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Matthias Lehner

Matthias Lehner

Associate senior lecturer

Matthias Lehner

Sufficiency Business Strategies in the Food Industry - The Case of Oatly

Author

  • Nancy Bocken
  • Lisa Smeke Morales
  • Matthias Lehner

Summary, in English

Food is an essential part of our daily lives, but simultaneously, it is a major contributor to environmental issues. The growing world population and changing diets are expected to further exacerbate the negative impact of food production and consumption. This article explores how suffciency business strategies, focused on moderating consumption levels, can be implemented in the food industry to curb demand and thereby overall resource consumption. First, a literature and practice review are conducted to create a conceptual framework for suffciency business strategies in the food industry. Second, a case study approach is taken to explore the application of suffciency strategies at Oatly, a company offering plant-based alternatives to dairy. Semi-structured interviews and review of the company's sustainability reports are used as key data sources for the case study. This study contributes to research and practice with a novel framework for business suffciency strategies in the food industry. Although suffciency implies consumption moderation, it is suggested that when a company substitutes the consumption of a less sustainable option, growth could be desirable. Future research can expand on viable suffciency strategies for the private sector, but also strategies to engage different stakeholders, such as government, society, and academia, to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable food system.

Department/s

  • The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics

Publishing year

2020-01

Language

English

Publication/Series

Sustainability

Volume

12

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

MDPI AG

Topic

  • Business Administration

Keywords

  • Business model innovation
  • Circular economy
  • De-growth
  • Food business
  • Moderate consumption
  • Slowconsumption
  • Sufficiency businessmodel
  • Sustainability
  • Sustainable business strategy

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2071-1050