Voice on air: SARA ROVERSI – A talk about innovation and sustainability in food system

The Future Food Institute is an ecosystem dedicated to food innovation, born from the idea of Sara Roversi during an experience as part of a delegation of young entrepreneurs who attend the annual work of the G20. On that occasion she was struck by how much agri-food systems were globally involved in the biggest challenges of the century, especially their impact on the environment. This happened in 2012-2013, before the Paris Agreement, the Expo in Milan, and the publication of the Sustainable Development Goals. Shortly after, the Future Food Institute was born, as an ecosystem designed to address the major challenges of the future starting from the regeneration of agri-food systems.

To learn more about this reality, we met with Sara Roversi, founder of the Future Food Institute, who was able to illustrate how this ecosystem relates to current issues such as research on plant proteins.

Can you tell us about the creation of the Future Food Institute, how it became part of the startup/foodtech ecosystem in Bologna, and what contributions have been made to and from the ecosystem?

When we started, the startup/foodtech ecosystem didn’t exist, the term “food tech” wasn’t even used, when we organized the first “food hackathon” in Italy together with Tim West, our partner since the beginning and a true pioneer in the sector, we felt like aliens.

Between 2012-2013 I started talking to other entrepreneurs in our area about issues related to innovation for a more sustainable production, finding it very often difficult, as every innovation was still seen as a threat to tradition. So I started to look at who was dealing with innovation in the global context, getting in touch with the founder of the Google Food Lab in Mountain View, taking the opportunity to explore and learn about the foodtech ecosystem in Silicon Valley. During my stay I was invited to become one of the permanent members of the Google Food Lab, and thanks to them and the partnerships created, we founded the Future Food Institute, establishing an office in Italy, San Francisco, but also in Shanghai and Tokyo. Our first important project was the Food Innovation Program, an international master that together with Prof Matteo Vignoli we designed with the intent to start a positive process of change that would involve the whole world.

The Future Food Institute ecosystem today is built on three pillars: knowledge, community and research and development.  Knowledge and education is represented by our Future Food Academy, where we develop school programs, boot camps with FAO, executive programs and master programs. In addition, there are 8 research initiatives (Water Safety & Security, Mediterranean Foodscape, Climate, Earth Regeneration, Nutrition for all, Food Loss & Waste, Humana Communitas, Cities of the Future), which act in a similar way to incubators, bringing our team together in partnership with companies, institutions, local governments to develop projects. The second pillar is the community, which includes living labs, events and dissemination activities. Finally, for the area of research and development, we have created three different B Corp supporting companies in the processes of transition and innovation towards healthier and sustainable models, with the development of new products or services.

Can you give us an example of the subjects developed and conducted in your research centers? What is the R&D project you are most proud of to this day?

There are some areas that have grown quite strong, especially in recent years. The first area is definitely linked to the issue of upcycling of food waste, something we work on with different companies on long-term projects for the valorization of waste, also trying to understand how to reintroduce it into the food chain or even into alternative supply chains. For example, for the largest beer producer in the world, we followed an innovation project on the use of waste from beer processing, from which some by-products with high nutritional value were born, such as protein or fiber-rich flours. We tried together to understand how to include these products in other supply chains, or again within the food chain, testing them in the world of bakery, pasta, ice cream and other solutions.

Alternative proteins is also another very interesting topic, and even many brands that don’t necessarily operate in this field ask us to produce new snacks, or to add protein content to products.

In addition to these two very important topics, new areas and ways of enjoying food and how to communicate sustainability are relevant matters too. Also in these areas there is a lot of active research, focused on understanding how to establish a new relationship with the customer. We are doing a lot of prototyping, especially with a project we are partnering on, the Food for Climate League, in America. The subjects are related to how to help large operators of collective catering, to drive the choices of people using canteens, so they make healthier and more sustainable decisions. This concerns the storytelling of the meals, the analysis of what can attract consumers more in the composition of dishes, as well as the color, the arrangement and the taste. We realized that nowadays we need to establish a new relationship with the consumer, who may be confused by the different labels, not able to understand the difference between what is green, sustainable, regenerative, and more.

You are the founder of the gourmet burger chain WellDone, which features plant-based burger alternatives. From your experience, what can you tell us about the response from consumers? How are they experiencing this innovation? 

At the beginning people were very curious about it, and it was very interesting to see how meat consumers chose this option more than vegan and vegetarian consumers. This is exactly because the look and taste of these burgers is very similar to real meat. In that sense, the goal had been achieved, as we were able to inspire people who eat meat often to try a substitute.

Today I see these solutions as an effective tool to guide cultural transition. There are so many options on the market, which means there is so much research and demand. On the other hand, though, I also wonder how we will eat in the future. I think the whole world of alternative proteins has great potential, not only for everything related to mimicking the look and taste of meat, but also in creating new dishes that are not part of our cultural heritage.

Alternative products to animal proteins are becoming more and more popular in the market, from dairy to meat to eggs. In a future perspective do you think plant-based products will be integrated in the different regional cuisines?

I guess so, because there is an increasing focus on the quality of ingredients and its nutritional value, and these solutions could become cultural bridges, supporting a change in people’s diets. The regional product should not necessarily be seen as something that does not communicate with innovation, because it is precisely these kinds of innovations that are aimed at improving the product itself. We always try to pay attention to the origin of the product of the raw material, because we have a perception of the agri-food system that is quite integral, where we always try to look closely at the supply chain from a cultural, social and environmental point of view. We see a value in food, in preserving these aspects, because the food system is a structure that involves different aspects of society.

Speaking of your direct experience, can you give us an example of how you are able to connect with your consumers?

The fact that we are an ecosystem is exactly the reason why we think it is necessary to nurture this connection. We feed off the ecosystem and in turn we feed the ecosystem. For example, WellDone is one of the points in the ecosystem where we test and validate our ideas in this field. The daily contact with customers and users for us is crucial, because they are who actually guide us and make us understand what the world needs. A relationship of co-participation has been established very often, in contexts where they are an integral part in deciding certain recipes. These are activities that we conduct in our living labs with our partners, for Italy and abroad. We call them “focus groups”, but they are actually initiatives where we co-design the future. We have a great network involved that contributes to these activities, giving valuable feedback to startups and companies.

Consumers are then an integral and active part of your system, as they are sometimes who guide you in your research. In the current context, where plant-based products are spreading all over the world, do you think it is useful to help consumers’ choices towards more sustainable alternatives?

Trying to communicate to consumers what is the most sustainable choice still remains a priority. However, demonizing meat consumption is not always right. This is legitimate in the case of intensive livestock farming that damages the ecosystem, but the problem must always be analyzed in a global view. The total elimination of livestock farming would lead to major risks for biodiversity that we cannot afford, it would destroy a centuries-old culture and a gastronomic heritage of transformations and recipes handed down from generation to generation, which is already at risk due to the standardization of taste and eating habits.  There is great potential in the alternative protein sector, which will not necessarily be consolidated in the creation of the new fake burger or fake sausages, but rather in the creation of a new range of products, perhaps able to enhance biodiversity and plant-based products for what they are.