What would the food system look like if we started over?
That's the question that investors, entrepreneurs, and food scientists in Silicon Valley are asking as they've been working towards creating a more sustainable food system as the global population inches closer to 9.6 billion by 2050. Mayonnaise without eggs? Real-tasting meat made from plants? Living a healthy life on a nutritious drink alone? Food from the Silicon Valley Food Movement may sound crazy, but they're becoming more and more popular as large groups of investors, chefs, environmental and animal activists, consumers, and just about all walks of life are gravitating towards the idea that food can and should be healthy, tasty, and help make a positive difference in the world's future.
This report looks at the different food startups and its corresponding trends/driving factors, as well as its implications for big food brands. This report also takes a look at related food trends and its manifestations that are occurring outside of Silicon Valley.
"The Future of Food," a trends report by Hong Kong based communications firm CatchOn, has identified macro movements, hot spots, personalities, ingredients, design trends and the buzzwords shaping the food scene today.
Is the future of food growing from your smartphone? Agnieszka Nazaruk
In the world our food system is broken we need radical, new, innovative solutions to address some of the most pressuring problems. We have see a big food tech revolution coming, but also a big trend towards local and personal food production. In this presentation we ponder about the challenges faced by our food system and whether the technology - making growing food and plants as easy as playing with your smartphone could be the answer to empower business owners, restaurants and cafes, small farmers and individuals to bring hyper-local and personal food production to the mainstream.
Food Waste Reduction Alliance Best Practices to Reduce Food Waste ToolkitJeanne von Zastrow
A toolkit of best practices to reduce food waste, developed by The Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a collaboration of Food Marketing Institute, Grocery Manufacturers Association and National Restaurant Association and 30 member companies with best practices and examples from industry.
"The Future of Food," a trends report by Hong Kong based communications firm CatchOn, has identified macro movements, hot spots, personalities, ingredients, design trends and the buzzwords shaping the food scene today.
Is the future of food growing from your smartphone? Agnieszka Nazaruk
In the world our food system is broken we need radical, new, innovative solutions to address some of the most pressuring problems. We have see a big food tech revolution coming, but also a big trend towards local and personal food production. In this presentation we ponder about the challenges faced by our food system and whether the technology - making growing food and plants as easy as playing with your smartphone could be the answer to empower business owners, restaurants and cafes, small farmers and individuals to bring hyper-local and personal food production to the mainstream.
Food Waste Reduction Alliance Best Practices to Reduce Food Waste ToolkitJeanne von Zastrow
A toolkit of best practices to reduce food waste, developed by The Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a collaboration of Food Marketing Institute, Grocery Manufacturers Association and National Restaurant Association and 30 member companies with best practices and examples from industry.
Hamutal (Tula) Schieber recently talked about Food Trends at a conference. A version of this presentation is available here:
It is true that speed or ease of preparation, convenience, taste, indulgence and health are not new trends. But each of these considerations has changed significantly in the last decade and especially after the Coronavirus Pandemic, and we reviewed how consumers perceive them. Furthermore: who influences consumers today? How do consumers decide what is healthy and what is a treat, whether to make a meal or buy it, whether to go to a store or buy online? What external factors influence the choice of brands and packaging - such as trends, social media, independent production, craftsmanship, ethics, sustainability, contribution to society?
Protein is critical to Human health . An estimated 2 billion people suffer from undernutrition - a lack of access to key micronutrients
- Resulting in major health risks .Those in the worlds poorest countries remain vulnerable to malnutrition .
The Protein Challenge an Initiative of the WWF ( world wildlife fund) , Gain (The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition ) , industrial partner Quorn - Volac - Hershey - Target- Waitrose
A 'strategic foresight' assignment dossier made during my M.Des (strategic foresight and innovation) at OCAD University. This was a group project and was done with 3 other members. The project looks at the future of diet for schools in Canada and provides foresight strategies.
For how long can the world’s agro-alimentary system be sustained? It is estimated that our global population is set to reach nine billion by 2050. Demand for food products will double by then, with an increased need for more animal proteins and processed foods. As a direct result, the food-processing sector is now gearing up to address how we are going to feed a population that is growing at a rate never experienced before by mankind.
Keeping a close eye on how our society becomes more conscientious about food waste and taking a look at the various solutions startups work out to hack the flawed system gives us an early glimpse into how positive shifts happen in the world. Food waste is a fascinating topic, and only partly because the current numbers and existing processes are outrageous.
Until 2009, there was not much deep information to be found about the exact scale and nature of the food loss and waste in the world. Published that same year, Tristam Stuart’s book, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal provides a sobering trip to the reality of food. It also highlights an incredibly important fact: with small, common sense tweaks in habits and processes, the current grave situation can be turned on its head and solve the problem of the 842 million people living in hunger around the world too.
Future of food - Insights from Discussions Building on an initial perspecti...Future Agenda
Insights from Discussions Building on an Initial Perspective by an initial perspective on the future of food by Prof. Wayne Bryden, Foundation Chair in Animal Science at the University of Queensland. This includes insights from events already completed adding to the starting point for the global future agenda discussions taking place through 2015 as part of the the futureagenda2.0 programme. www.futureagenda.org
Dr. Lonnie King - Future of Animal AgricultureJohn Blue
Future of Animal Agriculture - Dr. Lonnie King, Acting Dean, College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, from the 2017 NIAA Annual Conference, U.S. Animal Agriculture's Future Role In World Food Production - Obstacles & Opportunities, April 4 - 6, Columbus, OH, USA.
More presentations at http://www.trufflemedia.com/agmedia/conference/2017_niaa_us_animal_ag_future_role_world_food_production
Macro Trends from Expo West (April 2015)MBGenhance
“Natural” is becoming one of the most alluring terms for both consumers and marketers. As more people seek to lead healthier lives, they’re increasingly turning to toxin-free, natural products. Indeed, the market for natural products has surged in recent years and continues to grow: U.S. consumer sales of natural, organic and healthy products are forecast to grow 64% from $153 billion in 2013 to $252 billion in 2019, a rate nearly double that of mainstream consumer packaged goods, according to New Hope Natural Media, the organizer of Expo West.
