Marika King, head of Paulig’s innovation centre PINC, knows that modern people use their choices of food to build their own identity. According to King, food and the culture around it will go through a radical transformation in the future. One of the upcoming trends is customising food to suit individual needs. “What does your body need in order to stay healthy? People have different tastes, DNA and bacterial strains. The algorithms use these to calculate the type of food that is best for you.”
Food is the new rock'n'roll! At least according to Marika King, head of Paulig’s innovation centre PINC. Today, people are increasingly using food to express their identity.
“What you eat and what you order at a restaurant shows the kind of person you are. Health is a huge motivating factor behind it all. People want to optimise their health and live longer – it’s about maximising your life,” says King.
PINC is an innovation centre founded by Paulig in Stockholm nearly one year ago. PINC extensively and boldly invests in food industry innovations and projects. The goal is to create innovations that both expand and renew Paulig’s business operations. PINC invests in both innovations and startups. Compared to Paulig’s R&D unit, PINC looks further into the future, into the whats, hows, whys and whens of people’s future eating habits. PINC’s four focus areas are taste, well-being, sustainability and experience.
“Our actions must be radical. However, it all comes down to taste. We have created a portfolio for the future. Stock market experts advise people to diversify their investments, and we are likewise investing in different types of areas and various future prospects,” explains King.
Over the past year, PINC has focused on building its brand and its innovation network.
“We have been developing our business platform and tools, such as a database of startup projects in the Nordic countries. We have also prepared bold initiatives for our prioritised areas of research, such as alternate sources of protein and insects,” says King.
Food loss must be cut back
How does King see the world of food in 2030? This is her list of the top five trends.
1) In the future, we will eat more foods produced from food waste. Our bread may be made from beer mash and flour from used coffee grounds.
“At the moment, about 40% of all produced food goes to waste. This number must be reduced. Reducing food loss is one of our largest and most interesting challenges,” says King.
2) The use of plant-based foods will increase. New plant-based protein products, for instance, are constantly introduced on the market. 3) Meat consumption will decrease. In the future, we will eat meat very rarely, and when we do, the animal will be raised on a farm investing in biodiversity and sustainable development.
“Meat will become a rare treat. In the future, it will be considered a luxury which is only to be eaten on special occasions. The animal has lived a happy life and we know exactly what it has eaten. We will also have sustainable means of raising cattle.”
Urbanisation brings vegetable gardens to backyards
Emerging economies are seeing mass migration from the countryside to cities. 4) Urbanisation will have a huge impact on our methods of producing food in the future. According to King, fishing and agriculture, for example, will become more common in cities as well, coming closer to the residents.
“Vegetable gardens will be introduced near urban housing. For example, future urban buildings may have a fish basin in the ground floor where the residents may pick up fresh fish, and a vegetable garden on the roof.”
Another significant, food-related innovation in the future will be 5) a customised diet based on each individual’s needs and genetic makeup. King believes that in just a decade, we will already see major leaps in this development.
“What does your body need to stay healthy? People have different tastes, DNA and bacterial strains. The algorithms use these to calculate the type of food that is best for you. Artificial intelligence provides suggestions on the types of food you should be eating at each moment,” explains King.
The development of new technology will also support this trend. Smart appliances and refrigerators will play an important role in the new, customised eating habits.
Food is a tool for your health
The conclusion is that, in the future, people will only eat healthy, sustainably produced foods.
The historical Indian system of medicine called Ayurveda is a millennia-old tradition based on the significance of food and lifestyle. The concept is based on customising one’s diet.
“Now, Western science has started to adopt the same ideology. I have always found this viewpoint particularly interesting. Food is a tool for your health and, at its best, can function like medicine.”
How does food affect me?
The showroom at PINC’s headquarters in Stockholm feature various alluring products from the future. According to King, many types of insect-based food products are displayed in Stockholm at the moment. When King arrives at work in the morning, she first checks the showroom to ensure everything looks presentable, interesting and professional.
“I find some insect products tasty, others less so. I believe we will have more products combining plant and insect-based proteins in the future.”
King’s own eating habits have also changed over the past few years.
“I eat much more vegetables these days. I think about how food affects me and the environment. I’m a very curious person and I want to constantly experiment with new foods and ingredients.”
What is the favourite dish or recipe of King who is known in Sweden as an author, columnist and developer of strategic business operations?
“Tempeh, which is a pie made of yellow lentils, is one of my absolute favourite dishes. There’s an incredible selection of legumes available these days. We serve it with green salad, grapefruit and other types of fruit as well as roasted cauliflower.”
Text: Jonna Vuokola
Marika King’s thoughts on the culinary shift:
The world of food in 2030
1) Food waste. We will be eating more foods made of food waste.
2) More vegetables. Plant-based foods will become more common.
3) Less meat. Meat will be a rare treat for special occasions. Cattle will be raised on special farms focusing on biodiversity and sustainable development.
4) Urbanisation. Urbanisation will transform our eating habits.
5) Customised diet. In the future, we will have individually customised diets.
MARIKA KING
Occupation: Head of Paulig’s PINC innovation centre
Career: Marika King has managed Paulig’s new PINC innovation centre for about one year. Her previous positions include CEO and stakeholder of Koncept Stockholm and strategic growth consultant for McKinsey. King has also published several books and is a sought-after speaker in Sweden.
Hobbies: Yoga, tennis, reading. “I always watch every single episode of Master Chef, whether it’s Australia, Sweden or any other country. I immensely enjoy watching people following their dreams and doing what they love.”
Motto: “You might not always get what you want, but you always get what you need.”