What are the benefits of a system like this?

There are a host of bene ts, from added ecological value to the possibility of tracking and absolute transparency. The containers are QR coded for identification at all times. At the same time, all relevant information is saved in real time via the CHECK digitisation and organisation system. Customers can see the whereabouts of their food by just glancing at their smartphone. And they also know the temperature of the food, because it is measured with a wireless core temperature probe and transmitted via Bluetooth.

Can you give us an example, please?

An asparagus farmer from Fellbach or Neuhausen auf den Fildern has just harvested some fresh produce and places his seasonal offer in a cloud via the Internet. A little later, a chef from the area checks the current info and orders the asparagus, which is already packed in a standard container with QR code. A shipping company like DHL, which is also informed and commissioned via the cloud then delivers the food in the container, in which it is also cooked, stored and served. Afterwards, the container is returned to the producer, in this case the asparagus farmer, who refills it and places his next offer in the cloud. In this way a practical and sustainable food cycle can be developed. The basic idea is to transfer all relevant data to a central system so it can be accessed on the move wherever you are. Data might include information on nutritional values or food allergens or also details of the suppliers and container type. Everything is collected in the Foodbook.

That sounds complicated. How do things stand at the moment?

We have finished our concept for the paradigmatic change and live the example here in our urbanharbor at the Innovation Campus in Ludwigsburg Weststadt. Our food factory cooks 2,600 meals a day, for delivery to childcare centres, schools, senior citizen homes and other institutions. Anyone who wants to see what a paradigmatic change looks like is welcome to drop in and of course, find out how it tastes. However, we need like-minded partners to team up with us and spread the idea so we can do things on a grander scale and reach a wider audience.
We have to create a suitable infrastructure so we can guarantee the freshness and quality of the food and eliminate waste, while at the same time doing everything as inexpensively as possible. That is the real challenge facing our business model. We can’t do it all on our own.

So, ultimately it will only work if practically everyone goes along with the idea …

Exactly. Producers, distributors and the food service industry must work hand-in-hand if we are to achieve our goal. Millions of people in Germany today eat out in public or semi-public situations like canteens every day. If we were to use digital solutions in those areas, we’d already have won half the battle. We believe that everyone has the right to good healthy food. The right to good food is a basic right. If the infrastructure is right and the passage from eld to fork is easy, then regional suppliers or organic farmers will also be able to sell their produce optimally and cost-effectively. That would be a contribution to preserving biodiversity. And incidentally, digitisation and standardisation would also democratise prices in the process. So we give back customers some of the power.

“I’m concerned about initiating changes for the future …”

Max Maier,
entrepreneur and innovator

That sounds a bit like a revolution. What drives you on and how long has the subject occupied you?

Actually, I first thought about it all when I was studying in Tübingen in the mid 1970s. At that time, what mainly interested me was the socio-political aspect: if there is enough of everything in the world, why are we incapable of distributing it correctly? I asked myself why so many people had to starve, although globally we produce three times more food than we need and tons of food is literally thrown away. I went on to choose “fair food distribution” as the subject of my doctoral thesis. However, with a glance at the many grandiose yet unread PhD theses on his shelves, my professor advised me to go out into the world instead and change it. I’m still trying to follow that advice today.

You’ve been called many things: maverick, innovator in the industry, freethinker, visionary. How do you see yourself?

I see myself most as a philosophical architect, and not in terms of buildings, but of social structures and needs. I’m concerned about initiating changes for the future and satisfying the basic needs of human beings. That’s what interests and inspires me. Food is the spearhead of our cultural engagement if you like. We have long ceased to de ne ourselves by our faith or a sleek car. The difference is how we eat. Some are vegetarian, others vegan, some prefer ecologically sustainable food and so forth. Our attitude to food has become a kind of lifestyle, a fashion trend. This, in turn, points to just how vast the surfeit is, and on the other, how great the persistent deficit. Why do children in Ethiopia and elsewhere still starve? And what do we have to do to change this situation? Our vision is to save our eating culture, while at the same time perhaps also doing our part for more social fairness. Do you think that the vision can become reality? Digitisation is undoubtedly the key that unlocks that door. What we lacked over the past 40 years was a technical solution to reorganise the entire food ow via a central platform. When my son explained his smartphone to me a while back, I saw the light at once: this is how it’s going to work.

Markus Heffner conducted the interview