This report is based on findings from Expo West, the world’s largest natural, organic and healthy products event. Expo West, which took place March 4-8 in Anaheim, California, brought together more than 71,000 industry members and over 2,700 exhibiting companies. With dozens of panels and hundreds of networking events, Expo West is ground zero for emerging trends and innovative products.
Jarrett Franklin Shared Latest Report of Food + Drink: Trends and futuresJarrett Franklin
Go through the presentation shared by Jarrett Franklin and know about the latest trends and future of foods and drinks. Stay tuned with Jarrett Franklin at twitter https://twitter.com/jarretfranklin9
Hamutal (Tula) Schieber recently talked about Food Trends at a conference. A version of this presentation is available here:
It is true that speed or ease of preparation, convenience, taste, indulgence and health are not new trends. But each of these considerations has changed significantly in the last decade and especially after the Coronavirus Pandemic, and we reviewed how consumers perceive them. Furthermore: who influences consumers today? How do consumers decide what is healthy and what is a treat, whether to make a meal or buy it, whether to go to a store or buy online? What external factors influence the choice of brands and packaging - such as trends, social media, independent production, craftsmanship, ethics, sustainability, contribution to society?
Protein is critical to Human health . An estimated 2 billion people suffer from undernutrition - a lack of access to key micronutrients
- Resulting in major health risks .Those in the worlds poorest countries remain vulnerable to malnutrition .
The Protein Challenge an Initiative of the WWF ( world wildlife fund) , Gain (The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition ) , industrial partner Quorn - Volac - Hershey - Target- Waitrose
A 'strategic foresight' assignment dossier made during my M.Des (strategic foresight and innovation) at OCAD University. This was a group project and was done with 3 other members. The project looks at the future of diet for schools in Canada and provides foresight strategies.
For how long can the world’s agro-alimentary system be sustained? It is estimated that our global population is set to reach nine billion by 2050. Demand for food products will double by then, with an increased need for more animal proteins and processed foods. As a direct result, the food-processing sector is now gearing up to address how we are going to feed a population that is growing at a rate never experienced before by mankind.
Keeping a close eye on how our society becomes more conscientious about food waste and taking a look at the various solutions startups work out to hack the flawed system gives us an early glimpse into how positive shifts happen in the world. Food waste is a fascinating topic, and only partly because the current numbers and existing processes are outrageous.
Until 2009, there was not much deep information to be found about the exact scale and nature of the food loss and waste in the world. Published that same year, Tristam Stuart’s book, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal provides a sobering trip to the reality of food. It also highlights an incredibly important fact: with small, common sense tweaks in habits and processes, the current grave situation can be turned on its head and solve the problem of the 842 million people living in hunger around the world too.
Future of food - Insights from Discussions Building on an initial perspecti...Future Agenda
Insights from Discussions Building on an Initial Perspective by an initial perspective on the future of food by Prof. Wayne Bryden, Foundation Chair in Animal Science at the University of Queensland. This includes insights from events already completed adding to the starting point for the global future agenda discussions taking place through 2015 as part of the the futureagenda2.0 programme. www.futureagenda.org
Dr. Lonnie King - Future of Animal AgricultureJohn Blue
Future of Animal Agriculture - Dr. Lonnie King, Acting Dean, College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, from the 2017 NIAA Annual Conference, U.S. Animal Agriculture's Future Role In World Food Production - Obstacles & Opportunities, April 4 - 6, Columbus, OH, USA.
More presentations at http://www.trufflemedia.com/agmedia/conference/2017_niaa_us_animal_ag_future_role_world_food_production
Macro Trends from Expo West (April 2015)MBGenhance
“Natural” is becoming one of the most alluring terms for both consumers and marketers. As more people seek to lead healthier lives, they’re increasingly turning to toxin-free, natural products. Indeed, the market for natural products has surged in recent years and continues to grow: U.S. consumer sales of natural, organic and healthy products are forecast to grow 64% from $153 billion in 2013 to $252 billion in 2019, a rate nearly double that of mainstream consumer packaged goods, according to New Hope Natural Media, the organizer of Expo West.
This report is based on findings from Expo West, the world’s largest natural, organic and healthy products event. Expo West, which took place March 4-8 in Anaheim, California, brought together more than 71,000 industry members and over 2,700 exhibiting companies. With dozens of panels and hundreds of networking events, Expo West is ground zero for emerging trends and innovative products.
Jarrett Franklin Shared Latest Report of Food + Drink: Trends and futuresJarrett Franklin
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Checkout this 20 pages presentation shared by Rosa Belinda Sanchez. This presentation is based on food and drink trend and future. Get in touch with Rosa Belinda Sanchez on twitter https://twitter.com/MOM_RosaSanchez
By the year 2050, the world’s population is projected to swell to 9 billion. 80% of us will be urban-dwellers. Demand from developing countries for a wider range of foods is on the rise. Experts estimate that we will need new farmland larger than the size of Brazil to produce enough to meet the demands of growing populations.
Food security therefore represents one of the single biggest challenges of our future, with environmental, economic, political, and lifestyle implications.
How will we fix our broken and unsustainable systems of industrial food production to serve the needs of an ever-growing planet? In what ways will we rethink food via new practices and new technologies? This latest report from the Institute for Customer Experience considers how we are re-imagining our food practices in order to project anew our collective, global future.
While obesity has been called a disease and an epidemic, it’s becoming more obvious that
it will take a multi-factorial effort to address the challenge of the overweight around the globe. And just as no one wakes up one morning 100 pounds overweight—it happens incrementally, day by day and year by year—there is no magic solution that will
suddenly stem the tide.
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* Recognize the organic market segmentation in the US
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More than one trillion posts from sources like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit and forums between 2010 and 2016. and data from nonsocial are used to analyze ....
sources
Running Head: BUSINESS PLAN
BUSINESS PLAN 6
The Choice of Business: Preserving the World through Fresh Foods
Argosy University
January 2, 2019
Business Plan: Preserving the World through Fresh Foods
The initiative is a business plan that is aimed at establishing greenhouses which will grow different vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, lettuces, garlic, brassicas, carrots and different types of herbs. Food security is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world is aiming to achieve. While food accessibility in the United States has not been a major issue, access to quality food has been remained to be an issue of concern among Americans (Rubatzky & Yamaguchi, 2012). Quality food is expensive and, therefore, not many people can afford it in the required amounts. The initiative aims at enhancing food security by the engaging in agribusiness hence developing crops that are safe for consumption at lower prices.
