“Naturally” product concept providing tasty, fresh and nutritious diet

“Naturally”, a new lifestyle enhancing product for the ageing demographic, meeting a growing market opportunity.

Innovative design and technology consultancy Cambridge Design Partnership announces a new food system concept designed specifically for the ageing consumer. Named ‘Naturally’, it supplies, cooks and serves individual meals from fresh ingredients while simplifying the physical challenges of food preparation and shopping. ‘Naturally’ demonstrates Cambridge Design Partnership’s ability to use holistic innovation and design to address some of society’s biggest challenges.

The Daily Telegraph recently reported that shockingly 1 in 10 elderly people in Britain are at risk of malnutrition. By 2033 it is estimated nearly a quarter of the British population (23 per cent) will be aged over 65 meaning the number of older people suffering from malnutrition is set to rise even further. Public service funding is already overstretched and ill-prepared to meet the challenge of the rising senior population. However Age UK report that the over 65s in the UK spend over £100billion on goods and services each year, with a significant proportion spent to enhance the quality of life. Good nutrition is a basic need which is important for both physical and emotional wellbeing as well as maintaining independence.

Reacting to these pressing human and social needs, Cambridge Design Partnership were inspired to put their design skills to the test. Their innovation process led to the development of a novel concept including a packaging system for fresh ingredients and a counter top appliance to automatically prepare a fresh meal. This can potentially deliver healthy, fresh and nutritional meals ranging from stews to soups and fruit smoothies. A key feature of the solution is to bring back traditional cooking from raw ingredients rather than simply reheating factory prepared food to give consumers the quality meals they want. Ben Strutt, Cambridge Design Partnership’s Head of Industrial Design reflects ‘this demonstrates our ability to address the need for the older generation to become less reliant on care systems and experience the satisfaction of preparing a meal from fresh by themselves, while removing some of the dexterity and logistics challenges. This will reconnect them to the sensory experience of cooking and eating’.

The patented ‘Naturally’ system starts with a novel bowl like packaging system for the raw ingredients which facilitates a supply chain through commercial food manufacturers and retailers, making a wide range of recipes available to consumers. It also allows families or charities to get involved in creating and supplying recipes and ingredients within their local communities. The second element is a small, low cost cooking appliance designed to be easy and safe to use.

To use the system the customer simply chooses the meal they want and adds tap water to the pre-prepared bowl of ingredients, places it into the unit and presses down the plunger to start the cooking cycle. The smart packaging technology ensures the machine automatically cooks and prepares the meal while indicating the time remaining on an easy to read display. The cooking bowl becomes the serving dish and the meal can be consumed immediately. Recipes provide balanced nutrition and hydration, while delivering the great taste of freshly cooked food, if necessary in a format that is particularly easy to eat and digest.

“Cooking is an important part of life,” comments Mike Cane, Director of the product innovation company Cambridge Design Partnership. “When we spoke to older consumers it was clear that an important part of wellbeing is looking forward to meal times and being in control and physically involved in what you eat. However, as mobility and energy levels decrease it becomes an increasing challenge and when poor health adds to the situation people can simply go without proper food at a time when they need good nutrition the most.”

“Neither microwaveable nor frozen dinners can replace the ritual and experience of cooking from fresh ingredients, nor the nutritional value,” added Robert Curtis, the designer responsible for the system. “Research has shown that for elderly consumers the sensory experience of cooking from fresh ingredients contributes to working up an appetite, which can naturally reduce with age and eventually contributes to the risk of malnutrition. This is why we worked hard on the whole product experience with ‘Naturally’.”

“We focus on designing solutions that meet people’s needs and deliver real improvements in quality of life. Given the enormous and growing value of the over 65s market, and the trend towards convenient yet healthy foods, a product like this represents an exciting commercial opportunity.”

‘Naturally’ is just one product from Cambridge Design Partnership’s portfolio and could be easily adapted to other demographic groups interested in convenient, fast, quality nutrition, including mothers and babies, single people and students.

Cambridge Design Partnership is interested in speaking with potential commercial partners for the patented ‘Naturally’ appliance and smart packaging system.