Mike Lee

Mike is the author and designer of Mise: On the Future of Food, a book of scenarios depicting what our food system could look like in the future.

The four scenarios in Mise (pronounced “meez”), which range from the year 2033 to 2067, were created to help people better understand the potential long-term impact of today’s major current events on how we make and eat food in the coming decades. 

Mike is the principal futurist of The Future Market, a consultancy that explores what our food system could look like in the next 5 to 50 years. The Future Market works with established food and agriculture companies, leveraging Mike’s expertise, to research and envision the future of food and develop strategies that will empower them to flourish in that future.

Through The Future Market and his previous company, Alpha Food Labs, Mike has created future scenarios and innovation strategies for food companies such as Danone, Mars, Campbell’s, Simple Mills, King Arthur Flour, Beef+Lamb New Zealand, The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and more. Prior to The Future Market and Alpha Food Labs, Mike held roles leading product development initiatives on the Innovation & New Ventures team at Chobani.

He is a frequent global speaker on the future of food. He has been featured in many conferences and publications such as The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, Fast Company, The New York Times, Natural Products Expo East/West, The Summer/Winter Fancy Food Shows, Groceryshop, EvokeAg, and more. Mike regularly writes about innovation and the future of food at thefuturemarket.substack.com.

Mike is the grandson and son of Chinese American restaurant owners in Metro Detroit, where he resides, and was raised in those kitchens and dining rooms. The atmosphere of innovation in Detroit, from his family’s food ventures to the auto industry’s concept cars were crucial in shaping his point of view on innovation. Mike has a business degree from the University of Michigan and design from the Parsons School of Design.