Vision, Core Beliefs and Culture
The vision of the initiative is to achieve food security in the United States of America by providing cheap quality vegetables for the entire American population. The mission of the initiative would, therefore, be to become a highly profitable company through the production of quality vegetables and making sales at affordable prices to all Americans. The first major core belief of the business would be accountability, which will involve taking responsibility for all the tasks associated with the company. Integrity is another significant core belief which will involve being committed to excellence, consistency, and honesty. Respect is another major core belief the company will uphold. Teamwork and transparency are also key to ensuring the company achieve its goals, mission, and vision.
Social Responsibility Commitment
The business aims at creating a culture of customer focus, whereby most decisions and activities will always focus on how they impact the customers. Customers’ needs will thus be a major priority in dictating the quality of products and also performing other important activities such as marketing, adverts, and channel for sales. The company will be socially committed to championing healthy food consumption, which is important in avoiding the possibility of various chronic diseases.
Comprehensive Venture Description
As stated previously, the venture will be an agribusiness company that aims at producing vegetables on a large scale. On a three-acre piece of land, the business aims at establishing greenhouses of different sizes and plant various vegetables that will be supplied in all the 50 states of the United States of America. The company will use some of the modern technologies in the establishment of greenhouses. Some crops will be grown while suspended and not necessarily having their .
Similar to Perfect Food: The Silicon Valley Food Movement (19)
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3. Consumers have increasingly become more cognisant of their food: what’s in it, where
it comes from, and how it’s made. In adapting to this new food trend, we saw large food
companies such as McDonald’s launch a new platform tackling food quality perception with
‘Our Foods, Your Questions.’ We saw Chipotle take a stance against factory farming through
award-winning short animated films. We even saw Ecoeggs in Australia install ‘ChookCam,’
a user controllable online camera streaming live to its Ecoeggs free range egg farms. These
are just some of the examples of big brands adjusting to consumer demands relating to
health and sustainability issues, but will these improvements be enough beyond 2015? Is
there a much greater need and opportunity in the food industry that has taken precedence?
According to the UN`s “World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision” report, the world
population is expected to increase by over 1 billion over the next twelve years, and by 2050, it
would have reached 9.6 billion. Correspondingly, meat production, which currently accounts
for approximately 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions (higher than greenhouse gas
emitted by global transportation sources), is projected to double by 2050.
This is where the tech start-up industry is setting its sights on, and with the food movement
hitting Silicon Valley, the goal is nothing short of creating change and disruption to solve
the world’s food systemic problems affecting sustainability, ethics, health implications, and
environmental impact. And while big food brands dominate the market, it is investors and
major venture capital firms who are betting their millions on Silicon Valley ($350 million
was invested in food technology in 2013) to tackle some of our biggest food and environmen-
tal challenges that lie ahead, and by asking one simple question: what would the food system
look like if we just started over?
In this report, the Silicon Valley food movement and its corresponding trends have been
compiled for analysis, as well as its implications for big food brands. This report also takes a
look at related food trends and its manifestations that are occurring outside of Silicon Valley.
3
INTRODUCTION
PERFECT FOOD
4. BIG PROBLEMS THAT NEED SOLUTIONS: Silicon
Valley is known to solve problems through inno-
vation and disruption. With major investors such
as Bill Gates and Li-Ka Shing investing hundreds
of millions in some of the biggest food startups,
Silicon Valley isn’t simply looking to introduce
a new food product, or even interested in food
necessarily, but rather, it is focused on chang-
ing the entire food system and tackle worldwide
problems such as global resource scarcity, land
and water use, a growing global population, and
environmental impact.
FOOD SECURITY AT RISK: The world population
is projected to increase over 2 billion to reach 9.6
billion by 2050, and scientists, environmentalists, and now Silicon Valley is ask-
ing: how sustainable is our food production system? This topic was given full cov-
erage in April 2014 when National Geographic launched “The Future of Food,”
a platform dedicated to exploring the growing implications and challenges the
world will face in food and climate as our global population continues to grow.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is a growing consensus among scientists and
environmentalists that it’s not too late to take steps towards fighting climate
change, as long as action is taken now. Relating to food, meat production ac-
counts for approximately 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions (a figure
that’s higher than gas emissions from global transport), and by 2050, the global
demand for meat will have doubled. Some scientists and researchers believe that
to have the best positive impact on the environment, consumers need to globally
reduce their animal consumption by 25 percent.
4
OVERALL DRIVING FACTORS
Image credits: National Geographic, Reinventors Network
If you were designing Ameri-
ca’s food and ag system from
scratch, you’d never end up
with what we have today.
- Ali Partovi, Angel Investor and Startup Advisor,
“Silicon Valley’s Next Big Goal: Fixing Our Broken
Food System,” Fast Company, January 28, 2014
When we think about threats
to the environment, we tend to
picture cars and smokestacks,
not dinner. But the truth is, our need
for food poses one of the biggest dan-
gers to the planet.
- Jon Foley, Director, Institute on the Environ-
ment, “A Five-Step Plan to Feed the World,”
National Geographic, April 15, 2014
PERFECT FOOD
5. 5
OVERALL DRIVING FACTORS (cont’d)
GROWING EXPOSURE OF UNETHICAL ‘BIG AG’: Recent food
advocate movements have gained national attention, pushing for
awareness and action relating to extreme unethical big agricultur-
al practices. Mercy for Animals, a national non-profit animal ad-
vocacy organization, recently launched a campaign with celebrity
spokesman Joaquin Phoenix to call on Walmart to take a stand
against animal cruelty relating to the practice of gestation crates
from the corporation’s pork suppliers. Most recently, Craig Watts,
a farmer under contract with food processing giant Perdue Farms,
garnered national headlines when he opened his farm and broiler
barn to the filming crew from the Compassion in World Farming
animal welfare group. The video, published in early December
2014, showcased the inhumane practices that farmers contracted by Perdue must carry out.
In examining a deeper issue relating to big agriculture, inhumane practices against both
animals on factory farms and employees of big food processing companies are investigated
in Ted Genoways’s 2014 book, “The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food.”
INCREASING COMMUNITY ACTIVITY AND PARTICIPATION: Communities of diverse
professions and consumers are increasingly becoming engaged in the conversa-
tion surrounding the state of food. Most recently, the New York Times organized
its first annual “Food For Tomorrow” conference in November 2014 to explore the
food challenges of the 21st century. Branchfood, a Boston-based food community
organization, held its “Hack Urban Food” hack-a-thon geared towards entrepre-
neurs, developers, food system experts, designers, chefs, farmers, and general food
enthusiasts, meanwhile Seedstock held its third annual “Sustainable Agriculture
Innovation Conference” in Los Angeles focussing on reintegrating urban agriculture
into cities. In March 2015, TEDxManhattan will be hosting its fifth independently
organized TED conference surrounding the theme, “Changing the Way We Eat.”
Image credits: The Chain, Mercy for Animals, Compassion
in World Farming, TEDxManhattan
PERFECT FOOD
6. DEMAND FOR REAL, SIMPLE INGREDIENTS: Consumers are
demanding more natural food with simpler and less ingredi-
ents, which is now often being directly associated with a healthy
lifestyle. Although additives are considered safe by the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), consumer anxiety about the growing
number of unknown food substances, and a growing desire to know what’s in their
food, have led to a shift in the landscape of the food industry. Chobani, an American
brand of Greek yogurt that uses 100% natural ingredients, is now one of the leading
food brands that has become most known for
its natural and nutritious values. As the “How
Matters” campaign outlines, Chobani’s mission
is to make delicious and widely accessible food
with only natural ingredients.
Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market, an American
natural and organic food supermarket chain, most recently launched a campaign to
re-establish its positioning within this rising trend. A voiceover in Whole Foods’ lat-
est commercial, “We are hungrier for better than we ever realized... The time is right
to champion the way food is grown, and raised, and caught. So it’s good for us, and
for the greater good, too.”
HEALTHY CONVENIENCE FOOD: Convenience is becoming increasingly
recognized as a primary motivator for consumers, compared to other
factors such as nutrition education or even income levels. Farmer’s
Fridge, a Chicago-based startup, is betting on convenience and healthy
food by selling salads through vending machines currently in various locations
throughout Chicago. The founder of Farmer’s Fridge hopes to eventually expand to
other cities and also install its vending machines in low-income neighbourhoods to
make healthy eating more affordable.
OVERALL DRIVING FACTORS (cont’d)
6Image credits: Chobani, Whole Foods Market, The Atlantic
Much of the new growth in the segment
is coming from younger consumers who
seek foods that fit an overall lifestyle, be
it for health reasons or personal ethics.
- Andrew Loucks, President, Kellogg Frozen Food
Division, “Fake Meats, Finally, Taste Like Chicken,”
The New York Times, April 2, 2014
PERFECT FOOD
7. P E R F E C T F O O D
8 M A J O R F O O D S T A R T U P S
8. MEDIA COVERAGE: Josh Tetric, founder of Hampton Creek, and Hampton Creek prod-
ucts has been featured on numerous talk shows and news segments, such as Bloomberg
Television, Today Show, Wall Street Journal Live, Fox Business, Mad Money with Jim
Cramer, and the Katie Couric Talk Show.
BIG-NAME INVESTORS: Hampton Creek is gaining immense popularity not only for its
products but for the investors who have gotten behind the company. The list of prominent
investors include Li Ka-Shing, Bill Gates, Tom Steyer, and Jerry Yang.
Hampton Creek is a food-technology company that produces egg-based products, such
as mayonnaise, but without eggs by utilizing plant protein in its food. The San Francisco-
based company is most notable for its Just Mayo product, a direct competitor to big
brands such as Hellmann’s, and are sold across the United States in over 20,000 Safeway,
Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Kroger, and Parknshop loca-
tions.
Hampton Creek also produces a popular Cookie Dough product, and is planning to ex-
pand to pancake mixes, salad dressing, and sour cream over the next year.
8
Part of the reason you’re seeing all these V.C.’s get interested
in this is the food industry is not only is it massive, but like
the energy industry, it is terribly broken in terms of its im-
pact on the environment, health, animals.
- Josh Tetric, Founder, Hampton Creek Foods, “Venture Capitalists Are Making Bigger Bets
on Food Start-Ups,” New York Times, April 28, 2013
HAMPTON CREEK
Image credits: Just Mayo, CNBC, Hampton Creek
MARKETING AND TRACTION
1
PERFECT FOOD
9. THE BIG MAYO WARS: In November 2014, Hampton Creek gained significant national
attention and positive publicity resulting from a lawsuit filed against the eggless-based
company by Unilever, who owns Hellmann’s. The complaint accused Hampton Creek
for falsely advertising its Just Mayo product as “mayonnaise” when it in fact does not
contain egg products, which by FDA regulations is part of what constitutes mayon-
naise. The story spurred a strong public reaction including a 112,000+ signed petition
addressed to Unilever, over 100,000 messages on social media, and a reported three-
times increase in Just Mayo sales in the ensuing days. The story was even made light
of during a David Lettermen segment, ridiculing the idea of a legal battle over mayon-
naise.
GROW UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER:
Changing the world and how we view food
as a means to solve rising health issues
and environmental stress has been one of
Hampton Creek’s most prominent values.
As such, a large portion of their marketing
position is about starting with children and
their ability to help the world start over.
SOCIAL MEDIA: One of Hampton Creek’s
largest sources of support and engagement comes from social
media, where consumers actively participate in supporting the
Just Mayo product for both its quality in food and its cause.
Hampton Creek has over 170,000 ‘Likes’ on Facebook and
over 55,000 followers on Twitter.
MARKETING AND TRACTION (CONT’D)
9Image credits: Just Mayo, David Letterman, Just Mayo
Just Mayo will continue to
steal market share from Hell-
mann’s, not because consum-
ers think it has egg in it, but because
they know it doesn’t. It’s a game-
changer, and Unilever knows it.
- Rowan Jacobsen, Author, A Geography of Oys-
ters, “Big Mayo Wants You to Know There’s Only
One Way to Make Mayo, Dammit,” Mother Jones,
November 14, 2014
PERFECT FOOD
10. CORRESPONDING AND RELATED TREND DRIVERS
HUMANELY RAISED FOOD HITS MAINSTREAM: Big food brands such as Burger
King and McDonald’s have pledged to use only eggs from cage-free chickens as
well as phasing out gestation stalls for pregnant pigs, and Unilever has similarly
introduced only cage-free eggs in its Hellman’s mayonnaise product. A part of
this push is a result of continuing efforts from animal welfare organizations such
as The Humane Society and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, but is also enforced by new political legislations such as bans on gesta-
tion stalls and battery cages for chickens in Europe by the European Union. Most
recently, California voters and lawmakers have decided to implement regulations
beginning in 2015 that will require eggs that are sold in the state to come from egg-
laying hens that have enough room to move. In 2013, Californians consumed an
estimated 9 billion eggs.
GETTING BEHIND A CAUSE: Cause marketing has
long been a success with food brands that have cross-
promoted with charities, but Hampton Creek provides
a more direct opportunity for millennials to drive its
values. Evident through the outpour of support for
Hampton Creek in the David vs. Goliath-type lawsuit
case with Unilever, Just Mayo’s mission to positively
impact the world has created a space for health, animal,
and environmental advocates to get behind and actively
show their support and belief that every bottle of Just
Mayo has a direct impact on a more sustainable future.
10Image credits: Whole Foods, @nieliswonderful, @happyvegangal
PERFECT FOOD
Innovation in food was making a Dorito crunch a bit better in the mouth. It hasn’t
been about how the [explicit] do we feed x billion people by 2050 in a way that enables
their bodies? We think it’s an urgent need.
- Josh Tetric, Founder, Hampton Creek Foods, “Food 2.0: the future of what we eat,” FT Magazine, October 31, 2014
11. Beyond Meat is a food company that focuses on becoming the market leader in the
development and introduction of meat foods based on plant protein products found in
peas and soy, instead of animal protein products.
Beyond Meat launched its first two staple products in late 2012, the “chicken” strips
and “beef” crumble, and is now available across nearly 6,000 stores in the United
States including Target, Publix, Safeway, and Whole Foods. Beyond Meat’s much an-
ticipated “Beast Burger” is expected to launch in 2015.
Voted as one of the 50 most innovative companies in 2014 by Fast Company
and voted in 2013 as PETA’s (People of Ethical Treatment of Animals) Company
of the Year, Beyond Meat has received funding from prominent investors includ-
ing Biz Stone and Evan Williams of Twitter and Bill Gates of Microsoft.
TARGETING MEAT LOVERS, NOT VEGANS: One of the significant differentia-
tors with Beyond Meat is that the food company targets meat-eaters, not
vegans or vegetarians, and that products are not “like” meat, it is meat. To
this extent, Beyond Meat’s mission is to develop a meat product so good that
it can sit next to animal meat in supermarkets over the next ten years.
THE ATHLETE APPROVAL: In a move to help convince meat-loving consum-
ers to try the plant-based Beast Burger, New York Mets star third basemen
David Wright has signed an endorsement deal with Beyond Meat. The com-
pany is also approaching other professional sports organizations such as the Golden State Warriors, Seattle Seahawks,
L.A. Clippers, New York Giants, New York Yankees, and the New England Patriots.
11
BEYOND MEAT
Image credits: Beyond Meat, Steve Bullock, Wall Street Journal
MARKETING AND TRACTION
The problem is, Americans eat
96 pounds of chicken per person
per year. At that scale, it’s hard
to be environmentally responsible.
2
- Alton Brown, Chef, Best-Selling Author, Host on
the Food Network, “Tastes Like Chicken,” Wired,
September 2013
PERFECT FOOD
12. MEDIA COVERAGE: In the past year, Beyond Meat and its founder, Ethan Brown, have
been featured on numerous talk shows, such as This Morning and the Today Show, and
news shows such as ABC, Bloomberg, and CNBC.
TASTE TESTS: One of Beyond Meat’s main strategies is to have people just try Beyond
Meat and give it one chance. Food trucks, grocery store sample kiosks, conventions,
and public pop-up sampling tents - such as the one held outside the New York Mets’
Citi Field in June 2014, are just some of the ways Beyond Meat is spreading the word,
one taste test at a time.
CUTTING BACK ON MEAT: According to a 2013 Red Meat
study from Mintel, 39% of Americans are cutting back
on beef and other red meat primarily for health-related
reasons and rising costs. Organizations such as Sir Paul
McCartney’s “Meat Free Mondays” is one of the many
growing global campaigns that encourages a consumer
movement to help contribute to a more healthy and sus-
tainable world by eating less meat.
MEAT ON THE SIDE: Restaurants such as Alden & Har-
low (Cambridge, MA) and Sarma (Somerville, MA) are moving away from anchoring
their plates with meat and are increasingly finding new creative ways to push produce.
To help restaurant owners and chefs adjust to the growing trend of transitioning to
healthier and more sustainable food menus, the Culinary Institute of America launched
Menus of Change, an annual conference providing education and resources relating to
business-minded solutions to tackling social and environmental problems.
12Image credits: Today Show, Wall Street Journal, Meat Free Mondays
MARKETING AND ADVERTISING (CONT’D)
CORRESPONDING AND RELATED TREND DRIVERS
In short, an haute res-
taurant meal no longer
has to deliver 8 ounces
(or more) of meat plus a vege-
table side. Increasingly, it is the
opposite.
- Jane Black, Food Writer, “Meat on the Side:
Modern Menus Shift the Focus to Vegetables,”
Wall Street Journal, October 31, 2014
PERFECT FOOD
13. RISING INTEREST IN PLANT-BASED DIETS: According
to a Mintel report, sales of meat alternatives (i.e. “fake”
meat products) grew 8 percent from 2010 to 2012, reach-
ing $553 million in sales. Meanwhile, 12% of global food
and drink products launched in 2013 carried a vegetarian
claim, an increase from 6% in 2009. Much of the inter-
est in vegetarian and vegan diets can be attributed to the
rising interest of consumers who aim to explore trans-
forming their lives and bodies through healthy eating,
with inspiration and support from companies such as the
widely popular 22 Days Nutrition program and Thrive,
a plant-based performance and lifestyle magazine. The
rise of the non-meat diet can also be attributed in-part
to its popularity in pop culture, where celebrities such as Mike Tyson, Jay-Z, Beyoncé,
Bill Clinton, and Michelle Pfeiffer have all taken up vegan diet challenges in one form or
another and have endorsed the lifestyle. In a recent Saturday Night Live sketch, Justin
Timberlake performed in a tofu costume singing about the ethics and fun of eating vegan,
and at one point proclaiming, “If you knew how meat was raised, you wouldn’t eat it!”
ETHICS EXPOSURE: According to the 2014 ASPCA U.S. national survey, more than 80%
of the survey’s respondents feel it’s important that the chickens they eat are humanely
raised, while 75% of respondents wished there were more humanely-raised
chicken options available at their local grocery stores. An ever-increasing
demand for animal-based food over the decades has resulted in extreme
unethical practices, many of which are increasingly making its way into
consumer consciousness through the subject of books, documentaries, and
magazine editorial features. Rolling Stone recently published a controver-
sial editorial feature titled “In the Belly of the Beast,” exposing the realities of the Ameri-
can meat processing industry.
CORRESPONDING TRENDS AND DRIVERS (CONT’D)
13Image credits: Thrive, NBC, 22 Days Nutrition, The Verge
There are basically three things that
can happen going forward. One is
we will all become vegetarian... the
second is we ignore the issues... and the
third option is we do something new.
- Sergey Brin, Co-Founder, Google, “Cultured
Beef (culturedbeef.net),” Cultured Beef, July
29, 2013
PERFECT FOOD
14. ORGANIC GROWTH: Soylent’s growth is largely contributed to its online community. With
Soylent co-founder Rob Rhinehart’s experimental blog post, “How I Stopped Eating Food”
rising to the top of Hacker News in February 2013, Soylent’s initial funding was eventually
backed through a crowd-funding campaign in which over $100,000 was raised within two
hours. The Los Angeles-based company has since been funded by venture capital firms and
investors such as Y Combinator, the blue-chip investment firm Andreeson Horowitz, and
Alex Ohanian, the founder of Reddit.
DO-IT-YOURSELF SOYLENT HOBBYISTS: There are countless groups of people who enthu-
siastically tinker and share their own recipes of Soylent on Reddit and the Soylent D.I.Y.
website, diy.soylent.me (encouraged but not owned by Soylent). This community has
grown to over 26,000 users worldwide with nearly 4,000 recipes.
Soylent is a food company that produces drinkable meals that serve as a healthy alternative
to everyday food. The food-drink is dedicated to providing consumers with the option of
replacing food completely by fulfilling our body’s required nutritional components of food,
but not the food itself (for example, we require amino acids and lipids that are provided in
milk, but we don’t necessarily need milk).
During Soylent’s launch in May 2014, over 20,000 pre-orders were already accumulated,
adding up to more than $2 million sales.
14Image credits: Soylent
MARKETING AND TRACTION
SOYLENT3
Most of people’s meals are forgotten. [In the future] we’ll see a separation between our
meals for utility and function, and our meals for experience and socialization.
- Rob Rhinehart, Co-founder, Soylent, “The End of Food,” The New Yorker, May 12, 2014
PERFECT FOOD
15. EVOLUTION OF CONVENIENCE FOOD AND SAVING TIME: The evolution of convenience
food has continuously found new ways to save consumers time and energy. From baked
beans, to frozen food, to TV dinners, since the 1950’s, convenience food has profoundly
cut back on the amount of time spent in households on preparing meals. Soylent’s co-
founder, Rob Rhinehart, suggested in an interview with Aeon Magazine that the nutri-
tious drink is the next step of this evolution, by giving consumers an extra 90 minutes a
day, which, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, is how much time on average
Americans spend a day on food-related activities, such as grocery shopping, food prepa-
ration, consumption, and cleaning.
CONSUMERS ARE SNACKING MORE: Consumers are finding themselves snacking more
than they are sitting down for a meal. According to Kruse Consulting, over 35% of meals
consumed by millennials aren’t meals at all, but snacks. Snacks offer the convenience
and value for consumers who have busy schedules and are increasingly evolving be-
yond chips and cookies to healthier beverages and mini-meals. The shift in behaviour
behind growing snacking trends aligns directly with the benefits of a Soylent diet.
ALTERNATIVES FOR ALL TO BIG FOOD BRANDS: While the growing trend of farm-to-
table dining has been embraced by large groups of consumers, it has left the working
class with minimal options, which as a result resort to the low-cost food industry, induc-
ing obesity, diabetes, and malnutrition. It is also widely accepted that the way most con-
sumers will experience climate change is through the rising prices of their food. Soylent
offers an option to counter these anticipated trends.
CORRESPONDING AND RELATED TREND DRIVERS
15
A lot of people would think:
I really love movies, I really
love to see live music, but
it would get old three times a day
every day. And that’s honestly how
I feel about food.
- Zach Alexander, Web Developer and For-
mer Chef, “Is this sci-fi beverage the future of
food?,” The Globe and Mail, November 9, 2014
MARKETING AND TRACTION (CONT’D)
THE END OF FOOD: Although liquid food, such as Ensure and Milk Muscle, have been available in
the market for decades, Soylent is the first to market its product as a food drink that humans can
live on alone. This position has spawned off hype and debates around the future of food, gauging
the interest of writers, reporters, and bloggers who have since conducted experiments published
and shared across the Internet.
Image credits: Gawker, YouTube
PERFECT FOOD
16. CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS: Unreal is largely driven
by celebrity endorsements, including Tom Brady, Matt
Damon, John Legend, Gisele Bündchen, Bill Gates, and
Jack Dorsey.
APOLOGY TOUR: In 2013, Unreal launched the “Eas-
ter Bunny Apology Tour” to promote Unreal leading up to the Easter holidays. The
campaign idea was to show what would happen when the Easter Bunny realized it had
been handing out junk its entire life.
16
Unreal exists to prove that the junk that’s in our junk food doesn’t need to be there. We
want to inspire change. It’s about inspiring other companies to bring more of those
products to the mass market. - Michael Bronner, Founder, Unreal, “Venture Capitalists Are Making Bigger Bets
on Food Start-Ups,” New York Times, April 28, 2013
Image credits: Unreal
Unreal is a healthy, natural, non-GMO, and sustainably-sourced confectionary
alternative, with its main offerings serving as direct substitutes to large candy
brands such as Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Snickers, Milky Way, and M&M’s.
Unreal’s continuing growth in popularity is evident through its celebrity en-
dorsements and the amount of venture capital it has received, which is more
than $18 Million to date. Unreal products are also available in over 18,000
stores across the United States including Kroger stores, Ralphs, Dillons, Fred
Meyer, and Smith’s locations, and Unreal plans to expand its product offering
into the snacks, soda, and breakfast cereal categories as well.
MARKETING AND TRACTION
UNREAL4
PERFECT FOOD
17. - Robyn O’Brien, Author of The Unhealthy Truth
PUSHING OUT SUGAR: According to Dr. Mark Hy-
man, author of The Blood Sugar Solution, in the
past 15 years alone the percentage of new cases of
type 2 diabetes in children rose from 3% to almost
50%, all while the $30 billion candy industry is
continuing to grow. Health epidemics among chil-
dren have transpired to popular initiatives such as
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, which
aims to end childhood obesity in the United States through nutritional education for
children, promotion of physical activity, and ensuring
access to healthy and affordable food.
DEMAND FOR NON-GMO: The demand for food prod-
ucts that do not contain genetically modified organisms
has been on a sharp rise. The Non-GMO Project, the
main facilitator of non-GMO verified certification labels,
recently confirmed that the industry has reached over $8.5 billion in annual sales of
non-GMO labeled products.
TOM BRADY: Tom Brady has been one of Unreal’s biggest endorsers, starring in numerous
Unreal commercials and marketing events, which has helped Unreal gain attention in the
sporting world.
ADVERTISING INTIATIVES: In 2012, shortly after the launch of Unreal, Brooklyn-based ad-
vertising agency Big Spaceship was signed on to create the “Unreal Halloween” campaign,
which featured a website that autoscrolled through Instagram pictures tagged with “#unre-
alhalloween.”
17Image credits: Unreal, John Ramspott, Little, Brown and
Company, Harmony
MARKETING AND TRACTION (CONT’D)
CORRESPONDING AND RELATED TREND DRIVERS
“Junk” – the ingredients in junk food that pro-
mote obesity and diabetes – is cheaper to use
than real, whole food ingredients. If we keep
eating it, the food industry will keep supplying it. But,
if motivated to, they could unjunk their junk food.
PERFECT FOOD
18. Bitty Foods is a San Francisco-
based startup that produces
high-protein baked goods
utilizing cricket flour. Propelled
by 2013 FAO report on edible
insects, Bitty Foods’ vision is
to eventually replace the wheat
flour for foods such as pasta,
bread, and cake. Both the flour
and cookies baked with the flour
are sold online.
18
BITTY FOODS
Image credits: Bitty, Impossible Foods, Nu-Tek Salt, Kite Hill
NU-TEK SALT
Nu-Tek Salt is a company that
offers naturally sourced salt re-
placement products that contain
75% less sodium than tradi-
tional salt. One of the prominent
products using Nu-Tek Salt is
Salt for Life, which 10 of the top
13 food producers in the world
use according to Nu-Tek Salt’s
COO Don Mower. Salt for Life is
also available on Amazon.
Impossible Foods is a food com-
pany that aims to develop a new
generation of meat and cheese
that is produced from plants.
Founded in 2011, Impossible
Foods has raised over $75 mil-
lion in venture capital, including
investments from Bill Gates and
Google Ventures.
IMPOSSIBLE FOODS KITE HILL
Kite Hill offers artisanal non-
dairy cheese products that is
nut milk-based (instead of
cows). Kite Hill currently has
four different varieties that are
sold across the United States
in select Whole Foods stores.
Kite Hill is sold in the cheese
section among other non-vegan
cheese and is widely accepted as
equivalent to “real” cheese.
5 6 7 8
PERFECT FOOD
19. I M P L I C A T I O N S
W H A T P E R F E C T F O O D M E A N S
20. WHAT DOES PERFECT FOOD MEAN FOR FOOD BRANDS?
20Image credits: Eva Kolenko
Big food brands are already feeling the impact of shifting consumer demands for more
healthy, sustainable, and fresh food. In the U.S., McDonald’s same-store sales have declined
by an alarming 4.6 percent in the past year, and 2.2 percent globally, as quality perception
campaigns and touchscreen burger customization systems are being rolled out nationally
in an effort to re-build its millennial audience. Similarly, other major food brands such as
Burger King have made moves to eliminate gestation crates from its pork supply chain and
Panera has removed its use of artificial additives, meanwhile Chipotle Mexican Grill (17
percent same-store sales growth) continues to successfully trumpet its healthy and sustain-
ability ethos.
Although the impact felt by big traditional food brands have come largely at the hands of its
rising fast-casual and premium fast-casual rivals - such as Chipotle, Five Guys, In-and-Out
Burger, and Shake Shack - what the Silicon Valley food movement offers is not just a ref-
ormation of product offerings, but rather, it presents a collective force to revolutionize and
introduce an entirely new way of producing and consuming food. It’s a movement that’s cre-
ating space for consumers to get behind and create an urgency for change. One of the most
notable triumphs in the infancy of this food movement include the outpour of support shown
from Just Mayo consumers arising from the “Mayo Wars” which led to Unilever’s original
lawsuit against Hampton Creek lasting only one month before it was subsequently dropped.
The reality is that recreating food - or “perfecting food,” aren’t the only pieces of this move-
ment that’s carving out a new dimension in the food industry. Freight Farms continues to
build innovative infrastructure within shipping containers to allow urban farming year-
round, while GroveLabs allows consumers to grow their own organic products within their
homes with the Grove ecosystem tower. Farmer’s Fridge is making healthy food more con-
venient by selling salad meals through vending machines, and Belcampo, a sustainable-meat
company, is taking an artisanal approach to raising and processing meat with the hope that
meat consumers will steer away from industrial food. Investors, food producers, chefs, and
most importantly, consumers, are collectively circling around the idea and growing reality
that food can be healthy, can taste good, all while eliminating the ugly side of producing it
that’s increasingly becoming harder to ignore.
What would the food system - and food industry - look like if we started over? Most people
aren’t waiting to find out, the transformation is already underway.
PERFECT FOOD
Twelve years after
the publication of
“Fast Food Nation”
and nearly as long since
Morgan Spurlock almost ate
himself to death, our rela-
tionship with fast food has
changed. We’ve gone from
the whistle-blowing stage
to the higher-expectations
stage, and some of those ex-
pectations are being met.
- Mark Bittman, Food Journalist, “Yes,
Healthful Fast Food Is Possible. But Ed-
ible?” New York Times, April 3, 2013
22. Appendix 1.0: Recent Big Food Brands Manifestations
22
Chipotle released its second award-winning animated
short in 2013 called “The Scarecrow” contrasting big
agricultural food processing to sustainable practices.
“The Scarecrow,” accompanied by Fiona Apple’s ren-
dition of “Pure Imagination” from Willa Wonka & the
Chocolate Factory, was created after the success of
Chipotle’s first animated short surrounding sustain-
able farming in 2011 called “Back to the Start.”
Coca Cola Life is a new line of soda targeting more
health conscious consumers seeking balance.
Launched in the U.S. in November 2014, Coca Cola
Life consists of 60 calories per 8-oz. glass bottle and
is sweetened with cane sugar and stevia leaf extract.
Coca Cola Life is currently also available in Argentina,
Chile, Great Britain, and Mexico.
McDonald’s Canada launched the “Our Food, Your
Questions” campaign in 2011 to tackle negative
consumer perceptions of food quality and to improve
transparency surrounding its food, answering ques-
tions such as, “what’s really in a Chicken McNugget?”
and “is McDonald’s real beef?” The campaign has also
launched in Australia and the U.S.
Ecoeggs in Australia launched “ChookCam” to allow
consumers to watch online at anytime the free-
ranging hens on its farm. “ChookCam” is part of the
transparency food trend that sees increasing demands
from consumers who want more facts about their
food and how it’s made.
Lays launched Lays Machine in point-of-sales loca-
tions across select retailers in Argentina to show that
Lays chips are made with 100% real potatoes and
natural ingredients. Customers activate the machine
by inserting a real potato instead of coins; the ma-
chine then shows the entire process of creating Lays
chips, from the raw potato to the final sealed bag.
Walmart made a major announcement in October
2014 that stated its commitment to a sustainable food
system by focusing on improving the affordability of
food for customers, increasing accessibility to food,
making healthier eating easier, and improving the
safety and transparency of its food products.
PERFECT FOOD
23. Appendix 1.1: Existing Natural Food Products Companies
Zevia is a Los Angeles-based natural products com-
pany launched in 2007 that sells zero calorie sodas
with no artificial sweeteners. Zevia is available in 15
different flavours and is sold in over 16,000 locations
across the United States as well as in Canada, Austra-
lia, Europe, and Latin America.
MorningStar Farms is a Kellogg Company that offers
vegetarian brand products, such as veggie dogs, a line
of ground meat substitute called Crumbles and burg-
ers made from things like black beans and chickpeas.
Gardein is a product line of plant-based meat-like
food made by Garden Protein International in Brit-
ish Columbia, Canada founded in 2003. It offers 21
products under the chick’n, beefless, fishless, and
gluten-free categories, and are sold in over 20,000
supermarkets. According to founder Yves Potvin,
Gardein is responsible for 75 percent of the category
growth year over year.
Boca Foods is a convenience food subsidiary of Kraft
that sells vegan and vegetarian products such as burg-
ers, nuggets, patties, and crumbles. BOCA is currently
available only in the U.S.
Lightlife is a food company owned by ConAgra Foods
that offers vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes,
with products such as burgers, chicken nuggets, ham,
and hot dogs.
Quorn is the leading meat substitute in the U.K. and
Ireland, utilizing its proprietary Mycoprotein form of
protein to recreate the taste and texture of real meat.
Quorn has over 100 products and is currently sold in
Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway,
Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, United States, Aus-
tralia and the UK.
Turtle Island Foods is the vegan and vegetarian food
company that produces the famous Tofurky as well
as other products such as pies, pizza, and sausages.
Turtle Island Foods products are sold in Australia,
Canada, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, and the U.K.
Match is a U.S.-based company that offers a line of
premium vegan meat alternatives with products such
as ground pork, Italian sausage, ground chicken, and
ground beef. Match Meats is available in online stores
such as Pangea, Vegan Essentials and Costco.
23
PERFECT FOOD
24. Farmer’s Fridge is dedicated to distributing healthy
food with ease and convenience by selling salads from
vending machines. Founder Luke Saunders distribut-
ing healthy food was a high upfront cost and conve-
nience. Farmer’s Fridge has kiosks located in
BrightFarms works with big store brands to grow
and sell fresh produce. The large hydroponic green-
houses are typically built and operated near or on the
rooftops of grocery stores, and are fully owned and
operated by BrightFarms. There are currently seven
BrightFarms farms across the United States.
Appendix 1.2: Food Startups
24
Grove Labs aims to make healthy, local, and sustain-
able food more accessible by providing consumers
with the equipment and digital tools to grow their
own organic fruits and vegetables in their home.
Modern Meadow grows leather and meat in labs.
Through the use of tissue engineering, Modern
Meadow grows leather from skin cells in trays and
develops meat products from muscle cells.
Farmigo is an online farmer’s market that connects
farmers to consumers, allowing consumers to directly
order local food and meat with deliveries to pickup
areas in their neighbourhoods.
Good Eggs is an organic food delivery service de-
scribed as “farm-to-fridge” with the goal of making
local food even more convenient for consumers than
grocery shopping.
Freight Farms provides urban farming infrastructure
in the form hydroponic growing systems within ship-
ping containers. These systems grow “hyper-local”
food year-round and can be monitored and controlled
from a smartphone.
Cultured Beef is a food-technology company funded
by Sergey Brin that scientifically manufactures beef
from harvesting muscle cells from a living cow. Al-
though not yet available to consumers, the synthetic
beef was introduced to the world through a media
taste-testing event held in London, England on Au-
gust 5th, 2013.
PERFECT FOOD
25. Perfect Food: The Silicon Valley Food Movement
January 2015 // Copyright 2015 Trung Ho
Written/researched/designed by:
Trung Ho
Cultural Trends Researcher and Writer
w: trung-ho.tumblr.com
e: trungho32@gmail.com
t: @trungho