Research project Alternative Business Models for Robust Food Production
The aim of highlighting, and learning from, how alternative business models spread and contribute to robust food production capable of maintaining production during crises.
In January 2027, the Terra research group will launch a research project funded by the Kamprad Family Foundation.
Sweden’s food system today is characterized by large farms, a small number of actors, monoculture, and a significant dependence on imports. This development is linked to a broader societal trend in which companies are expected to scale up their operations and constantly strive for higher efficiency. In recent years, with various crises affecting both production and supply chains, more and more people have begun to question how sustainable and robust this system actually is. This has led to a growing interest in new ways of organizing how we produce and distribute food.
In this project, we adopt a broader perspective on what long-term sustainable business models can look like. Instead of focusing on ideals such as scalability and efficiency (high yield per hectare), we direct attention to “alternative business models” that prioritize long-term sustainable food production with strong local anchoring and low dependence on external systems. These business models expand by spreading their concepts to others who can start similar operations, rather than scaling up their own activities. In other words, they operate according to a “diffusion logic” rather than a “scaling logic.” The study focuses specifically on examples within artisanal food craft, community-supported agriculture (CSA) where consumers participate in production and share the harvest, and so-called food forests—cultivation systems that mimic natural ecosystems.
What these activities have in common is their strong connection to their local environment. Raw materials, production, and consumption often take place in close proximity. Here, entrepreneurship is less about controlling and optimizing nature, and more about collaborating with it—with the soil, the animals, and the people. This opens up new ways of thinking about both business and food production, where relationships and sustainability are central.
In this study, we highlight these alternative business models while also examining the challenges they face in relation to norms, markets, and institutional frameworks. In doing so, we can identify what enables alternative business models to emerge and contribute to a more robust food system.
The CRAFT Research Group
The project is carried out through the CRAFT research group’s expertise in alternative food production and artisanal food, entrepreneurship, sustainable innovation and policy, as well as our extensive experience in ethnography, innovation studies, and policy analysis. We therefore move between analyses of empirical material at different levels, from “everyday practice” to institutional frameworks.
With five different universities behind us and experience in leading both international and national collaborations for alternative forms of food production, we have access to a broad network across academia, civil society, and the public sector. Through this network, and within the framework of the project, we aim launch an academy for alternative business models in food production.