The Initiatic Journey

Nothing comes easy. In a changing world, an investor must comprehend powerful, yet discrete dynamics. Here starts an investor's initiatic journey through our own routine and our own understanding of the world.

We are all investors.

Investors are not only those with liquidity in Swiss private banks looking at complex statistical digests and quarterly performance reports. In fact, in 2020, every one is an investor. Let me explain.

Everyone, you, me, our family members, our friends, our colleagues, from San Francisco to Kyoto. We are all investors. We choose products, we opt in and out of subscriptions, we move around making thousands of decisions each day often involving a transaction of some kind. We are all participants in feeding the financial and economic flows. Each one us grows, learns, experiences what may seem sometimes as the necessary purchase of basic products, like your loaf of bread or a brand new piece of furniture. Yet, every one of these choices joins a much larger agglomeration of capital. How often have you wondered why we actually bought this or that product? Was it really necessary or useful? Does it really contribute anything to your lifestyle or your well-being?

Search for meaning.

Most of us are entangled in a routine. With very little time to pause and to seek a sense of purpose and clarity. Here comes the search for meaning - it bothers you, it tickles you, it gets you uncomfortable at times.

A recent example I have found and deeply researched is the products emanating from the food tech revolution. In the past 24 months, the world has seen the advent of plant based products, symbolized by the Impossible Burger and JUST Egg. A simple decision we make on a daily basis, something 3 or 4 times a day is about what to eat. Routine, habits, the mechanics of social life, busy schedules, international travels... with healthier menus, better plant-based products most of us have had the opportunity to pause and to re-think what we eat. An opportunity for hundreds of millions of consumers, just like you and I, to rethink an essential part of who they are, what they eat, what they spend money on.

Where are we heading.

My intention is not to share my prediction for the century to come. Yet, it is tempting to make a few bold statements:

• the future of food will not only be about plant-based products; lab-grown products will soon emerge, take over significant market share, challenge us all one more time, taking the animal out of the food equation!
• plant-based products will continue to grow, showing tremendous velocity across retailers and QSRs around the world. Companies like Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat and JUST have advanced plans to invade each and every market, in each and every country on this blue rock
• the concrete, effective tackling of the warming up of the earth and unsustainable human developments will finally happen before our eyes: it will all start with the shift to a better food system and massive reduction in the use of land for cattle and for crops to feed livestock (over 57% of the world's land)
• the global fight against food waste will continue and innovators at Apeel Sciences are showing us the way forward - or when a simple idea becomes the most efficient way to save just about USD 1.5 trillion a year on wasted foods...

Exciting times ahead for us all.

Let's pause, rethink, live with change and enjoy it all.