Food design and agile prototyping to explore NUCs scenarios (Deliverable 6.4)

The potential of minor crops as nutritious and ecologically sound foods is hindered by a typical neglect at farming, processing and consumption level. It is also limited by lack of exploration of innovative ideas for new products. The rapid generation of creative ideas to bring neglected and underutilised crops (NUCs) to market and stimulate their consumption may offer previously unexplored solutions. Food design is an emerging field with significant potential in contexts outside mainstream consumption. Designers use creative techniques such as emergent scenario design and agile prototyping to envision both the concept and its real-world application. The agile prototyping methodology was applied to develop lupin-based ideas. Scenarios need to be logically consistent with components and dynamics linked together in a coherent way. Each generated scenario must also provide valuable insights for decision-making and policy development, tailored to the objectives of the project, ensuring that they are directly applicable to the project's goals. Utilising agile design or prototyping, particularly in participatory design for scenario creation, meets the growing market demand for agile prototyping to contextualise and validate products. Structured scenario-based design and design thinking facilitate stakeholder engagement, innovation and departure from traditional business models within the food system. It is essential to ensure, through scenario elaboration, diverse perspectives from stakeholders representing various communities and sectors. The validation with external sector stakeholders may enhance scenario accuracy.