Beyond Sustenance: The Emotional Value of Food

As food companies address consumers’ concerns about safety, production, and processing, they may want to remember the deeper relationship people have with what’s on their plates.

In part 1 last week, we looked at two key areas where business may consider with regards to elevating food experiences: Connection and Community as well as Health and Wellness. This week, we look at Sustainability and Equity.

In recent years, the food industry has been undergoing a massive transformation. People are expressing increased concern about the safety, origin, and production of their meals. They want assurances that it is free of toxins, and they want fresher, less processed options. Some are looking beyond personal considerations to ask how their food consumption affects both the environment and those who grow and produce it.

As these issues become more important to consumers, many companies in the industry are working to address them. Their approaches have tended to focus on technology solutions, often beginning and ending solely with digital initiatives. Robotics, AI, and blockchain can be part of the solution, though they are far

from simple to implement. The emerging thinking goes beyond technological fixes. To address consumers’ concerns, food companies can seek to develop approaches that emerge from a deep understanding of human needs and behaviours.

Sustainability and Equity

Consumers’ concerns haven’t stopped at the personal level. Increasingly, they want to know more about the supply chain for their meat, fish, and produce. They want to know not just where the food was grown, but how the animals, people, communities, and land were treated along the way. An emerging subset of consumers is looking to support companies that share their values.

Organisations large and small are ramping up corporate social responsibility practices, emphasising everything from worker benefits to animal welfare, community support, and environmental sustainability. Some companies are proactively increasing wages and supporting small farms. Plant-based alternatives are on the rise even among major meat and fish suppliers.

Companies are also addressing the juxtaposition of dramatic food waste alongside widespread hunger. One company has created an edible coating that doubles the life of fresh produce, while another is using deep learning to decrease waste. Others, meanwhile, are providing platforms for businesses to donate extra food that is safe to eat.

Elsewhere, startups are working to answer the question of how to feed a growing population. They are experimenting with vertical, urban, hydroponic, and aeroponic systems that can help solve the problem of food deserts, reduce the environmental impact of farming, and pro

Consumers’ concerns haven’t stopped at the personal level. Increasingly, they want to know more about the supply chain for their meat, fish, and produce.