Supermarket 2050.

Interactive exhibition showcasing 3 possible scenarios
for the role of the physical supermarket in 30 years’ time.

Supermarket 2050

No one knows what supermarkets will look like in 30 years’ time, or even whether the supermarket as we know it will even still exist. Will we still physically do groceries in the future or will everything be delivered to our homes? And will we still be eating animal products, exotic crops and sweets? The Embassy of Food does not answer these questions directly, but aims to present various different scenarios for the supermarket of the future.

Together with designers, students at the Technical University Eindhoven and the Embassy partners, we have developed various scenarios for the supermarket of the future. This was done in the form of an Embassy Lab, in which we gave designers and students a specific design challenge.

We developed three scenarios to investigate what function the supermarket could fulfill in 2050. What if the supermarket could play the role of (1) Lifestyle Coach, where your personal details are used to generate nutritional advice or where you can test the state of your gut flora? What would the supermarket look like as a (2) Living Lab? Where you, as consumer, could grow new products and learn about innovative production methods? And what if the supermarket would be a (3) Superbeing, where an AI would make decisions that we can’t or don’t want to make?

Curator tour through the Embassy of Food | Supermarket 2050

Overview Supermarket 2050. Render by studio Rich Dust.

Colofon
Curator | Chloé Rutzerveld
Project management | Judith Öfner, buro bordo
Graphic & Spatial Design | Rich Dust
Production & Realization | Lika Kortmann, Ham Interieurbouw

Partners
Dutch Design Foundation
World Design Embassies
Albert Heijn
Provincie Noord Brabant
EIT Food / Food Unfolded
Stichting DOEN
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds
Next Nature Network
Eindhoven University of Technology

Participating Designers
AI-Berts Fresh Place: Studio NonHuman Nonsense
Microbiota-to-go: Merle Bergers
Deeply Personal Vending Machine: Tom Schouw
Landless Food: Malu Lücking
Syntopia: Diya Samit & Chloé Rutzerveld
C3llular: Susanna Ceccarelli
Chewingbar: Garmt Dijksterhuis & Ruitenberg BasiQs
Gut-Microbe Cube: Chloé Rutzerveld

Photo credits
Bram Saeys
Max Kneefel

Supermarket as Lifestyle Coach

Welcome to the supermarket as Lifestyle Coach; a physical location where your data is converted into tailor-made health advice. From personalised, functional food to a shot of healthy bacteria for an optimally balanced gut flora, and test stations that provide real-time insight into your chewing behaviour. This is where we transcend sectors, with supermarket, science and healthcare coming together, for you!

But wait a minute... Who manages all this personal data; the supermarket, the service provider or a third party? And for how long? How far should we go when disclosing this personal information? With what goals? And how do we find the balance between customised advice and the preservation of privacy?

Supermarket as Living Lab

What if the supermarket would be a true testing ground where transparency, co-creation, experience and education are paramount? A physical place where a new generation of farmers, scientists, retailers and designers join forces to work hyper-locally on the production of sustainable raw materials and innovative products. Products that stimulate all our senses and at the same time are kind to the planet.

As a consumer, you can actively participate in scientific research, ask questions about the production methods of certain products, and design and grow your own food based on your personal preferences in taste, shape, texture and nutritional values.

So: rent a spot in one of the incubators and see how your self-designed cultured meat and exotic spices grow. Is this too complicated, or just too much hassle? Then simply order the final products online!

Supermarket as Superbeing

What if another entity, such as an Artificial Intelligence system, could help us make better and fairer choices? Not only for us humans, but also for the whole planet and longer term?

Welcome to AI-bert’s Fresh Place, the supermarket as an entity! AI-bert’s Fresh Place was created in collaboration with GPT-3, an open-source AI that is based on numerous sources including Wikipedia, all digitised books and the rest of the internet. Together with design studio Nonhuman Nonsense, AI-bert works as a colleague, innovator and friend on the design of the Fresh Place. This space presents the first results of the joint development process.

What do you worry about on a daily basis, and what would you like advice about? Sit back, relax and have a chat with AI-bert and our human mediator. AI-bert will then delve into his huge database of knowledge to come up with a solution in the form of a personalised product that is good for both you and the planet! All under the motto: “Personalised solutions for life on a damaged planet.”