O no! We wish Ono were real too.

Alas, it’s not – yet.

WTF?

Zeus Jones created Ono not to trick people, but to explore the future of food and how brands like Ono are going to disrupt food as we know it. We think the future of food in America is promising, but we still have some big problems to solve.

The Math is Against Us

The current food system can’t sustain our booming population. We have a finite (and some say shrinking) amount of arable land. And, while we struggle to feed the world, we also waste a huge amount of food. On top of that, the obesity epidemic remains a problem with no clear solution. Together, it all means that not only must we thoughtfully manage our finite resources, we must feed people better, healthier food.

It’s imperative that we reexamine how and what we grow and produce. We have to attack the looming food crisis from many different angles; there’s no silver bullet. But one thing is certain: the food supply chain will be reinvented.

Not Your Father’s Supply Chain

As you can tell from the way we’ve constructed Ono, we think the food company of the future will be part health data company, part bacteria lab, part farm, part logistics company, and of course, all delicious.

Vertical integration in the food space is inevitable. And that’s because, in order to deliver the next generation experiences that consumers want and gain control over the quality of what they produce, food companies will need to own much more (if not all) of their supply chains.

Owning consumer data will be imperative. Food and health are both becoming increasingly personal, and in order to deliver true personalization and make a meaningful impact on people’s health, food businesses will need to have both access to personal health data and the expertise to analyze it. If food companies don’t own consumer data themselves, they will either need to pay a partner or cede a serious competitive advantage.

Having their own farms or closely aligned farming partners will allow companies to be much nimbler. Consumers already desire a rapidly changing set of options and high-quality fresh ingredients. On-demand food delivery services and meal boxes have begun to disrupt the usual channels of distribution. The desire for better, more personalized food – faster – is only going to grow.

As the entire world struggles to feed itself, food sovereignty will also become an issue. Control over our own food supply as a nation will become more and more crucial. One way or another, America must find more methods by which to grow our own food. If you haven’t taken the time to read about Ono’s farm, that’s where we lay out our ideas about how it might be done.

Get Inspired

Here’s some of our inspiration – maybe you’ll find it inspiring, too:

Companies with Benefits Will Unilever become the world's largest publicly traded B corp? How Fortune’s 'Change the World' Companies Profit From Doing Good USDA FAQs Why Americans have stopped eating leftovers How Massimo Bottura Convinced 60 World-Class Chefs to Launch a Soup Kitchen Infographic: The Future of Food How Vertical Farming Works Humans Made the Banana Perfect—But Soon, It'll Be Gone FOOD WITH PURPOSE The Future of Food: Ending hunger globally, sourcing food locally Why Farm-to-Institution Sourcing is the Sleeping Giant of Local Food DoorDash Launches Delivery-Only Kitchen These Hot Restaurants Aren’t on Maps, Only in Apps The Secret (but Healthy!) Diet Powering Kyrie and the NBA Pizza Hut Is Introducing Vegan Pizza — But There's A Catch Move Over McDonald's, The Future Of Fast Food Is Vegan Could your ideal diet be based on your family tree? Designing the Future of Food Six technologies changing the future of food A Blueprint for the Future of Food The Future of Food – The Food of the Future Silicon Valley sets sights on disrupting meat industry