Developing a local food business model and innovation framework: a systematic literature review
Open accessAbstract
Local food production has been identified as a key lever for advancing sustainable and resilient food systems, yet its development remains limited in scope. To address this challenge, scholars have increasingly examined local food businesses through a business model (BM) perspective, which provides insights into producers’ value intentions and how they propose, create, deliver, and capture value. However, research on these BM components and their potential for innovation has thus far been fragmented and not comprehensively examined. In response, this study conducts a systematic literature review, selecting 44 articles in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Based on this review, the article proposes a local food BM and innovation framework, that includes (i) a comprehensive overview of BM components in the local food context, (ii) preconditions, approaches and 10 strategies for innovating local food BMs, and (iii) a discussion of the interdependencies and multidimensional relationships between BM components and innovation strategies. Finally, the article outlines future research directions and managerial implications to guide both scholars and practitioners in strengthening local food production and advancing the transition towards sustainable food systems.
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Producers allocate output across direct-to-consumer and direct-to-retail channels, implying different capacities for reaching beyond local consumer bases and accessing larger and more distant markets.
“Studies confirm that producers allocate output across DTC and DTR channels [21,29], implying different capacities for reaching beyond local consumer bases and the ability to access larger and more distant markets.”
From Who Reaches the Consumer? A Network Analysis of Market Reach Factors of Slovakia's Short Food Supply Chains (2026) · cites this paper as [21]
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- Authors
- Fobbe, L., & Hilletofth, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Gävle (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Fobbe, Lea
- Venue
- Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2025-12-05
- Volume
- 9
- ISSN
- 2571-581X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4417024081
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3
- FWCI
- 0.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DiVA (University of Gävle) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Dalarna University College Electronic Archive (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Familjen Kamprads Stiftelse
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Organic Food and Agriculture
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Business Strategies and Innovation
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Urban Agriculture and Sustainability
- Keywords
- local food production, local food businesses, business models, business model innovation, innovation strategy, sustainable food systems, food system resilience, value creation, innovation framework
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