ReArk: A Regenerative Confectionary

In October 2022, the Biodesign Challenge and Mars Wrigley partnered to create a month-long design sprint to explore new food systems that foster the physical, emotional, and social well-being of people and the environment. Marco Locatelli and I, designers at Aula Future, were selected to develop a project for the competition’s non-student track.

How bad is the candy industry, really?

The confectionery industry is one that is beloved by many, with treats like Snickers bars and Reese's cups being associated with comfort and indulgence. However, there are several concerning issues that should not be ignored:

Confections have a significant negative impact on human health. These treats are often filled with sugars, fats, additives, and dyes, all of which contribute to a range of health issues including inflammation, diabetes, fatty liver disease, cavities, low immunity, acne, weight gain, hormone imbalances, heart disease, and even cancer (1). The healthcare cost of sugar in the United States is estimated to be close to $1 trillion, which is up to 40% of all healthcare costs (2).

The confectionery industry can also have a negative impact on communities and labor. In regions like West Africa that depend on cash crops like cocoa and coffee for their economies, the supply chains of candy companies often lead to the exploitation of farmers. The price that farmers can sell cocoa at is determined by a "cocoa board" that sets prices based on the London market, meaning that farmers see very little of the profits made by confectionary companies. To make up for low wages, many producers frequently turn to child and slave labor, and safe working conditions are often not enforced (3).

Children break cocoa pods on an Ivory Coast farm (via Lowy 2016)

The industry also has negative impacts on the environment. The sourcing of ingredients like dairy and eggs puts pressure on natural resources and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and plastic packaging in the industry contributes to plastic pollution. Cocoa production in particular has led to deforestation in the Ivory Coast, with over 80% of forests being lost since 1960. This deforestation, along with unsustainable farming practices, results in soil erosion, salinity, and decreased biodiversity, which can have cascading effects on the ecosystem (4).

Overall, the confectionary industry has a number of negative impacts on human health, behaviors, communities, and the environment. While it is certainly possible to enjoy these treats in moderation, it is important to recognize the problems within the industry and consider the potential consequences of our consumption habits.

What if a product that is just as tasty could regenerate the well-being of society and the environment instead of degenerate it?

Project design - A regenerative confectionary

After researching the existing industry and how it works, Marco and I set a goal to “un-design” industrial confectionery systems, returning to traditional methods of food and land cultivation. Out of this goal, we came up with the idea for ReArk, a new brand of confection that regenerates human and environmental well-being. The name “ReArk” is derived from “regenerate” and “the Ark”: a symbol of the preservation of life and culture. We felt as though the combination of these two ideas fit our goal of preserving existing ecological food systems.

We envision large confectionaries like Mars to purchase, fund, or create local, regenerative food ecosystems called “food forests”, that produce the ingredients for ReArk products. This would result in recipes and ingredients that change based on the location of each food forest as well as the season, creating a dynamic treat that reflects the flavor profile of each community! We see this project as less of an idea for a new cash cow and more as a robust system for producing confections that we can actually call food and enjoy relatively guilt-free.

*Food forest in the small Moroccan town of Inraren (Photo: Geoff Lawton)*

We decided to use the idea of food forests (agricultural systems that mimic a woodland ecosystem using edible plants) because of their resilience, regenerative qualities, and yield.

A forest usually consists of fruit and nut trees that make up the canopy. The understory is made of berry shrubs, edible perennials, and annuals that help attract beneficial insects, deter pests, build soil fertility, and avoid the need to spray toxic chemicals. Though it depends on the size and age, a four-year-old food forest that’s 64 sq. meters can yield around 234kg of food annually during any given season, becoming more abundant as it ages (5). Thanks to its biodiversity, the ecosystem is especially resilient to diseases and natural disasters.

Food forests are essential to our new food system. When ReArk ingredients are in season, they are harvested and processed at the company’s in-house or local confectionaries who may use the yield to create new and unique ReArk products. The ReArk treats are later sold and distributed locally from our forests or wherever candy is sold, and the forests are run and maintained by local workers and community members. The community-oriented and local supply chain is key, as it ensures that we maintain a direct link to farmers, making it easier to track working conditions and ensure fair pay.

Ingredients for the Philly Fall ReArk bar, sourced locally

During the creation of this project, we spoke with farmers and educators who have successfully operated in the permaculture space and who have seen firsthand the potential that food forests hold for community engagement and education, food sovereignty, and environmental well-being. To better understand how a system like ReArk would work, we designed two different ReArk bar flavors based on two food forest climates, cultures, and yields: the East Coast of the United States and Cameroon, Africa.

Philadelphia - “Philly Fall” flavor:

First, we spoke to food forest representatives from Red Oak Permaculture and Philadelphia Orchard Project who are familiar with the native plants, fruits, and the soil and climate necessary for healthy production. Because Philadelphia lies in the humid continental climate zone, it can grow a variety of plants throughout the year.

We prototyped a ReArk bar using locally sourced ingredients inspired by the yields our Philly food forest could provide. The “Philly Fall” ReArk bar recipe includes a black walnut layer mixed with American Persimmon molasses, topped with pawpaw’s incredible flavor of mild banana and mango, and a top layer of caramelized cranberries sprinkled with cordyceps for a truffle-like flavor.

