Cycle of Goodness

Problem statement: How do we connect truly local food to consumers, to strengthen community ties, aid small farmers, and highlight the value of both? What consumers would be interested?

Solution: Selling portioned fresh meal kits at gyms, featuring healthy, locally produced, unique recipes

Initial observations

The project began by researching agribusiness in the US, where the team discovered that the number of small farmers is dwindling as farmers face increased costs and lower market opportunities (e.g., volume floors at grocery stores).

The team's initial observations at farmers markets showed that community members enjoy knowing where their food is grown. How can we develop products that both grow this sense of community and help farmers financially sustain their businesses?

I began supporting the team after they observed farmers' markets and had exploratory interviews with farmers and consumers of both grocery store and farmers' market food.

Initial interviews

Interviews revealed small farmers to have limited time and existing distribution networks.

In contrast, large grocery companies were found to hold control of the entire ecosystem.

In addition to farmers and large grocery companies, the team interviewed grocery store customers to understand their motivations and why they didn't purchase from farmers' markets or specifically local foods.

There were several key themes identified:

Three opportunities began to make sense:

So then we started thinking...

if it's about convenience, how can we make local produce part of people's routine (outside of the grocery store)?

I interviewed gym owners and managers, and found that they supported selling prepared meal kits at gyms.

"As long as you can purchase your own fridge and give us a percentage of each sale, we can stock the product." - Gym owner