Commercialising Food Nutrition Research with Imperial College London
We designed and delivered an innovation hack to turn breakthrough science into real-world impactful food products.
Context
World-Class Research into Action
Imperial College London’s Centre for Translational Nutrition and Food Research, together with the Quadram Institute and partners, had uncovered ground-breaking findings: a naturally occurring mutation in peas could fundamentally alter starch, impacting glucose and energy homeostasis — and help prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
With funding from UK Research and Innovation and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the challenge was to rapidly bridge the gap between research and application, engaging the food sector to create new products with measurable health benefits.
Approach
Imperial and its collaborators asked us to design and deliver a high-impact “Food Hack”: a 2.5-day innovation sprint to catalyse partnerships and generate viable concepts for commercialisation.
The ambition was to bring together SMEs, industry leaders, researchers and consumers from across the value chain to co-create food propositions that people want to eat every day, and that drive real-world disease prevention. The stakes were clear — successful concepts would position the consortium for follow-on funding to scale impact.
With just 60 days’ preparation, we adopted a tightly managed, collaborative approach:
Ran workshops with the client to define the challenge, identify and engage SME partners, and craft compelling communications to attract participants.
Led industry engagement, recruiting 24 organisations from growers to retailers, including Waitrose, Tate & Lyle, Nuzest, Diabetes UK, Tenzing, and more.
Created acceleration tools, structured the Hack, and coordinated logistics, speakers, and mentors.
Built challenge-based teams, curated rapid ideation, validation, and roadmap planning, and ensured every team was pitch-ready for the final showcase.
Over an intensive 2.5 days, three teams developed new concept proposals focused on three key areas: “on the go” nutrition, fortified staples, and curated meal solutions.
Impact
Scaling Innovation into Outcomes
The final day saw a public showcase where concepts were pitched to a panel of industry experts, investors, and stakeholders, demonstrating tangible commercial potential and social impact.
In total, the Food Hack brought together 24 organisations spanning the food value chain — from producers and manufacturers to retailers and startups. The event not only generated three strong concepts, but also established the network and momentum needed for follow-on funding and commercial launch.
We continue to support Imperial College London and its partners as they progress these concepts towards market launch — accelerating the translation of research into healthier diets and better public health outcomes.
““I would have no hesitation in recommending Studio Zao or using them again to manage and facilitate a complex innovation project. They engaged and brought industrial partners together, and worked with us all the way through a complex journey involving academia, large and small business.”