Neither a blockchain, nor an AI, nor an IoT startup, but innovative!
I am going to digress a little this time from my usual tech topics and I am going to introduce to you an innovative startup that is neither a blockchain, nor an AI, nor an IoT, but an exciting healthy food startup — Norigami.
To make it clear straight away, my motivation is twofold. Firstly, the founder of Norigami Arthur Liégeois is a friend of mine and I would like to let the whole world know about his über yummy innovation. Secondly, well this one is a bit less altruistic I have to admit, I would like to be able to enjoy his creation in both London and Paris for my lunch as soon as possible.
What I am talking about here is a sophisticated version of the Japanese onigirazu — a wonderful cross between sushi and a sandwich — called norigami. It comes in many different combinations of colours, textures and flavours. Please, check the image above. My favourite norigami is with smoked trout, lentils and pickled cucumber. That’s the one right in the middle. Even the image looks so scrumptious!
The other flavours are equally delicious and irresistible. You might fancy masala spiced potatoes with hot and sour pickled carrots, or perhaps turmeric roasted sweet potato with spinach and edamame beans. I have not yet tried the one made with coconut chicken curry, green beans and red cabbage, or the egg, chorizo and caramelised red onion one, but I am sure they are also tantalising.
The reason why I am telling you about Norigami is the seed funding round they have just launched. If you are a foodie yourself, you might be interested! Norigami’s team need help to spread their rice sandwich revolution to different pop-up locations and to prepare for the next phase, a high street retail shop. Please check Arthur’s crowdfunding video for more in-depth info.
My opinion is that their timing is absolutely perfect since the healthy food trend in the UK as well as food intolerances are growing rapidly. Hence, Norigami’s creative concept with its fresh and natural ingredients is the perfect fit for everybody who is health-conscious and in search of delicious, wheat-free, gluten-free and dairy-free grab-and-go lunch.
Did you really think that this post was not going to mention blockchain? Listen to this then! Arthur has explained to me how important it is for him to be able to source the right type of high quality rice. There are already some platforms, like Provenance for instance, that allow businesses to make themselves, their products and supply chains more transparent and traceable — by using blockchain.
You already know that data on blockchain is not only securely stored but also open, auditable and immutable. Nowadays, data can be linked to literally any product — through labelling, smart tags, or embeds for websites and apps. That’s how Provenance is building an open traceability protocol any business can use to track the provenance of anything, be it rice or cotton or anything else.
A few days ago I also learned that some of the world’s biggest food brands including Nestlé, Unilever and Walmart formed a new blockchain consortium in partnership with IBM to improve food traceability and transparency in the supply chain. Their aim is to enable each participant in the global food supply chain: growers, suppliers, processors, distributors, retailers, regulators and consumers, to gain access to every point of data from the origin of each food product to its sale. As you can probably guess, IBM will provide the blockchain tech via its IBM Cloud platform.
Over the weekend I tried to reproduce my favourite norigami, but with smoked salmon rather than trout (since I could not find it). I learned how to fold and cut it on the Spruce website. I hope you will have a go as well! Feel free to use your own imagination when it comes to the filling! Bon Appétit!
