Designing the Future of Food, Together
Collaborating towards solutions that are better for people, the planet, and business
Circular Economy of Food CoLab is a membership-based coalition of like-minded change makers designing the future of food.
We activate an ecosystem of stakeholders to pool risk and resources and collaboratively explore food system challenges that are too large for any one organization to tackle alone.
We convene farmers, food companies, startups, NGOs, and experts in circular economy and regeneration to simplify the complex and prototype our way forward.
Together, we design the future.
We believe:
In a future of food that circular, regenerative and nourishing for people and the planet
That designing the future of food is the most urgent challenge of our time
That design can help accelerate systems change
We can do more together than alone
Designing the future
We identify systemic challenges shared among CoLab members and create solutions that are better for people, the planet, and businesses. Since 2018, our network of members and partners has built 23 prototypes towards a circular food system—where waste becomes a resource, natural systems and farming communities are uplifted, and loops are closed so all materials realize their highest value.
Through our collaboration we’ve created a set of design principles that guide us towards the kind of future we want to build.
Our focus areas
Scaling circular and regenerative food design
How might we identify and articulate design principles that support regeneration across the food value system?
How might we enable food designers to apply circular and regenerative design principles in their day-to-day decisions?
How might we accelerate a shift towards plant-forward menus?
Designing out waste
How might we create viable infrastructure and business models to ensure food grown for people doesn’t go to waste?
How might we design an e-commerce packaging solution from manufacturer to retailer that eliminates the need for dual and single use packaging?
How might we design reverse logistics infrastructure that is fast, cheap, and hygienic to accelerate adoption of reusable packaging and containers?
Shifting eater behaviors
How might we make biodiversity more accessible to a wider audience of eaters?
How might we redesign kitchens toward behaviors that are healthier for people and the planet?
How might we connect people to their values by deploying information that’s graspable and useful?
Leveraging data
How might we leverage data to reduce food waste in homes?
How might we incentivize the strategic sharing of data between farms and buyers to offer competitive advantage in the marketplace while reducing farm-level food loss?
CoLab enables us to develop our approach to systemic innovation by working closely with companies throughout the food chain towards circular solutions.
BARRY WADDILOVE, ELECTROLUX
CoLab has enabled organizations in our network to accelerate their efforts towards a circular economy. Working across disciplines, throughout the value chain, and even with competitors not only leads to new solutions for a circular economy, but also helps build the new mindset required to scale up circular design innovation.
JOE ILES, ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
Join us
Contact Rebecca Chesney at rchesney@ideo.com.
Jan 2022
