LOOKING AHEAD: Compliance Culture
Published March 03, 2026
From HORIZONS: The food foresight platform powered by Roquette
Exploring Possible Futures for the Food System
As the future of food continues to shift, HORIZONS is Roquette’s foresight platform designed to help food and nutrition businesses turn uncertainty into actionable strategies. It is based on four key steps: scanning, trend analysis, scenario planning, and strategic recommendations. Connecting trend analysis to the creation of realistic future visions, while maintaining a balance between complexity and practicality.
In this platform, scenarios provide a powerful framework for anticipating change, built around two critical and uncertain dimensions.
The first axis centers on consumer behavior—whether innovation is received reactively or proactively. And the second axis distinguishes between regulation-led and market-driven approaches.
Together, these axes define the industry’s future, shaping 4 distinct scenarios for strategic insight.
Scenario Spotlight: Compliance Culture
- What if food choices were driven by strict rules, not appetites?...could you still connect with consumers?
- What if product launches depended more on paperwork than on attractiveness? …how would you compete?
Explore one of our four HORIZONS scenarios: Compliance Culture.
By 2035, the food system is shaped by rigorous regulations and reactive consumer choices, ushering in an era where adherence to protocol eclipses innovation: Compliance Culture.
It’s a world where precision, safety checks, and regulatory alignment are top priority, while variety and surprise are left behind.
Key Features of Compliance Culture
Consumer Engagement: Consumers comply with regulations but remain skeptical, adopting changes mandated by governments rather than through personal motivation.
Food Innovation: Progress is driven by strict regulations, focusing on safety, health, and sustainability, but lacks consumer enthusiasm.
Market Dynamics: The market adapts slowly, driven by compliance checklists rather than competitive agility. Public-Private
Partnerships: Exist but lack dynamism, struggling to resonate culturally and widen adoption gaps.
Regulatory Scope: Regulations extend beyond food, encompassing broader climate and data standards, but face public skepticism.
Why use scenarios?
Scenarios offer a structured framework for the food industry and its stakeholders to anticipate key drivers of change and uncertainty. By examining future visions, organizations can adopt a forward-thinking approach to innovation. Scenarios are more than predictions—they’re tools for action.