Marketing Students Welcome The Food Assembly to JCU
On February 9, 2017, students of Professor Signorini’s class MKT 490, Strategic Marketing Management, welcomed Noemi Mineo, Business Developer at The Food Assembly. Mineo visited the class to give insight into the company and educate the students in the area of food supply chain and sustainable market.
Noemi Mineo, Business Developer at The Food Assembly
The Food Assembly was created in 2011 in France, has expanded into 7 countries throughout Europe, and recently came to Italy in 2015. It is an online service provider that brings people together to buy fresh goods directly from local farmers and growers. All the food is produced within 250 km from “the hive” or location host and the producers and growers set their own price, which means they are paid fairly for their work. The company’s role is to work on the development of the web platform, ensuring technical and commercial support to the farmers and consumers, as well as monitoring the expansion of the company network.
Mineo began with a short introduction about the background of the company, and gave detailed statistics regarding the food waste and loss of economics in the food market industry. The company’s focus is sustainable market and diversified production. Consumers are having a harder time finding local produce, especially in Italy, because the number of farms has decreased considerably in the past few years.
The Food Assembly was launched out of the desire and willingness to change the way people buy and eat food every day. While the company is constantly competing with larger organized distribution and supermarkets, its strength is in the economic participatory model it promotes which is based on fostering communication between consumer and grower. The project gives everyone the opportunity to participate in a direct model that minimizes costs, reduces global food waste, and creates a local culture, all while having an equal agriculture platform that brings people together as a community.
If you are interested in becoming involved in this project, the closest “hive” or host to John Cabot University is located at Piazza San Cosimato in Trastevere. For more information visit www.thefoodassembly.com
