What is the Big Food Redesign Challenge?
In 2023, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in partnership with the Sustainable Food Trust, launched the Big Food Redesign Challenge to catalyse and inspire the food industry to build a better food system based on the principles of a circular economy.
57 ambitious producers, start-ups, suppliers, and retailers from around the world stepped up — successfully submitting 141 products designed to regenerate nature. Compared with the food industry average, these products are better for the climate, biodiversity and soil health.
Challenge products were designed in alignment with the Circular Design for Food Framework. This means that they include ingredients that are upcycled, diverse or lower impact, and shared information indicating that the ingredients were sourced from production systems supporting regenerative outcomes. Any packaging was also designed to be kept in the economy and out of the environment.
Through their participation in the Big Food Redesign Challenge, companies showed leadership by demonstrating it was possible to design products that are better for nature and by highlighting the barriers that need to be overcome to make this standard industry practice.
The circular design for food guide
Circular design for food works – for nature, for farmers, for revenue. Through the Challenge, nearly 60 companies launched products that were viable, revenue-generating, and measurably better for nature. Want to get involved but don’t know where to start?
Packed with real-world solutions and practical advice, this guide draws on knowledge gathered from participants of the Big Food Redesign Challenge, and explores how to make nature-positive food the future of your business.
Nature in mind
Successful Challenge products were showcased on retail shelves under our Nature in mind banner and stocked at leading supermarkets Carrefour Brasil Group, Casa Rica, and Waitrose, as well as food retailers Abel & Cole, Fortnum & Mason and Quitanda.
Independent analysis across key environmental metrics—including emissions, biodiversity, and soil health—found that "Nature in mind" products significantly outperformed the industry average, a finding further validated by qualitative assessments from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Sustainable Food Trust.
