Supporting our food ecosystem clients to thrive in the future

Food unites us

What’s your personal connection to food and the Future of Food?
“I love the fact that food literally brings people together. Especially in these digital and challenges times, food brings comfort. When I think back to my childhood, being form a family of nine, the dinner table was the central point where we sat down and enojoyed a meal. Besides, having had the opportunity to travel the world, what really fascinated me is the important role food plays in many cultures. Food literally unites people by enjoining it together. We are all living our lives and are busy, but we make time to enjoy food with family and friends.”

The power of transformation

How did your interest for the Future of Food evolve?
“Out of all the places I’ve been, China fascinates me the most and really got me thinking about the Future of Food. Besides being far-ahead in certain areas, China is still a developing market and a massive part of the Chinese population is not yet able to have a healthy nutritional diet.

As China is making progress to lift people out of poverty, the Chinese middle class will grow to become the biggest consumer market in the world. This will have a huge impact on our global food system but also our planetary boundaries which are already at dangerous levels. I’m strongly aware that we at a global scale can’t continue as we have done in the past.

Looking at the bigger picture, there is significant need to change and transform the food system. Fortunately, my time in China has also shown me how rapidly transformation and innovation can be realized and how unimageable and distant futures can be made possible.”

Working with our global food ecosystem clients

What does the daily reality of working on such a broad theme look like?
“We’re working on three dimensions.

Firstly we want to share our point of view on a regular basis and invite our clients to share their experiences. Recently, we’ve organised a series of client-webinars where we specifically talk about the impact of COVID-19 on the Food sector.

Secondly, to make sure we’re not just ‘all talk and no action’, we established platforms to help companies to realise that future. A great example is our FoodTech Accelerator platform in Italy, where we connect food companies with high-potential start-ups from around the world.

Last, but not least, we help companies to successfully realize the food transformations. We’re fortunate to work with major food companies such as FrieslandCampina, Ahold Delhaize, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Syngenta AG, Cargill and Royal DSM and realize transformations like launching new responsible food solutions, digitalizing end to end operations and go-to-market, building a personalised nutrition coach and establishing track and traceability platforms.”

Purpose and profit

What do you enjoy most about your work?
“I love to help companies shape and realise their future and capture new growth opportunities. Ideally we work with our clients across a journey to discover what the future could look like and how to thrive in this future. Because Deloitte offers such a vast range of expertise, we can help with all the required steps, ranging from capability building, different ways of working, possible investments or start-ups partnerships, digitalisation of the value chain and developing ecosystem plays.

What specifically interests me about the Future of Food is the combination of purpose with profit. Food is an essential part of our daily life, our society and the environment in which we live － that’s why it is such a great and impactful purpose to improve. Successful companies combine purpose with profit by looking for new services and solutions that contribute to a sustainable future.”

New way of thinking and operating

You’ve worked with more than 50 companies within the food and beverage industry. Can you share one of your personal highlights?
“One of my favorite stories is how we helped a beverage company to rethink how to engage the consumer. A consumer has eight moments of thirst a day. As a company you can be there to fulfil those moments, wherever that consumer is.

That’s a whole new way of thinking about consumption and engaging consumers with personalised suggestions – it’s about transforming the way we consume and enjoy food. This different point of view provides new ways of going to market, engaging with different players across the food ecosystem but also what capabilities such as supply chain, digital and analytics are needed to realize this future. Successfully realizing these type of transformations and then celebrating with a nice dinner is what makes me enjoy driving Future of Food”

More information on the Future of Food

Do you want to know more about the Future of Food and your company’s opportunities to thrive? Feel free to contact Randy Jagt via the details below.