Co-creation in Food Design

Roundtable presented and convened by Alok b. Nandi

June 28th – 5:45 pm to 6:30 pm – London 2012 Food Design Conference

The concept of “co-creation” shows interest in different areas, from innovation studies to information management, from design thinking to policy definition. How is the food sector using it to foster innovative propositions ?

Private corporations are opening up innovation modalities, especially in the R&D phases. A number of companies are also looking to tap into the creative input at the market level. In parallel, public institutions in Denmark, in Finland, … are exploring new collaboration models, empowering and engaging everyday people. Forrester recently claimed: “Co-creation will become a pillar of product innovation by 2015. Although the market remains relatively immature, we have witnessed growing awareness of co-creation from our clients across a wide range of industries, and we continue to see empowered product strategy professionals experimenting with co-creation engagements in interesting ways. Co-creation will continue its upward trajectory in 2012, driven by emboldened vendors that are eager to show product strategists the value and benefits that co-creation can bring to the product development process.”

The food systems have applied different mechanisms, from field to fork, through-out centuries, in resonance with several co-creation approaches and paradigms. However, one might claim the food chains in the 20th century industrialisation phases may have wiped out some multi-stakeholders co-creation innovative collaboration by building “Fordian” production chains. Consumers have consumed, under marketing pressures … And then appeared phenomenas such as Slow Food in the Western world !

This roundtable aims to look at different readings on what co-creation can bring in innovation of food systems, depending if it is an “academic” approach or a “designer” point of view, or an “industrial” implementations.

The focus on values will be put in connection with the tension between the creation of knowledge expansion vs the creation of experience.