There is a need to widen the variety of
raw materials of the future foodstuffs due to the threats the current western
diet proposes to the ecosystem and biodiversity. In the project FoodiEX we created
a novel new product development (NPD) process for raw materials that currently
are considered inappropriate or too disgusting to eat, with two pivotal aspects:
1) in-depth scientifics of multisensory food perception and food preferences
development and 2) co-creational engagement of influencers, ie. food bloggers
and chefs.

The 10 raw materials of the project were
selected through 2 quantitative consumer surveys: crickets, mealworms, mealworm
powder and bee larvae, blackcurrant leaves, nettle, spruce sprouts and ground
ivy, carrot peals, broccoli stems and cauliflower leaves.

The novel NPD process consisted of three
workshops, attended by 5 food bloggers, 4 chefs, and 1-4 occasional extra expert
participants (food company professionals, a cultural-historian and a wild
vegetable expert), divided into 3 teams. The researchers developed the setup of
the process, provided the input and facilitated the workshops.

The first workshop focused on
understanding the consumer experience of the raw materials, regarding both sensory
perceptions as well as socio-cultural aspects. In the second workshop 7 recipes
were developed out of 4 raw materials. In the final workshop the teams
finalized the food recipes with most potential and created them suitable,
attractive concepts with names, stories and sensory descriptions.

The resulting six food concepts were a
savory pie out of mealworms, a dukkah with mealworms, a blackcurrant leaf
marmalade, a sugar and a salt seasoned with blackcurrant leaves, and a vegan
ice-cream made of whole cauliflowers, in three flavours.