Looking to track what’s next in food innovation? Start with where it’s being created.
Across Berlin, Chicago, London, and Tokyo, food innovation is emerging in markets, street stalls, neighbourhood cafés, and immigrant-owned shops. These cities are living R&D hubs, where food is adapted, reimagined, and elevated, often with global influence and local ingredients.
Whether you’re a founder, director or team leader, our Food Innovation Travel programs offer first-hand access to the people, places, and ideas pushing boundaries. Booking with A2D means more than seeing what’s trending: it means gaining insight, inspiration, and opportunities to future-proof your brand through immersive, curated and content-rich experiences.
Berlin
The Kebab Capital That Reinvented the Sandwich
Berlin may be a tech hub and creative capital, but it’s also where one of the world’s most popular street foods – the döner kebab – has been quietly reinvented for a new generation. What started as a modest adaptation by Turkish guest workers in the 1970s has become a national obsession, with over 1,000 kebab shops across the city.
At Rüyam Gemüse Kebab in Schöneberg, the queue still snakes down the street for chicken and vegetable kebabs layered with grilled potatoes, pickles, and herb sauces so vibrant they’ve become cult favourites across the city. At Kebap With Attitude, traditional döner is deconstructed and elevated with ingredients like Beelitz asparagus, white truffle, and even strawberry-ginger jam.
This is a microcosm of culinary migration and adaptation: a German-Turkish street food that now reflects sustainability, seasonality, and high-low culinary play.
For food companies, Berlin represents an opportunity to track consumer trends in global fusion, meat alternatives, and fast-casual reinvention. Think R&D inspiration, potential chef collaborations, and a testbed for new formats.
What Berlin Offers:
A market where street food is embracing premiumization
Ideal city for fast-casual concept testing or product sampling
Home to a deep multicultural food narrative, offering rich storytelling opportunities
Chicago
Hyperlocal Ingredients, Hyper-Engaged Chefs
In Chicago, food innovation doesn’t just happen in restaurants: it is grown at the market. From South Side institutions like the 61st Street Market to chef-driven stalls at Green City Market, the city’s top chefs are rewriting menus weekly based on what’s in season, and who’s growing it.
James Beard Award-winning chefs like Erick Williams (Virtue) and up-and-coming talents like Ryan Fakih (Beity) are tapping into a deep-rooted regional food system, working with BIPOC farmers and spotlighting overlooked produce like ramps, heritage melons, and baby corn.
The city’s food scene is now driven by flavor storytelling tied to agriculture, identity, and innovation — a compelling intersection for any food brand looking to ground its products in authenticity, provenance, and sustainability.
What Chicago Offers:
A model for seasonal product development and sourcing
Access to chefs who double as storytellers and community leaders
Strong focus on equity, sustainability, and hyperlocal ecosystems
London
Where Single-Concept Food Shops Go Viral
London’s Soho and Covent Garden districts have become testing grounds for the next big food sensation. Not through grand restaurants, but via ultra-focused, Instagram-ready food concepts. These single-item shops are engineering intense consumer interest and social engagement by narrowing in on one product and doing it exceptionally well.
At Crunch, brioche sandwiches become cult items, whether it’s the Truffle Patty Melt or Japanese-inspired Katsu Sando. Godfrey’s Popcorn elevates the humble snack with flavours like salted pretzel-white chocolate and caramel Biscoff. These spots are not simply a novelty; they’re case studies in brand precision and sensory marketing.
Consumers now expect more than just taste. They want visual appeal, backstory, customizstion, and an experience they can share. For food companies, London’s food scene offers real-time insight into snack trends, experiential dining, and digital-first food brands.
What London Offers:
Perfect city to test limited-time offers, new snack products, or FMCG launches
High density of influencer engagement and social food content
A laboratory for experiential retail and food theatre
Tokyo/Kyoto
Tea Culture Meets Café Innovation
In Japan, culinary tradition is sacred, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t evolving. The rise of the hojicha latte is a perfect example: a roasted green tea turned modern milk-based drink that now rivals matcha in cafés from Tokyo to London to LA.
Spots like Satén in Tokyo or Matchado in London are reimagining tea not just as a beverage, but as a platform for wellness, design, and ritual. At Jenki in Borough Market, tea is served alongside minimal ceramics and whisking workshops. Part café, part experience.
Hojicha’s appeal lies in its complex, nutty flavour and lower caffeine content, making it perfect for consumers seeking functional, calming alternatives to coffee. And with global interest in Japanese flavours and ingredients surging, this tea trend offers an ideal entry point for food and beverage brands.
For food companies, Japan offers a deep cultural culinary experience that increasingly resonates with younger customers looking for authentic, wellness-centered products.
What Tokyo/Kyoto Offers:
Capitalises on the ritual beverage trend (tea, adaptogens, ceremonial drinks)
Opportunity for global product expansion or co-branded café pop-ups
A way to embed culture, wellness, and sensory storytelling into offerings
The Strategic Value of Culinary Travel
For food companies, from ingredient producers and FMCG brands to restaurant groups and hospitality players, these cities are possible idea engines.
They represent what’s next in:
Product development
Cultural storytelling
Sustainability integration
Street food to premium transitions
Retail and experiential formats
By exploring how food is evolving in Berlin, Chicago, London, and Tokyo, businesses can stay closer to cultural relevance, quicker to market insights, and better positioned to lead innovation.
Ready to taste the future?
Whether you’re launching a new concept, rethinking your product strategy, or just looking for fresh inspiration, A2D can take you there. Get in touch and start planning your own Food Innovation Travel experience.
Why Food Innovation Travel Works
If you’re ready to move beyond traditional consulting and endless market reports, it’s time to go direct to the source. A2D’s Food Innovation Travel is designed for business leaders who want to see, taste, and understand what’s shaping the future of food – on the ground, with the people making it happen.
This isn’t theory. It’s experience-led insight you can act on, gained through curated itineraries, private access, and meaningful connections around the world.
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How Food innovation travel Works
Every Food Innovation Travel program combines the best of our expertise in travel, business and entertainment.
BUSINESS
Site Visits
Meetings
Networking
Brainstorming
TRAVEL
Flights
Hotels
Transfers
Private Charter
ENTERTAINMENT
Restaurants
Activities
Concerts
Events
1. Brief
2. Internal Consultation
3. Presentation
4. Travel
About A2D World
With nearly three decades of experience, A2D World is a trusted leader in creating unforgettable travel experiences for both private and corporate clients. Our global network and deep expertise across travel, hospitality, and innovation make us the go-to partner for brands looking to explore new ideas in real time.
Our mission is simple: to provide seamless access to extraordinary people, places, and possibilities, without the limitations of traditional consulting models. Our multilingual team brings a unique mix of industry knowledge, cultural fluency, and creative thinking to every journey we design.
