Ethnography & user research

Studying global food systems means studying the people who grow, sell, deliver, buy, cook, and eat that food. I design ethnographic studies, recruit global subjects, and conduct effective interviews that help inform business strategy and new product development.

I’ve interviewed Mukbang content creators in Seoul, food tech entrepreneurs in Shanghai, food justice activists in Oakland, farmers in the Central Valley, and food media producers in New York. I have a good ear for identifying unspoken motivations and noticing unusual new behaviors. I can take hundreds of pages of interview transcripts and distill them down to the most relevant and surprising findings to communicate with stakeholders.

Signals-based forecasting

The future is often right in front of us, if we know how to look for it. As a foresight practitioner at Institute for the Future, I authored dozens of reports that analyzed today’s early signals of change for their implications for the global food system. I’m an expert horizon scanner who can pick out not just what’s shiny and new, but what really has the potential to change the status quo. My research has spanned topics including the personalized nutrition, the microbiome, regenerative agriculture, food experience design, affordable nutrition, food as climate action, global food security, digital food technology, supply chain transparency, sustainable packaging, the dairy industry, biodiversity, biotechnology, food innovation enablers, and much more. I’m insatiably curious and very good at diving in deep to a new topic.

Long-range scenario planning

Combining on-the-ground ethnography, expert interviews, and quantitative data, I’ve worked with global food industry players such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Campbell’s, Tetra Pak, Sanitarium, and many more to research and write 5-10 year scenarios. This research stretches decision-makers beyond the average 1-3 year planning cycle and allows for a more creative and expansive exploration of what’s possible. I’m particularly interested in scenarios dealing with the food industry’s role in our climate catastrophe.

This of course also means that I’m a very good sticky-note-exercise-facilitator.