Cameroon - “Bafut June” flavor:

In contrast, Cameroon is characterized as humid and equatorial with several “wet regions” receiving lots of rainfall. This allows different plants such as Safou, banana, cacao, tamarind, melon, plums, berries, and ginger to grow throughout the year.

We still hope to explore collaboration with chefs and farmers in Cameroon to explore other flavor profiles and revitalize the use of native fruits in commercial confectionaries. During our interview with a local permaculture practitioner and founder of African Way, we discovered that this “African style” of permaculture not only embraces ecological, social, and economic systems and practices, but also spiritual ones. How food is grown, prepared, and shared here matters, as ancient forests are thought to hold the spirits of the ancestors and are even used during rites of passage from childhood to adulthood.

In places like Cameroon, ReArk food forests should try not only to produce food but also to create space for teaching the important cultural and spiritual values of the region.

Check out our project video:

Reflection and next steps

We are very excited about the potential that this model could have to help society move away from industrial to regenerative agricultural practices and finally co-evolve with our environment instead of degenerating it.

We envision a possible future where our system is translated and reproduced in all corners of the world, adjusting to different communities and climates, creating food security, and reconnecting people with the land as the food forests grow richer over time, producing signature flavors that reflect the region and its people.

However, for this to work in a regenerative way, we must build a robust network of farmers, confectionaries, and community members, consider things such as how to package our products sustainably and how we should set up micro-factories to produce products in an ethical way, and eventually, how we can work alongside local farmers to create new recipes.

With this project, rather than develop a solution to existing issues resulting from the current confectionary industry, our goal was to take a more systemic approach that dissolves those problems and stops them from arising in the first place. For this reason, we feel as though our concept for ReArk would be a viable solution to achieve our project goals:

Increase human and societal well-being:

When it comes to our health and the well-being of people and their communities, the ReArk system dissolves several issues:

Our locally grown and natural ingredients are organic and don't need as many preservatives and pesticides as traditional crops that are grown industrially, resulting in a product that actually improves health rather than destroys it.
The cultivation of native foods has the potential to help communities regenerate and revive food cultures and traditions that may be threatened by the industrialization of cash crops, restoring the connection between the actual food and its end product and helping communities rediscover local ingredients that may have been forgotten.
Finally, the close proximity of these forests to the people who both enjoy its yields and tend to it means that we know exactly where and how our ingredients are harvested. The ReArk system necessarily creates and nourishes healthy relationships with farmers that are transparent, resulting in safe and fair working conditions.

The list of benefits goes on to include things like educational programs including gardening and cooking classes that encourage healthy habits, paid workforce training opportunities for residents, STEM-based outdoor learning, the protection of native plants and wildlife, and recreational activities like bird watching and foraging. With this system, we have the potential to transform neglected land into a community asset and invest in small businesses and residents, increasing the well-being of people and economies.

Increase environmental well-being:

When it comes to the environment, the way that most existing confectionery systems produce their products is not interconnected or harmonized with Earth’s ecosystems. ReArk aims to change that through the cultivation of native fruits and vegetables in a way that regenerates not only communities but the environment.

The amount of biodiversity in food forests is what makes them the world’s lowest-maintenance, most resilient, and most productive agricultural systems, capable of meeting the caloric and nutrient needs of large numbers of people on relatively small amounts of space and with relatively minuscule amounts of labor (6). The restorative benefits of these biodiverse ecosystems are significant. They include natural mulch that restores soil, natural pest control, and resilience to natural disasters, droughts, and diseases. This, in turn, results in the decreased use of water, fertilizer, and pesticides.

Final thoughts

This project is not about the creation of yet another profit-generating candy product or a way to manufacture and produce goods in a mere sustainable manner.

We are calling for confectionaries that are serious about increasing human and environmental well-being and making real, systemic change, to subscribe to a model that not only produces tasty treats, but also results in the creation of cultural, educational, economical, and spiritual centers for communities, and that regenerates resilient ecosystems where every plant and tree has a use and a story.

Thanks for reading!

Reference List

Harvard Health Publishing. "The Sweet Danger of Sugar." Health.Harvard.edu, www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar.
Munro, Dan. "Sugar Linked To $1 Trillion In U.S. Healthcare Spending." Forbes, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2013/10/27/sugar-linked-to-1-trillion-in-u-s-healthcare-spending/.
"Slavery in the Chocolate Industry." Food is Power, www.foodispower.org/human-labor-slavery/slavery-chocolate/.
"Chocolate industry drives rainforest disaster in Ivory Coast." The Guardian, 13 Sept. 2017, www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/13/chocolate-industry-drives-rainforest-disaster-in-ivory-coast.
"29 – Full Circle Four Years In." Deep Green Permaculture, 23 Mar. 2013, deepgreenpermaculture.com/2013/03/23/29-full-circle-four-years-in/.
"Food Forests: Making Cities More Food Secure." Sustainable Food Center, www.sustainablefoodcenter.org/latest/gardening/food-forests-making-cities-more-food-secure.