THE INNOVATION POOL
What happens when food gets unreal?
PwC’s Innovation Pool is an immersive multimedia space located in their offices. Surrounded by screens and fitted for installations, it’s a place to ‘dive’ into one of the society-shaping topics that they consult in.
For their office opening, I crafted a story that could be read in fragments or as a whole. With research and interviews with subject matter expert interviews, I put together a story about food trust, food fraud and Australia’s unique opportunity as a nation and brand. With infographics and some short videos with our experts, a wide-ranging topic was turned into granular pieces of content.
Along the way I found out about Australia’s pre-colonial agriculture, fake eggs, one-year-old apples, blockchain for food and how Weet-bix ended up selling for $50 a box in China.
“It’s estimated that about 50 per cent of olive oils sold in Italian supermarkets are not Italian, not as ‘virgin’ as they say they are, or are cut with other oils. The figure is likely to be close to 80% elsewhere in the world.”
“In France ‘daigou’ ship Chanel and Louis Vuitton. In London, it’s Burberry. In Sydney, it’s vitamins and food. Whether food or fashion, after a supply chain has been interfered with, people will look further afield for authenticity.”
“In 2013 frozen ‘beef’ products in UK and Irish supermarkets were found to contain horse DNA — up to 100 per cent in some cases. The ‘adulterated product’ came from factories in Ireland, England and Luxembourg. (Curiously, during this scandal, horsemeat consumption rose in European countries where it’s typically sold.)”