Hey,
It’s funny how fast the collective mood can change in a few days. With a couple of vaccines, optimism is again on the authorized. That’s a relief for many who are like us, are more inclined to look into the future with optimism rather than with fear.
In May, at the end of the “first wave” in Europe, we wrote a piece on how it was a great time to start building the future of food. Now, six months later, with a more precise deadline for the end of this pandemic, planning for this future is even more urgent. This is work we encourage all to do, both for themselves and for their company, from the entrepreneurs we coach to the leading global corporation we work with. As things move fast and many problems arise during the current situation, it may look like you don’t have the time to think about it, but you should. An obvious way to solve this is to get someone outside your company to help you move forward.
The three following steps are a good way to start this process:
- First, map all the opportunities and trends revealed, accelerated, or invalidated by the past year. You should look for things that happened in your ecosystem and outside of it related to startups and leading corporations.
- Then, identify the 10 to 20 areas most relevant to you and push them to the limit. For example, we observed a rapid surge in investments and interest in alternative proteins, notably in precision fermentation, which creates a new kind of proteins out of mycelium. What would that mean if these proteins were widely available and accepted? Another example, more related to the pandemic is the surge in e-commerce sales: what would that mean if online sales of food kept growing at the same rate?
- Finally, narrow the list to 5 to 10 areas, as some may become irrelevant as you play with them and start planning on how to prepare for those scenarios until, for each of them, you have your “next step.”
This is not a task that can be performed in one day. It is instead something to have in the back of your mind for a couple of months at least. Working on this process has been transformative for many of our clients, and I can only encourage you to do the same. And if you want to talk with us to get expertise and have external feedback, contact us!
Have a great week!
Matthieu
TOP INSIGHTS FROM DIGITALFOODLAB
#1 – Webinar FoodTech brands (VIDEO FR)
Last week, we organized a great webinar to dive more in-depth on the path to success for FoodTech brands in Europe. Following a presentation of our findings, we had three fireside conversations with Camille from Eutopia, Emmanuel from Hari&Co, and Guillaume from Gallia. We added the perspective of an investor and entrepreneurs at various stages of development.
#2 – Nestlé acquires a majority stake in Mindful Chef
Nestlé acquired a majority stake in the UK meal kit startup Mindful chef. The startup, founded in 2015, has already raised more than £9M. The pandemic has helped Mindful Chef to grow and it is on a path to reach £50 million in sales this year…
#3 – Dairy is Impossible Foods next move
Impossible Foods announced it was working on a milk alternative named Impossible Milk. It gave little information except it should be better than other soy or plant-based kinds of milk. After the huge deals sooner this year in startups like Oatly, Perfect Day, and Califia Farms, it looks like dairy alternatives may be one of the hottest things in the coming months.
#4 – Hurrah: European veggie burgers can keep their name
The UE parliament rejected a proposal last week to ban the use of “steak” or “sausage” for plant-based alternatives. Led by the meat industry, the proposal has faced a coalition of plant-based startups, corporations, and associations…
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As you can see, FoodTech is indeed moving faster than ever in 2020. But you are not alone. DigitalFoodLab is here to help you :
- Stay at the top of your domain. We provide exclusive insights and information through talks and our FoodTech watch.
- Prepare for the future. We help you make plans for long-term trends and their implications on your business and identify the right startup to work on your current issues.
- Innovate faster. We work with you to define the innovation strategy fitted to your business means and needs.
No matter if you are a startup or a food giant, we are here to work with you and change the world of food! (contact us).
