BEHIND SCENES the
of C o- crea tin g t h e Fu t u re o f Fo o d
Š 2 0 2 1 A alto Des ign Factor y PH OTO GR A PH Y Maria Talvinko A R T D IR ECTIO N & L AYOUT Anna Kuukka
C O N TACT US: Maria Talvinko / Researcher maria.talvinko@aalto.fi +358 50 452 0729
FO LLOW US: www.designbites.aalto.fi wwww.designfactory.aalto.fi/designbites Instagram: @DesignBts Twitter: @DesignBites
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CONTENTS FO RE WO R D
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E X H I BI TI O N
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K Y R Ö D I S TILLERY
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S U G A R DA D DIES H O N EY C OMPA N Y 25
H Ä R TE LÖ
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M E T TÄ N O R DIC
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H E L S I E N I
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G O O D I O
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WA R R I O R C O FFEE
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C H I PA 109
E N TO C U B E 119
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FOREWORD The Behind the Scenes of Co-creating the Future of Food publication came to life from the side notes of our research and through the passion of Maria Talvinko and Anna Kuukka: the photographer - designer duo in the DesignBites team. As we interviewed the entrepreneurs, we were frequently invited to take a peek at the backstage activities of the brands and witness how the companies operate in practice. Once in a while, we even got a chance to roll up our own sleeves and help with pressing production activities, such as relabelling bottles or setting up new beehives in the neighbouring field. As consumers, we see these small companies often through neatly placed products on supermarket shelves or in the virtual social media realm, representing the cherry on top of the cake, leaving the robust, real life messiness, experimentation and hands-on work bending the curtain. We hope that these photos and vibes give you a glimpse into the world of the new faces of the Finnish food and beverage scene and entrepreneurship on the front lines. As all the documentation featured in this publication is based on mutual trust and goodwill from the entrepreneurs, we feel privileged for getting to share these stories with a wider audience - the innovativeness, craftsmanship and free spirited courage. We would like to offer our heartwarm thanks to all the entrepreneurs involved!
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EXHIBITION The Behind the Scenes photographic documentary was initally exhibited as a part of Aalto University’s event Designs for a Cooler Planet during the Helsinki Design Week in August-September 2020. Organized by the DesignBites rsearch project and the Aalto Design Factory platform for co-creation, Co-creating the Future of Food shed light on the activities of novel food and beverage products, showcasing Finnish entrepreneurs, experiments and collaboration needed for designing new innovative solutions. The exhibition represented different pathways, goals and tools used by entrepreneurs, drawing from longitudinal research on small to medium Finnish food and beverage ventures. In addition to the physical exhibition, Co-creating the Future of Food also included open events on sustainability and responses to pandemic, bringing together diverse stakeholders to co-design and re-imagine sustainable solutions for the future of food future outlook of the industry.
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KYRÖ D I S T I L L E RY J UN E 2019
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This was really open-ended, we just decided that we want to do a bitter, but we hadn’t limited it beyond that. Another scope decision, which of course was made consciously, was that we chose bartenders, so that we could in a way get a bitter that would be possible to mix or use in cocktails.
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SUGAR DA D D I E S HONEY C O M PA N Y J UN E 2019
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Daddies from Finland on a mission of saving the little ones and while at it our bees are making one of the finest Naked Honeys.
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H Ä RT E L Ö AUGUS T 2019
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I remember how the whole l a b o ra t o r y s m e l l e d l i k e p e a s o u p a n d w e w e re s e r i o u s l y wondering if this would ever work. However, when we opened the lid of the ice cream machine and tasted the first spoonful, we looked at each other realizing that this will be something great.
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METTÄ NORDIC J ULY 2019
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It’s surprising how little the Finnish food culture has been p ro d u c t i z e d o r e x p o r t e d . W e should face our consumers boldly and proudly tell them about the tastes of our pristine and pure nature.
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HELSIENI S EPTEMB ER 2019
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My two co-founders always say that we are a low-tech company, we are not a high tech company, we are a low-tech company because we try to focus on the most simple solutions. When we have something we’re trying to solve, we just try the simple solutions which exist, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel every time.
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GOODIO S EPTEMB ER 2019
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Of course, if our sales increase, we have more resources at hand to create an impact. Therefore, the more we sell, the wider impact we’re able to create.
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WA R R I O R COFFEE O CTO B ER 2019
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For three weeks almost day and night we worked on the setup a nd co nce pt. I lear n ed how to use the different software, got al l ki n ds of cables an d adapters and programs, and got help from others how to set them up. Because the only way to do [Kaffetuubi virtual coffee breaks], was that I could handle the practicalities with the sessions.
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C H I PA AUGUS T 2020
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Chipa has a long history from ancient
times
and
through
pl a y ful expe r i me n tati on , w e started
integrating
local
flavors, traditions, and ingred ie nts . Thi n k of somethi n g so Finnish as a chanterelle, chokeberry, or the traditional blue cheese and gingerbread flavors of Finnish Christmas, but in the form of Chipa.
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E N TO C U B E AUGUS T 2020
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For the first two years, when f o o d s a l e s w e re n’ t p o s s i b l e , and we didn’t have products either, what we did with all the crickets we grew here, we sold at festivals and other various events as tasting portions.
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