Barriers and Enablers for a Startup Introducing a Circular Business Model in the Swedish Food-Waste Segment

Abstract: Sustainability is becoming increasingly important both to consumers and to organizations. However, unsustainable practices within food production persist, and through that, large amounts of food are wasted. Controversially, hundreds of millions of people suffer from hunger annually. The number of people suffering from hunger could be reduced through circular approaches in the food industry, while food production is simultaneously becoming more efficient and sustainable. Elaborating on this, the thesis investigates what aspects a young, entrepreneurial startup aiming to introduce solutions for food valorization in a circular manner should focus its attention towards. Through this, two representatives from a startup that are in the process of introducing a novel technology for food-waste valorization have been interviewed. In addition, two experts from industry with experience in sustainable and circular businesses were interviewed. Furthermore, two representatives from public research and development institutes with expertise in food-waste and circular business development were interviewed. The empirical data gathered from the aforementioned interviews have been analyzed and discussed in relation to existing literature on circular business models and auxiliary fields. Through this, several important aspects to consider when aiming to introduce a circular business model within food-waste have emerged. These aspects were categorized into four overarching areas: wider system, financial, internal organization and value proposition. In addition, these four overarching areas were divided into barriers and enablers. It was found that enabling aspects include collaboration within the value chain, creating and maintaining relationships and partnerships, creating and maintaining trust with collaborators, securing initial funding and maintaining an economic perspective, among others. The identified barriers included, to name a few, lack of standardized methods and frameworks for circular businesses, acquiring initial funding and potential knowledge gaps. By elaborating on these findings, potential avenues for further research were identified as how to facilitate collaboration within the value chain successfully, how to build and maintain trust within the food-waste segment in addition to exploring what aspects to consider when introducing a circular business model in the food-waste segment in other countries or markets.