Food Design Thinking: A Systematic Review from an Evolutionary Perspective

Design thinking (DT) has been a subject of extensive debate and application across diverse knowledge domains, including the realm of food; nonetheless, its precise definition remains unclear. This systematic review comprised two components. Firstly, it examined the evolving understanding of DT by aggregating pertinent studies selected based on their representativeness, determined by the volume of citations. This process was deployed using citation mapping software, complemented by an analysis of the most pertinent reviews within this domain. Secondly, it investigated the Food Design Thinking (FDT) approach. The review encompassed a total of 22 references and reviews in the first segment and 27 studies in the second segment. In Part 1, the results revealed the emergence of two principal areas of investigation, namely education and management, stemming from the foundational DT theory. Furthermore, the findings highlighted that DT has assimilated the knowledge gathered from these domains. In Part 2, the outcomes illustrated the utilisation of FDT to address a multitude of food-related issues, including education, sustainability, health and wellbeing, and the development of food products. From this analysis, it is notable that this approach presents contextual variations while emphasising the notion of integration of the consumers throughout the FDT process.