The Challenge pathway for participants is split into three phases: (1) the design phase, (2) the production phase and (3) the showcase phase.
Challenge timeline
A unique opportunity to build your understanding of circular design principles, collaborate with industry front-runners, and access HowGood’s Latis platform.
This phase commenced in June 2023 and focused on learning, collaboration, and the design of future food products, supported by a bespoke Challenge Platform and HowGood’s Latis platform. It began with a five-part webinar series aimed at inspiring and supporting participating organisations to design food products for nature to thrive, and at facilitating peer-to-peer engagement.
At the end of the design phase participants are invited to submit up to five product design ideas which will be scored using the Challenge Criteria. Product design ideas that successfully meet the Challenge Criteria and showcase how best to embed circular design for food principles will be invited into the second phase of the Challenge: the production phase.
An opportunity to bring products to market with a supportive retail partner.
This phase provides the opportunity for retail discussions, product pitches, and storytelling. A second scoring process, using the same metrics as in the design phase – with an emphasis on capturing additional farm-level information based on the holistic principles of the Global Farm Metric framework – will take place.
If you’re an SME and are invited into the production phase of the Challenge, you may also be invited to apply for a financial grant to support you on your journey towards making food designed for nature the norm. You’ll find out more about this opportunity during the design phase.
A time to celebrate the product, your journey, and the progress towards making food designed for nature to thrive the norm.
This phase will celebrate successful Challenge products via communication activities, an awards ceremony, and retail placement opportunities with supportive retailers. The phase will start towards the end of 2024 and will run into 2025.
What does a successful Challenge concept look like?
Our Big Food Redesign report shows that applying the principles of the circular economy across all dimensions of food design – from product concept, through ingredient selection and sourcing, to packaging – unlocks substantial environmental, economic, and yield benefits. This is circular design for food:
Circular design for food
The circular design for food framework incorporates four ingredient selection and sourcing opportunities and includes a packaging element.
A product that meets the Big Food Redesign Challenge criteria will align with this framework and will therefore be able to demonstrate that:
The majority of constituent ingredients are sourced from production systems that are indicative of regenerative outcomes for nature
Products fulfil at least one of the other three design opportunities identified in the circular design for food framework (use of lower impact, diverse, and upcycled ingredients)
Packaging is free from materials that are problematic and meets as many circular economycircular economyA systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. goals as possible.
Most commonly identified* problematic materials include PVC, PVDC, PS, XPS, EPS**, multi-material multilayer packaging, and undetectable carbon black.
*Most commonly identified by Global Commitment signatory businesses, based on the criteria found here. **It excludes EPS packaging used for insulation (e.g. fish boxes) for which we have not assessed the recyclabilityrecyclabilityThe ease with which a material can be recycled in practice and at scale. as these represent less than 0.1% of our signatories’ portfolios.