Abstract: Although the trend towards more collaboration for innovatiion is growing, there is limited knowledge about the managerial capabilities needed in each phase of this process, such as partner selection, governance of knowledge sharing, avoiding opportun- istic behaviour or shirking, as well as innovation appropriation; ways of addressing this knowledge gap are identified by specifically focusing on the implementation of a long- term co-innovation partnership between and three of its preferred flavoursuppliers. This case study allows the key determinants for success in each co-innovation phase to be identified and the managerial implications for co-innovation in the food industry are discussed.Key words: co-innovation, food industry, management, flavour suppliers, .