Ever notice how long food ingredient lists have gotten over the past thirty or forty years?Distribution and logistics hurdles used to require that food was a local and fresh affair. Then television and new distribution and logistics capabilities enabled the creation of regional and then national grocery chains. This encouraged companies to make one centralized product in quantity for national distribution. The national distribution system lengthened the amount of time that products might spend in retailers’ supply chains, and ingredient lists began to lengthen as a result. To make matters worse, as automobiles enabled larger stores outside the city center with larger selections, floor space turned less frequently and retailers increased the pressure for longer shelf lives on top of the longer supply chain survival time. That is why you need a degree in chemistry today to decipher the average food item ingredients list.So now that our food has a … Continue reading →

I am pleased to announce the launch of the new multi-author Innovation Community at http://innovationcommunity.ning.comThe Innovation Community provides:A forum for people interested in driving business results and discussing innovation topicsCentralized access to the writings and videos of several visionaries:- Gary Hamel, Clayton Christensen, Geoffrey Moore, Michael Raynor, Braden Kelley, David Sable, Stephen Shapiro, and the minds of IdeoAccess to content from London Business School’s Management Innovation LabA way for you to connect with other people interested in innovationA place for you to share innovation content that others might enjoyI encourage you to check it out and help make it your own.Join the conversation at http://innovationcommunity.ning.com.

          VS.           OK, there aren’t too many food concepts that I would call innovative, but here is one:It’s a business that is starting up here in Seattle called Skillet Street Food. It’s concept is that it retrofits Airstreams into working, mobile kitchens that serve “evolved cuisine” during breakfast and lunch at locations that change day-to-day. But not day-to-day in the you never know where it will be next sense. They have a calendar and tend to show up at the same spots once per week.Now I know you may be thinking to yourself, a mobile kitchen, what’s new about that?You may also be thinking to yourself, that sounds strikingly familiar. You might be thinking that sounds just like a taco truck, or roach coach as some would say, well except for the “evolved cuisine” bit.So what’s innovative about that?Well, it’s this: A taco truck has no story. Skillet Street is …