Around the world of food: Food Trend Trotter…

AZTI-Tecnalia sends a ‘food trend seeker’ to Japan and the USA to find out about innovation in food

Gathering the food trends from all the corners of the Earth and making them known through the Internet is the main aim of the Food Trend Trotters project being promoted by the AZTI-Tecnalia Technology Centre, which specialises in marine and foodstuff research, and Mondragon Innovation & Knowledge (MIK, S.Coop).

The project is being supported by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) with the collaboration of the IRTA technology centre and the Basque Culinary Center.

Food Trend Trotters is a pioneering project on scientific information and open innovation and based on the concept of competitive monitoring, which means carrying out systematic and organised tasks of observation, gathering, analysis, dissemination and retrieval of relevant information. The objective of the project is that this information be of interest to the public at large and to AZTI-Tecnalia, the technological centre specialising in food and marine research.





The first experience in this innovative initiative kicked off on 15 October. On that day a ‘food trend seeker’, the engineer Asier Lopez, set off on a two-month tour that will take him to Japan and the United States in order to study, among other things, the food habits or new products and packaging in the two countries which are pioneers in food innovation. The information gathered by the traveller will be made known in real time through seven Internet social networks and complemented by technical information provided by AZTI-Tecnalia researchers.
The ‘food trend trotter’ will draw up a protocol for monitoring activity at street level and which AZTI-Tecnalia will use for gathering ideas and information which can subsequently be used for incorporation into innovative food and drinks products. The foci of interest to be monitored in the Japanese and North American markets are, amongst others, shopping habits; food preparation and consumption; cultural, social and demographic aspects that influence consumption; food packaging; and ingredients for food and drinks products. Likewise to be studied are innovative aspects at sales outlets, marketing and the advertising of food products, as well as new tendencies of consumption.
Regarding this latter aspect López will be following the guidelines established by AZTI-Tecnalia and be providing information that is relevant and of value for consumers and the food industry. The end user of this initiative is the consumer, and that is why the research will be focusing on four basic aspects: food and health, food safety, sustainability, and new technologies applied to the food industry.




Japan was chosen by this project because of being a country of reference in food innovation. This Asian country has great potential for capturing ideas of innovation and where there are emerging tendencies of consumption susceptible to being incorporated into the Western market in the coming years. The United States, meanwhile, is the most representative country of a consumerist and multicultural society, making it highly interesting from a food perspective.
These are the first destinations of Food Trend Trotters, but AZTI-Tecnalia is planning to go on touring the world with ‘food trend seekers’, and devoting special attention to pioneering or emerging regions as far as food innovation is concerned.





The Food Trend Trotters’ channels of dissemination will be some of the world’s most popular social networks: Twitter, FourSquare, Youtube, Formspring, Facebook, Flickr and QIK. The adventures of Asier Lopez, the first “food trend seeker" in this project, can also be followed on the www.foodtrendtrotters.com blog.

http://www.foodtrendtrotters.com
http://www.jantrotters.com


http://twitter.com/jantrotters


http://foursquare.com/user/jantrotters


http://www.youtube.com/user/jantrotters


http://www.formspring.me/jantrotters


http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Food-Trend-Trotters/142417885799391?ref=ts


http://www.flickr.com/photos/53853742@N08


http://qik.com/jantrotters

Pays

Spain