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From fractionating biomass to carbon sequestration, the cleantech sector can sometimes seem daunting to an outsider with the sheer amount of jargon involved. It’s also the area of technology, where innovation can often directly influence our lives through the products we consume, which has led to a need for clarity for the masses.
In tech, founders and specialists may sometimes have the issue of the “burden of brilliance”, meaning that they fail to make their solution understandable to others. In many cases, this is due to a solution being designed by specialists for specialists where all expect a common baseline understanding. But when it comes to innovative solutions that are supposed to improve the lives of many, a greater level of simplification is needed – such is the case for food technology.
The recently crowned Bright Starter of 2024, ÄIO, specialises in growing microorganisms capable of producing beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants and pigments. Still, they also know their target audience – people interested in sustainable, healthy alternatives to conventional cooking oils, butter and cosmetics. For this reason, they keep their value proposition clear – they give new life to products otherwise discarded and enhance your dining experience through it.
Traditional yet innovative
With Estonia becoming the first Baltic country to receive two Michelin stars in 2022, many Estonians have also become intrigued by novel foods and innovation on the food scene and want more agency over the foods we eat. We are not simply talking about growing our basil and thyme on our windowsill but rather being more conscious of our consumer habits and reducing our effect on the environment. Since Estonians are “forest folk” by tradition, we are redefining what we cook with.
Instead of straining our planet’s resources, we are starting to de-stigmatize things like Mati’s mycelium-based meat alternatives and YOOK’s plant-based beverages, understanding that as the global population keeps growing, we cannot expect to keep up with the resource-heavy production in the classical sense. This is where tradition and innovation meet since eating mushrooms and oat-based drinks is not new to Estonians. Instead, they must undergo a modernisation process to appeal to the global audience. Just as online voting once seemed mysterious and arcane, once we understand the underlying benefits of novel foods, we are more likely to grasp them in our daily menu and let go of our scepticism.
Understanding is key
Where chia seeds, which were only classified as novel foods 15 years ago, were once alien to many of us, today we see different versions of them in our breakfast bowls and porridges, showing us that all it takes to adapt and incorporate new sources of nutrition into our diet is clear and concise communication on a state level. Since Estonia prides itself in the minimal amount of red tape surrounding innovation, food is no exception here. Humans are naturally curious animals, and just like we don’t simply eat any mushrooms we find on the forest floor, we want to understand what makes these new foods so special and how these foods can supplement our mundane grocery lists meaningfully.
So, whether you are dipping your toes into the novel food field one oat of milk macchiato at a time or you have been crunching on sour cream and onion-flavoured crickets for a decade now, it’s undeniable that the era of innovation is here for food. All we can do is keep an open mind as consumers and pioneers in an ever-changing culinary world.
