Seeds for the Future is the perfect example of how a brand is able to ignite social conversation about an overly discussed topic such as the loss of biodiversity. Communicating it through an interesting content and a careful direction of art as well as audiovisual elements.

This project has the main element of a short documentary film, with more than 25 international film awards, which tells the story of an adventure to recover the flavors of the past.

BBVA, a leading bank concerned about sustainability, faced two major challenges linked to its strategic objective of differentiation in sustainability. On the one hand, the low awareness and lack of engagement on the part of the bank's customers and public opinion and, on the other hand, the lack of legitimacy and differentiation around its activity and commitment (in such an accommodating territory).

Thus, BBVA had an emblematic project with a double objective:

1. Increase reach and engagement, generating a community interested in food and responsible production methods that would get involved and interact with the bank and El Celler de Can Roca in this new territory.

2. To build the bank's positioning in this territory in a robust and long-term manner, generating alliances with other stakeholders with greater influence, relevance and experience in the territory that could endorse its contribution from the financial industry to sustainable development.

At this point, we initiated a strategic reflection to achieve the established objectives, because FAO estimates that within the last century, more than 75% of the seeds of our planet have disappeared, and along with them, food and flavours that only remain in the memory of those who were able to taste them.

This cultivation extinction is not only a risk to our planet but also to our own health, traditions, legacy and culture. Bearing that in mind, we realized that maybe food production and the extinction of some ingredients can be the ultimate tool for a change.

This is the main topic explored in “Seeds for the Future”, a BBVA’s documentary that portrays the journey of the three-Michelin Star chefs leading “El Celler de Can Roca” restaurant.

Considering the imminent extinction of natural resources and agricultural genetic diversity, Seeds for the Future is an idea born to preserve the biodiversity of our planet. A project whose objective was to recover extinct ingredients from seed banks around the world and turn them into the first menu created from disappeared ingredients.

To achieve this, we turned to the memory and recipes of the Roca brothers' mother, who began a gastronomic journey through 3 continents and visited more than 10 seed banks. The result was a menu of 15 dishes with lost flavors, recovered thanks to forgotten ingredients. The main element of the project was a short documentary, which narrates the adventure of Montserrat and her children to recover the flavors of the past.

This is a clear example of how an idea can start a movement among great chefs and connect with consumers to raise awareness about this issue.

Seeds for the Future is a journey that begins with the intention of recovering extinct ingredients from the Roca brothers' mother's recipes, Montse. This project ends up becoming the first menu created from extinct or endangered ingredients thanks to seed banks around the world.

In order to do this, the protagonists spent 18 months touring 3 continents, visiting more than 10 seed banks and contacting experts from organizations such as FAO, CROPTRUST or SLOWFOOD, creating 15 dishes with lost flavors.

Montse's memory and her recollections of flavors intersected with the Roca's spirit of innovation. This duality of new versus old is reflected in the documentary piece, in the locations and photography, showing ultramodern and cold places.

The result, beyond the exploitation of the content and its route still in cinema circuits, is an honest, careful documentary that shows the reality without the slightest possible props, scenery or makeup.

Since its inception, the project has generated great media impact, reaching an audience of more than 670K and 1,540 impacts in national and international media. The content linked to Sustainable Gastronomy has managed to generate a digital community and has generated a wide-ranging conversation. In addition, more than 1,688,054 interactions have been achieved in social media with a 99% percentage of positive sentiment and more than 240,000 views of the documentary.

Seeds for the Future has more than 25 international film awards and more than 15 scientific institutions were involved in the project. In addition, BBVA has also moved up one position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), making it the most sustainable bank in the world.