Hybrid business models

There is a lack of coordination within the food system from food production through to consumption; encompassing the people, activities and outcomes involved in processing, procuring, manufacturing, catering, retail and consumption of our food. There is a need to develop new approaches and business models focused on environmental sustainability, equality and healthy nutrition. These new models are great examples of hybrid initiatives (business models, alliances, networks) that challenge the traditional business structures in place that currently focus primarily on the pursuit of financial gain. There is limited research to identify how these hybrid models work and how they can be scaled up and promoted in the food system.

FixOurFood aims to explore where and what are effective examples of hybrid approaches that coordinate food production to consumption in an economical and  regenerative way. The team is examining what the critical success factors are in setting up, governing, scaling up and managing these models. In addition, they are looking at how these innovations can be enhanced to create new approaches in finance and investment, to create the transformation needed to make hybrid food economies the norm.

What are we doing?

Using the Three Horizons Futures Tool we have carried out a series of workshops with key stakeholders from across the Yorkshire food system. The outcome of this process has been a collective and strategic understanding of how actions can be more effectively cohered to support systemic transformation in this space. Read our Transformation of Yorkshire’s Food Economies Report which informs our activities going forwards and compliments the activities outlined below which are already underway. We have also looked closely at the way school food is procured in Yorkshire. You can read the resulting report ‘Public Sector Food Procurement Supply Chains leading to School Meals: The Case of Yorkshire’ here.

Working with the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, entrepreneurs, Grow Yorkshire, and our key stakeholders, we are planning to scale up a range of new hybrid models including: Yorkshire ‘Food Hubs’; a new indoor community urban vertical farm (Grow It York); building the first entrepreneurial ecosystem (a network of food enterprises) to create a vibrant, diversified food economy; designing new public procurement supply chains to schools and holiday clubs and co-designing new business policy and financial tools to promote sharing risks and investment towards a regenerative food system.

Important outcomes will include a range of new hybrid models. These will include shifts in practice to demonstrate different ways of re-organising towards a regional food infrastructure; enabling regenerative farmers to find markets by aggregating supply and helping consumers and schools to source locally produced healthy foods.

Key people: Prof Bob Doherty, Prof Katherine Denby, Prof Peter Ball, Dr Alana Kluczkovski, Dr Ulrike Ehgartner