My debut article in Forbes Tech last month was “How Did We Get So Fat And Is There Hope?” While not a common storyline Forbes readers expect to find in the Tech section, it resonated because obesity is a visible and obvious problem. Our current solutions — weight loss programs from giants like Weight Watchers International and Jenny Craig, an explosion in fitness companies like Life Time Fitness, Inc., Under Armour UA +% Nike NKE +% and DICK’S Sporting Goods Inc., and medical solutions like bariatric surgery and lap band procedures — are doing little to stem the tide.
Of the two biggest keys to better health — better food and more movement — improving food holds the biggest opportunity for consumers to take charge of their health, for new and existing companies to make meaningful revenue, and for technology to have a significant impact.
Consider this: The U.S. spending on healthcare healthcare-related costs is $2.9 trillion annually. Consumer spending on food (in-home and out of home combined) is a staggering $1.4 trillion annually. Food, in fact, is the largest expenditure outside of healthcare that significantly impacts our overall health. It makes sense that if we want to move the needle on population health, we should focus on food and consider leveraging food in the healthcare space on a more formal basis.
I believe within the next 5 years we are going to see an increasing number of disruptive healthcare players start creating combined health and food categories that help spur fundamental health changes in the U.S. Let’s take a look at some food trends that will enable this new health:food relationship, and I’ll close by speculating on what needs to be done next.
Sustainable growing methods are bringing fresh food production into the city. Hydroponics and aquaponics are two trends that are helping improve food production with the help of technology. Both of these techniques require substantially less water to grow crops, and redefine where farming can actually take place. Companies like Gotham Greens, with rooftop hydroponic greenhouses in the heart of Brooklyn and Queens in New York (adding Chicago this year), are growing food closer to where it ultimately will be purchased and consumed. In the process, they’re dramatically reducing a huge driver of food cost, transportation.
Farm to table makes buying local simple, reliable and profitable. Rather than relying on large grocers and a vast and powerful network of food distributors to move food from producers to markets, consumers have been establishing direct relationships to local farms and producers for the past decade. E-commerce solutions allow consumers to order directly from their favorite local suppliers.
From this farm direct movement has come a new generation of fresh food delivery companies. Greenling here in Austin and Urban Organic in the New York metropolitan area are doing the legwork for busy consumers by consolidating local produce and goods from a network of growers and small businesses into weekly home delivery boxes that feature not only the freshest in-season produce, but artisan breads and cheese and other popular local food items.
Date: September 21, 2015