Written by Erika French-Arnold
February 22, 2023
One of the most important lessons in entrepreneurship is determining if you are creating a solution to a problem or just creating a product. The example I use in Management 176: Sustainable Food Systems is a granola bar. Entrepreneurs create a new granola recipe or granola bar and their friends and family tell them it’s delicious and they should quit their day job and go full-time on their new product. It takes a lot to be the next Clif Bar and the world probably doesn’t need another granola bar.
Enter Idea Lab. The 26 students in my course learned about human centered design, also known as Design Thinking, over the course of six weeks during Fall Quarter. Students began by writing a list of things that “bug” them. For example, it drives me crazy when I am making a meal from a recipe and have to run back out to the store because I forgot a key ingredient. Students learned human-centered design and how to empathize with individuals who are dealing with a problem, define a challenge or issue, ideate to think about solutions, prototype solutions, and test potential solutions.
The final project for Sustainable Food Systems involved identifying an issue related to food waste, developing a solution, conducting a competitive analysis of similar solutions, testing the solution through focus groups, and pitching the solution to leaders of the food industry and their peers. Idea Lab helped students think critically about solutions that could reduce food waste in the long run. I appreciated the opportunity to partner with the Ciocca Center and Idea Lab instructors Cristina Florea and Dr. Prashanth Asuri to teach students about the importance of human centered design within an entrepreneurial mindset.
Erika French-Arnold is the Director of the Center for Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She directs the Sustainable Food Systems minor and created and now teaches MGMT 176: Sustainable Food Systems.