💼Business

Get to know the business philosophy we apply at Food Tech 3.0

Ideally, we hoped to provide support to innovators on developing their business models, product-market fit, integrating the concept of collective impact and social, environmental and economic sustainability, and incorporating open design. Meanwhile, in investment, we hoped to find tools for innovators to find funding. While our team planned to support in these areas, we had planned that most of the support would come from the experts and tasks within the FoodSHIFT2030 project. For example: a three day workshop on circular business models, to be conducted by Circular Food Technology, and the “Financing & Fundraising: Starting and Scaling Up Innovation in the City Food Systems” webinar.

External experts, like Loïc Le Goueff from Green in Blue, Rasmus Bjerngaard, founder of Nextfood and Eugenia Valls of Barcelona Activa and Mercabarna’s INNOFOOD program also provided key insights and one to one feedback for initiatives.

In this section we seek to help innovators in the food system to project their business model, but before getting into the subject, we start by defining some basic concepts.

What is a business model?

A business model is a detailed description of how a company generates revenue and makes a profit. In other words, it is the way a company creates, delivers and captures value.

The business model may include information about the company's value proposition (i.e., the product or service it offers), its potential customers, distribution channels, revenue streams, cost structure, and customer relationships. It can also cover how the company acquires and uses the resources necessary to conduct its business.

The social business model, based on technology.

From the perspective and values of Foodtech 3.0, we believe that the technology-based social business model is a powerful element capable of catalyzing the transformation of the food system.

The technology-based social business model focuses on using technology in an innovative way to address and solve social and environmental problems. This business model seeks to create a positive impact on society while generating sufficient revenue to remain financially sustainable.

An example of a technology-based social business model could be a food donation platform that connects restaurants, supermarkets and other food companies with charities that distribute food to people in need. The platform can earn revenue through a commission on donations or by selling advertising to companies interested in sponsoring the platform.

In this business model, technology is key to connecting people and providing a practical solution to a social problem. In addition, the platform can generate revenue through a transaction fee or a commission on wages paid to workers, ensuring its long-term financial sustainability.

Open source as a social business model.

Open source refers to software that is distributed with publicly available source code and can be freely modified and distributed. Although open source is not itself a business model, it can be used as part of a social business model.

In the context of a social business model, open source can be used to create technological solutions that address social problems for free or at very low cost. By making the software open source, it allows others to use and improve it, which can increase its impact and reach. Therefore, organizations that use open source as part of their social business model can achieve greater social impact at a lower cost.

In addition, some companies can use open source as part of their social business strategy. For example, they can develop open source software to address social problems and offer support and consulting services for organizations that use it. This allows them to generate revenue while helping to address social problems.

In summary, open source can be used as part of a social business model to create technological solutions that address social problems for free or at a very low cost, and it can also be used as part of a company's social business strategy.

As an example we can turn again to Aquapioneers initiative that developed an open source aquaponic kit that can be downloaded for free and can be built at a local Makerspace. This can be used for educational purposes in schools, for mindfulness in coworkings and offices, or to harvest your own food at home. This is only the social part of the initiative: from this social part, Green in Blue consulting firm was born, which offers its services to develop aquaponic systems for different needs.