CO-FRESH is a Horizon2020 innovation action project aimed at creating sustainable and competitive fruits and vegetables value chains in Europe by bringing together key actors from pilot agri-food value chains, such as farmers, food producers, co-operatives, and consumers, along with experts in technological and non-technological solutions, environmental and social sciences, economic sustainability, and consumer acceptance. CO-FRESH is a multi-stakeholder partnership including 26 partners from 10 European countries. Starting from current best practices and key success factors of innovative value chains, and the state of the art in technological and non-technological approaches. The main objective of CO-FRESH is to (re)design and pilot innovative systemic approaches to agri-food value chains to scale up this innovation at the European level. These innovative approaches will improve the economic, social and environmental performance/efficiency of these value chains. This is achieved through smart integration of technological, social, organisational, managerial, and institutional innovations; all of which serve to make them more sustainable. The developed tools and formats are applied in seven pilot cases representing diverse fruit and vegetable value chains across Europe. Building upon the sustainable innovation efforts of CO-FRESH in European agri-food value chains, the LIKE-A-PRO project focuses on a complementary aspect by addressing the mainstreaming of alternative proteins. These initiatives collectively contribute to the broader goal of reshaping European food systems towards more plant-based protein.