- Alternative Proteins
Consumers are shifting towards alternative protein sources due to both health and environmental concerns, making it one of the most relevant FoodTechnology trends. Cultured meat, plant, edible insects, and mycoprotein-based foods are the primary alternative protein sources at present. Not only are they nutrient-rich, but they also minimize resource use from farm to fork, unlike protein from livestock. They reduce the overall costs as alternative protein sources demand only marginal dietary requirements and health monitoring. Advancements in 3D printing, fermentation, and molecular biology enable startups to develop sustainable alternative protein production solutions. This helps food companies offset the ethical concerns and footprint of industrial meat production.
- Nutraceuticals
There is an increasing concern for the impact of food habits on health and a growing need for essential nutrients for a healthy lifestyle. With the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are focusing more on eating healthy, making nutraceuticals a top emerging trend in the food industry. This is a critical element in driving the demand for nutraceuticals. These include nutritional supplements, functional foods, medicinal food, and gut microbiome enhancement foods such as prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. Scientific research on nutraceuticals suggests that various nutraceuticals provide health benefits against disorders related to oxidative stress such as allergy, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and immune diseases.
- eCommerce
Ecommerce has been in the spotlight in the food & beverages industry for a while now. But, the COVID-19 situation further pushed innovations in food supply chains. Food brands utilize digital platforms to offer on-demand online delivery services and reach customers through direct-to-customer (D2C) distribution models. Also, the safety concerns during the pandemic are promoting the growth of ghost kitchens or cloud kitchens that offer only food takeout and deliveries. Along with D2C, brands are focussing on omnichannel distribution to improve customer experience and improve sales. Moreover, food & beverage eCommerce helps food manufacturers to reach their customers better as well as ensure availability.
- Food Safety & Transparency
As customers now are more thoughtful about the quality of food products they buy, food safety is a significant concern. With smart labels and standalone food grading devices available to customers, it is easy for them to make knowledgeable decisions before choosing food items. Also, advancements in blockchain and real-time food monitoring using the Internet of Things (IoT) devices enable food brands to provide end-to-end traceability. Startups are further advancing food safety and transparency by developing cost-effective and scalable monitoring solutions. This increases the trust between food producers and consumers, positively impacting brand credibility and sales.
- Personalized Nutrition
The rise in nutrition awareness among consumers is driving the demand for personalized nutrition solutions. These are not only limited to nutrigenomics-based diets but also personal preferences such as sugar and gluten-free diet, vegan diet, and clean label food products. Innovations in 3D printing and the adoption of robotics in food assembly lines allow food manufacturers to provide nutrition personalization at scale. Also, at-home blood- and urine-based testing kits enable consumers to determine food habits that best suit their genetic profiles. Furthermore, various tracking devices allow users to track their diet and health conditions to streamline their diet. Startups help food producers allow their customers to dictate their dietary preferences better, thereby improving customer convenience and sales.
- Restaurant Digitization
Restaurant digitization provides enhanced customer experience and enables smooth operation management. Plus, it helps restaurant businesses to gather data points at each stage, enabling data-driven decision-making throughout the operations. Moreover, the disruption of the food & beverage industry due to the COVID-19 is causing a shift in restaurants adopting digital management systems across the supply chain. To reduce direct human-to-human contact, restaurants integrate digital menus, self-service kiosks, and cashless payment methods. Furthermore, chatbots and voice bots are up-and-coming tools in assisting customers in real-time with food orders and any other restaurant-related queries. With customer preference and behavior data, AI-enabled tools offer food recommendations to the customers and develop new recipes.
- Digital Food Management
Big data analytics and AI, along with real-time monitoring, enable digital food management from farm to fork. Startups develop food management solutions to help food producers optimize manufacturing processes and supply chain operations. Moreover, restaurant digitization further optimizes customer behavior analysis and demand forecasting using real-time data acquisition on food products and consumers. Altogether, these solutions help food producers better understand market requirements and predict disruptions, thereby reducing losses and managing surplus food. For example, quantum computing helps startups analyze critical disruptions, such as pandemics, and simulate market fluctuations efficiently. Additionally, customer and market intelligence allows brands to optimize their marketing strategies and effectively reach the relevant audience, boosting sales.
- Food Waste Reduction
A large fraction of the food produced globally is lost or wasted. Therefore, curbing food wastage is critical to addressing food insecurity. Food entrepreneurs and large corporations now focus on reducing food wastage to minimize environmental footprint and save costs. Food monitoring solutions help food producers, restaurants, and smart cities reduce their food waste. Also, there is a paradigm shift from food waste reduction to zero waste approaches in food manufacturing. Food brands are upcycling and reusing food waste to generate value and increase their reach to consumers interested in sustainability. For example, 3D food printing solutions that use food waste to print edible food products curb food waste.
- Robotics
The food & beverage industry incorporates robotics into the entire value chain to advance efficiency, consistency, and scale during food production. Food brands also deploy hospitality robots at hotels and restaurants to improve customer convenience and safety. Robotic chefs and food processing robots further fuel food robotics as a prominent food technology trend. Also, autonomous drones and vehicles are emerging to be efficient substitutes for manual delivery services while saving overall costs. Drones and other food handling robots at warehouses and grocery stores enable fast and cost-effective food tagging and monitoring. In effect, the robotics bloom in the food industry is expediting food production revenue with enhanced speed and precise food quality control.
- 3D Food Printers
3D food printers enable personalized diet and alternative protein-based meals, as well as precise and reproducible nutrition. Even though material extrusion is the most common food printing method, startups are using laser and inkjet food printing, as well as bioprinting methods, to develop food products. These approaches focus on increasing the quality and precision of 3D-printed food products. Since food brands need food products with the exact specifications and quality reproducibility, more research is ongoing in 3D food printing for large-scale food production. Such solutions reduce the complexity and costs of food production. Also, 3D printing allows food brands to offer personalized food products at scale without additional tooling and operational costs.