{"id":243331,"date":"2025-07-21T10:01:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T10:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodeastage.it\/demo\/rural-hack\/italian-food-design-innovation\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T12:28:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:28:06","slug":"italian-food-design-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ruralhack.org\/en\/italian-food-design-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Food Design: expanding the perspective on Food"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Food and design. Two seemingly separate worlds, yet closer than one might imagine\u2014and not just in aesthetic terms. The concept of Food Design combines form, structural complexity, the right nutritional balance, sustainability, and only finally, aesthetics. These were the topics addressed during \u201cItalian Food Design,\u201d the conference held on April 23 in Rome at\u00a0Confindustria<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"spaghetti<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many themes were explored\u2014which we will revisit throughout this article\u2014that offer us the chance to see the act of eating through a different, broader lens. From outer space to the earth, from ancient dishes to Ferrero chocolates that are true design icons, eating cannot be understood merely as an act of satisfying a primary need; it is a true code of communication, a form of art. Sustainability\u2014the \u201ccool\u201d and urgent topic of our century\u2014is an integral part of Food Design, which also aims at optimizing ingredient use and developing increasingly smart and environmentally respectful packaging. Organizations like Crea and Barilla have embraced Design Thinking, an approach used in design processes that places user needs and desires at the center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cluster\u2019s Activities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe National Agrifood Cluster (Cl.A.N.)<\/a> was established by the Ministry of University and Research<\/a> (Miur),\u201d said Emanuele Marconi, director of Crea<\/a> Food and Nutrition and advisor to Cl.A.N. \u201cIt brings together universities, research institutions, training bodies, companies of various sizes, trade associations, and local representatives to enhance Made in Italy and Italian Food Design.\u201d Its main goal is to protect the Italian agri-food system from phenomena such as Italian sounding, which harms producers and consumers alike. One example is the Eco-trophelia Italia award<\/a>, a competition for university and ITS students in the food sector, focused on the design and creation of eco-innovative prototypes and products. \u201cThis year, one proposal was a spoon made from spent grain. Another, rooted in heroic agriculture, involved using lemons from Procida and \u2018pane lemon\u2019 to create jellies used both as standalone products and as fillings for chocolates or cookies.\u201d The final competition will be held, as every year, at Cibus<\/a> 2024 (May 7\u201310), the leading trade fair for the Italian agri-food sector, where Rural Hack will participate as a partner of the Chamber of Commerce Irpinia Sannio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cl.A.N. also aims to bring young people closer to the Mediterranean Diet and works hard to support Italian entrepreneurship so it can be passed down from generation to generation \u201cby fostering a new class of entrepreneurs aware of the importance of balancing tradition and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food Design and Italian Food Design: A Decades-Old Discourse<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Food Design is not, crudely speaking, plating. It is a broader concept that encompasses all aspects related to food: the right ingredient balance, nutritional profile, technological components and machinery, historical knowledge, and a sense of community\u2026 The list could go on endlessly! Presentation and aesthetic appeal are crucial to enhance all these elements. For example, spaghetti are functional and tasty objects, often attractively packaged, yet even they fall under the realm of aesthetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food Design and Italian Food Design have, in fact, always existed. Just think of the ritual and aesthetics of pizza, which embodies a complete dish and a symbol of the Mediterranean Diet. Or even the pasta we eat daily, with its countless shapes and \u201coutfits.\u201d From a simple tomato sauce with a drizzle of olive oil and a basil leaf to a mushroom cream with ground meat. \u201cThe geometry of dies with inserts allows the production of diversified pasta shapes,\u201d said Marconi. \u201cThere\u2019s also the mechanical side that produces the dies with specific design systems\u2014behind it lies research, design, and knowledge. Even panettone is incredible because it assembles a precise mix of ingredients, and the cross cut, the so-called \u2018scappatura,\u2019 has both symbolic and technical purposes\u2014important for increasing volume during baking and releasing aromas through the Maillard reaction by expanding surface area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Italian culinary tradition is the emblem of democratic and constantly evolving design. It has no scale limits\u2014it applies to large industries, SMEs, artisanal production, and even home cooking. Moreover, it varies dramatically from one region to another, even from one town to another within the same region. \u201cTake arancino or arancina\u2014it\u2019s defined depending on where you are in Sicily. There\u2019s form, structural