskapssammanställning. Rapport 2016:4,  LTV-fakulteten, SLU.
• Fernqvist, F., Olsson, A. and Spendrup, S. (2015). What’s in it for me? Food packaging and consumer responses, a focus group study, British Food Journal 117(3):1122-1135.
• Fernqvist F. (2015). Strategic Options on a Potato Market in Decline - Lessons from Two Swedish Studies. Acta Horticulturae 1103:125-132.
• Fernqvist, F., Ekelund, L. and Spendrup, S. (2015). Changing consumer intake of potato – a focus group study, British Food Journal 117(1):210-221.
• Fernqvist, F. & Ekelund, L. (2014). Credence and the effect on consumer liking of food – A review. Food Quality and Preference 32, 340-353.
• Fernqvist, F. and Ekelund, L. (2013). Consumer attitudes towards origin and organic – The role of credence labels on consumers’ liking of tomatoes. European Journal of Horticultural Science, 78(4), 184-190.
• Fernqvist, F. (2014). Consumer experiences of tomato quality and the effect of credence. Doctoral Thesis, Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae 2014:65, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp