I gave this presentation on the Future of Food to Finland's largest food distributor and retailer, the S Group (SOK), in Helsinki on 20 May, 2016.

1. THE FUTURE IS HERE

2. THE FUTURE IS HERE
@JAMESWALLMAN

3. THE FUTURE OF FOOD
20 MAY 2016

4. AGENDA
• WHY & HOW
• FACTORS
• TRENDS
• TOOLKIT

5. WHY WE FORECAST

6. Wayne Gretzky
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey
player plays where the puck is going to be.”

8. HOW WE FORECAST

9. William Gibson
“The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed.”

10. FINDING THE
FUTURE
1. Understand the
innovation
2. Understand the
macro-environmental
factors
3. Use Diffusion of
Innovations curve

15. FACTORS

16. EVERYWARE
• 50 billion connected
devices by 2020
• In an internet minute:
• 972,222 Tinder
swipes
• 69,444 hours
watched on Netflix
Source: Excelacom
Smartbell tracks cows’ wellbeing

17. SOCIAL WORLD
“Facebook has more
people than God on
this planet… and can
reach them on a mobile
phone”
Scott Galloway, NYU Stern
Foodie app has 24 filters
to make food pics look better

18. THE RISE OF
EXPERIENTIALISM
• In the 20th century:
scarcity
• In the 21st century:
abundance

19. EXPERIENTIALISM
People have enough stuff.
So instead of looking for
happiness, identity and
status in material goods,
people are increasingly
finding happiness, identity
and status in experiences
instead.
SUFFERFESTS VIDEO

20. SMART LIVING
Move over “e-“ and
“i-“, smart is the prefix
of today.
• Smartphones
• Smart homes
• Smart cities
Nokia 8110

21. SMART LIVING
Move over “e-“ and
“i-“, smart is the prefix
of today.
• Smartphones
• Smart homes
• Smart cities
Amazon’s Alexa enables smart shopping

22. CARBON
CONCERN
To hit the COP 21
targets, humans must
become a carbon sink
by 2070.
Bea Johnson, a pioneer
of the zero waste movement
Photo: Michael Clemens, Sees The Day

23. CARBON
CONCERN
To hit the COP 21
targets, humans must
become a carbon sink
by 2070.
Bea Johnson, a pioneer
of the zero waste movement
Photo: Michael Clemens, Sees The Day

24. CARBON
CONCERN
To hit the COP 21
targets, humans must
become a carbon sink
by 2070.
Bea Johnson, a pioneer
of the zero waste movement
Photo: Michael Clemens, Sees The Day

25. TRENDS

26. UBER-IZATION
Some of the biggest food
industry disrupters aren’t
even food companies.
They’re tech-driven, on-
demand delivery services:
• Google
• uberEats
• Amazon
Wolt raised US$11m in its latest finance round

27. UBER-IZATION
Some of the biggest food
industry disrupters aren’t
even food companies.
They’re tech-driven, on-
demand delivery services:
• Google
• uberEats
• Amazon
Wolt raised US$11m in its latest finance round

28. UBER-IZATION
Some of the biggest food
industry disrupters aren’t
even food companies.
They’re tech-driven, on-
demand delivery services:
• Google
• uberEats
• Amazon
Wolt raised US$11m in its latest finance round

29. SMART EATING
Better technology +
health worries =
people know what
they’re eating.
• Sugar Smart scans
barcodes and shows
how much sugar
• DietSensor scans the
chemical makeup of
food
Diet Sensor on holiday

30. SMART FOOD
Well, it depends on
whether you believe in
the GoBe (a wearable
which claims to count
the calories you eat),
but there are a
multitude of other
apps. Another good
food related tool is the
Sugar Smart app.

31. Smart brands are
shifting their focus to
health — without
compromising on
brand.
• Kraft changed the
ingredients by stealth
• Coca-Cola is pivoting
away from sugar
Kraft replaced artificial with healthy
ingredients — and no one noticed

32. ZERO WASTE
WORLD
• In UK, a Sainsbury’s
supermarket is powered
only by food waste
• In France, a law stops
stores from wasting
food
• In France, Intermarché
promoted ugly fruit,
footfall rose 24%
Intermarché’s ugly fruit campaign

33. In Melbourne, Brothl is
a zero-waste cafe.
• Its menu features
rainwater, foraged
sea vegetables, stale
bread and carcasses
• The broth is made
using unused meat
and seafood bones
from high-end
restaurants
From Joost Bakker’s website

34. THE NEW NEW
NORDIC
“Finnish chefs are…refining
a long, unbroken history of
traditional cooking.”
Lena Ilkjaer, editor, the White Guide
• no-nonsense, no-frills
• local, simple, indigenous
Chef & Sommelier, Helsinki

35. • “Brutal bistros”
• Wild and foraged:
poro, dried wild
berries, foraged fungi
• DIY: butchery, cure
their own meats, pick
their own produce
and create their own
ingredients
Chef & Sommelier, Helsinki

36. NEW DIY
New DIYers want to:
• escape digital work
• use their hands
• show they’re
sophisticated
Plated delivers $100m revenue per year

37. NEW DIY
New DIYers want to:
• escape digital work
• use their hands
• show they’re
sophisticated
Plated delivers $100m revenue per year

38. NEW DIY
New DIYers want to:
• escape digital work
• use their hands
• show they’re
sophisticated
Plated delivers $100m revenue per year

39. VEGETABLE HERO
Meat is being pushed off
the plate because:
• concern for the
environment
• health concerns: the
UN says meat causes
cancer
• photo-first
DC Vegan is a leader in the
“Vegetable Forward” movement.

41. The motto at new fast
casual chain Beefsteak
is “Vegetables
unleashed”.
A typical Beeksteak dish

42. NEW WORLD
FLAVOURS
Pop-ups and food trucks
make it easy, cheap,
and low-risk to try out
new flavours.
Photo: Streat Helsinki - Eetu Ahanen

43. At Streat Helsinki Eats,
“a taste of something new”:
• San Francisco-style
burrito by The Good
Gringo, Stockholm
• Tokyo-style sweet and
savory crepe cones by
Cone’s
• Isan-style Thai street food
by Bangkok Street
Photo: Streat Helsinki - Eetu Ahanen

44. TOOLKIT

50. TOOLKIT
• BE BRUTAL
• CREATE STORIES
• BE A ZERO HERO
• BE A HEALTHY HERO
• PLAY WITH FLAVOURS
• TOY WITH TECHOLOGY

51. THE FUTURE OF FOOD
20 MAY 2016

52. THE FUTURE IS HERE
THEFISH.CO