Mission and money: A scoping review of social enterprise business models as a solution to sustaining health-promoting food and nutrition-based initiatives

Leila I Fathi; Jacqueline Walker; Clare Dix; Josephine Previte; Dilara Olgacher; Jayne Woodside; Helen Truby

doi:10.1186/s12889-025-24891-7

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Mission and money: A scoping review of social enterprise business models as a solution to sustaining health-promoting food and nutrition-based initiatives

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Mission and money: A scoping review of social enterprise business models as a solution to sustaining health-promoting food and nutrition-based initiatives

Leila I Fathi, Jacqueline Walker, Clare Dix, Josephine Previte, Dilara Olgacher, Jayne Woodside and Helen Truby

BMC Public Health, Vol.25, pp.1-21

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24891-7

PMCID: PMC12577109

PMID: 41174565

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Abstract

Nutrition

Health promotion

Public health nutrition

Entrepreneurship

Social enterprise

Community

Food

Background Most food and nutrition-based interventions are abandoned within two years of implementation due to a lack of secure long-term funding and political volatilities. Social enterprise structures are a potential solution to this problem due to their ability to generate profit and impact social outcomes. Therefore, this scoping review sought to explore what social enterprise models exist that address food and nutrition-based outcomes, and the factors that contribute to their long-term financial and operational sustainability. Methods Scoping review methodology was utilised, with cross-checking currency of the social enterprise via Google (July, 2024). Eight search engines were explored, generating 2502 publications. Twenty-eight (20 case studies, 1 cross-sectional study, 6 evaluations and 1 quasi-experimental) studies were entered into a narrative synthesis. Results Eight different operational models from 13 countries were identified: social cooperative; employment; targeted customer service; beneficiary service; market intermediary; social partnership; trading business; and social business. The most utilised model was the targeted customer service. The average duration of the enterprises was 16.5 years, showcasing that sustainable models that continue to deliver on social impact can have longevity. Conclusions Social enterprises that adopt a business model from the outset are capable of generating income, whilst offering solutions to delivering on and sustaining food or nutrition-based outcomes within communities. There are several business models, though different, that have proven to have longevity. These models enable profit and social purpose to co-exist, benefiting the communities they serve.

Details

Title: Mission and money: A scoping review of social enterprise business models as a solution to sustaining health-promoting food and nutrition-based initiatives
Authors: Leila I Fathi - The University of Queensland
Jacqueline Walker - The University of Queensland
Clare Dix - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Nutrition & Dietetics
Josephine Previte - The University of Queensland
Dilara Olgacher - Queen's University Belfast
Jayne Woodside (Corresponding Author) - Queen's University Belfast
Helen Truby - The University of Queensland
Publication details: BMC Public Health, Vol.25, pp.1-21
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd.
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-24891-7
ISSN: 1471-2458
PMID: 41174565; PMC12577109
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
Grant note: The first author (Leila Fathi) would like to acknowledge the financial contribution of the King & Amy O’Malley Trust, and the University of Queensland and Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship for the author’s Ph.D.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Nutrition & Dietetics
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991181427802621
Output Type: Journal article

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