complexity, nutritional balance, aesthetic and hedonistic consistency, and cultural value. Other examples are gelato, the wine flask, and pasta frittata\u2014a dish that embodies surplus recovery and waste reduction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are age-old dishes already infused with design principles, reflecting the roots of the Mediterranean Diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"panettone<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Role of Research: Crea\u2019s Platform<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this context, Crea plays a crucial role, as it is developing a research platform made up of labs to test and design nutritional qualities, sensory properties, and aromatic profiles. \u201cApproaching the world of design with my team, we began thinking that perhaps we could bring other types of knowledge into the design phase of our food\u2014ideation, preparation, realization, production, communication, sales,\u201d explained Stefania Ruggeri<\/a>, researcher and nutritionist at Crea and expert in Agrobiodiversity and the Mediterranean Diet. \u201cAnthropologists, designers, architects\u2026 I realized the Mediterranean Diet concept deserves a redesign, to carry forward Italian thinking without rhetoric. Food is not just a vehicle for macro and micronutrients and bioactive compounds\u2014it\u2019s also a communicative code, a system of thought that leads to social practices and emotional experiences that can relaunch our products. That\u2019s why our platform also uses Design Thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project areas include designing new foods, creating menus aligned with the Mediterranean Diet, supporting SMEs in sustainability paths, and scientific communication. One key focus for Ruggeri\u2019s team is food waste. The researchers aim to give food scraps new value\u2014and most importantly, to enhance health. \u201cIn a project funded by the Lazio Region, we developed two low-FODMAP<\/a> products for people with irritable bowel syndrome, including bread. But we also want to be \u2018pop,\u2019 with the healthy Roman maritozzo, high in fiber and folate. We\u2019re also working with chef Cristina Bowerman<\/a> to create menus that bring girls closer to Mediterranean eating habits\u2014a project originally from the Ministry of Health, now reimagined to create nutrient-rich snacks for women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pillars of Italian Food Design: Barilla and Ferrero<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two major players in Italian Food Design are the Barilla Group and Ferrero, both of which have preserved tradition while embracing innovation. Their success lies in focusing on users and their needs\u2014including young people, who are the bridge between past and future and can offer crucial insights for sustainable innovation. \u201cWhen we talk about food, we\u2019re not talking about a product, but about an experience that carries emotional aspects,\u201d said Cristina Gallina, director of Barilla\u2019s Global Discovery Center. \u201cThis is what we aim to achieve through our brands, which accompany people throughout the day\u2014from breakfast with Mulino Bianco, Gran Cereale, and Pan di Stelle, through snack times with Pavesi, to meals with brands like Barilla and Voiello.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMGShow
Fonte: Ferrero.it<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Design Thinking, introduced in 2015 in Barilla\u2019s R&D unit, has helped the company maintain user satisfaction and stay among the world\u2019s top pasta producers. Today, the Group operates in 16 countries\u2014not only with pasta. Ferrero, with over 60,000 employees, operates in 170 countries. Its unmatched success began in 1946, when a visionary family opened a pastry shop in Alba, a small town in the province of Cuneo. \u201cWhat\u2019s been consistent from \u201946 to today is building iconicity\u2014communicative, productive, technological, ingredient-based,\u201d said Marco Brambilla, Corporate Communication Manager at Ferrero. \u201cBlending tradition and modernity. A cookie can become a tartlet with Nutella inside or a game for a child\u2014think of Kinder Mini\u2014while always preserving its original identity. For us, entrepreneurship is where most innovations at Ferrero have been born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another key aspect is phase convergence, which boosts creativity and allows the development of countless solutions that meet identified needs\u2014and continue to be explored, validated, and refined. \u201cWe often think needs are obvious\u2014but many are not even clear to people themselves,\u201d Gallina added. \u201cWe had a chocolate chip cookie, part of many Italians\u2019 breakfast, but we wanted to enhance the visibility of the chips on its domed surface. Eventually, we developed a technology that allowed us to do just that\u2014creating a nearly stamped cookie.\u201d This shows how vital it is to trust technology\u2014it serves the need and drives innovation. From 2013 to 2015, the Group invested in 3D printing to evolve pasta tradition under the BluRhapsody<\/a> brand, creating a new shape called \u201cgalaxy\u201d that unites beauty, taste, design, and functionality. \u201cWe tackled the plating problem with spaghetti\u2014but the real evolution was in consumption: pasta became finger food, entering the world of aperitifs.\u201d Barilla has also pursued Open Innovation through a startup collaboration program (Good Food Makers<\/a>) launched in 2019, which brings together at least four new startups every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n