A growing number of chain actors, together with difficulties in
single-handedly meeting the heterogeneous needs of customers,
end-users and legislators, is driving the food industry
to open up to external sources of knowledge in search of successful
new products and technologies. Empirical evidence of
food companies engaging in open innovation remains, however,
scarce, as do detailed analyses of related business strategies.
We review extant literature on open innovation practices
in the food industry and analyze their effects on the sector’s innovation
capabilities and market outcomes. Finally, we draw
implications for food innovation and highlight areas where
research is needed.