A new take on the food system distribution and purchase

Sustainability is a theme often argued by many but practically handled by few. Nowadays, the environmental debate is more and more felt on every level of the social hierarchy and persistently pushed by continuous government regulations. From companies’ point of view, deciding to define sustainable behaviours as fundamental requirements of one’s production chain is a duty rather than a strategic choice. There are, however, countless ways to innovate in the field of sustainability, some more well- known and praised than others; if one were to consider the food conservation industry and take into account the behaviour of companies involved in such field, for instance, one would soon realize how little is done to find innovative ways to tackle the environmental crisis, as well as transmit to the consumers values such as freshness and quality. The University-Industry synergy was at the base of this research and made it possible to observe and study the industrial reality from a fresh perspective. The thorough corporate know-how, the deep data and context analysis carried out during the initial phases of the project and the continuous dialogue and feedback from the company inner elements made it possible to develop a refrigeration system which rethinks entirely the current refrigeration methods put in place by the main companies and takes a new direction towards a more sustainable way of displaying, purchasing and distributing food in grocerant environments. This is made possible through the localized distribution of cold, which allows food to be stored and distributed without the use of packaging and with more thorough and individual control on temperatures, in order to optimize its organoleptic qualities and extend its life span. The University-Industry cooperation also allowed to better understand inner company dynamics and generate innovative thinking, such as involving the final client in the ideation process in order to increase awareness over the sustainability of food conservation products and the value of the products themselves. This research aims at finding innovative solutions to increase consumers’ knowledge of food quality and to involve them in the processes meant to face the environmental crisis. Transforming in a circular connection between three parties - the company, the client and the final user - a B2B relationship which previously only involved the producing company and the buying client.