Harvest Club

: creating a bridge between local private food producers and their customers

Abstract

The food commodity that is wasted most worldwide are vegetables and fruit. Most food waste takes place at the household level. While urban gardening and farming trends pick up, small, private producers cannot consume everything they produce contributing again to food waste. In advanced economies people are looking to consume low-emission products, from local sources. In this context, this dissertation will aim to find a way to reduce food waste by bridging the gap between private food producers and local consumers. The methods include a competitor analysis based on secondary data, and qualitative interviews based on hypotheses formed and tested through a quantitative survey to derive a business model canvas of a digital platform to be applied in different European countries. The research proved that people are aware and pained by food waste and have the intention to act. People who have a surplus of fresh products sometimes throw it away. Thus, society is interested in the idea of a food sharing platform, would use it, and is likely to spread the idea by word-of-mouth, especially among consumers who already buy local and in-season foods. The business plan for the platform Harvest Club was created to help disrupt unsustainable consumption patterns. Based on a regional and inclusive community-oriented approach it is a well-suited way to connect a neighborhood through the exchange of home-grown and homemade products and harvest, ultimately contributing to local and in-season consumption while reducing food waste.

Date of Award	28 Jun 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Marta Bicho (Supervisor)