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Food processing equipment evolves into strategic, revenue-protecting investment
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Tuesday, 07 October, 2025, 12 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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As demand for processed and packaged food rises, and as regulators and consumers demand better safety and sustainability, food processing equipment has moved from a line-item capex purchase to a strategic, revenue-protecting investment.
Every minute, factories around the world are turning raw crops into the foods on supermarket shelves. Behind that development are machines, blanchers, slicers, fillers, aseptic packers, separators, and robotic pick-and-place systems that keep food safe, uniform, and profitable. According to the World Bank Group, there were more than 8.2 billion people across the world in 2024, and the number is constantly rising, which, as a result, increases the demand for food. As demand for processed and packaged food rises, food processing equipment has moved from a line-item capex purchase to a strategic, revenue-protecting investment.
The machines that perform all the kitchen work, like slicing, mixing, and packaging, are no longer just a bunch of metals that optimise the work process. They are transcending into intelligent, more connected, and increasingly efficient tools that are transforming the total food industry. The market researchers also projected an immense expansion of the field from being USD 50.8 billion in 2024 to showing all the possibilities to reach a whopping revenue of USD 85 billion. This projection is not a mere imagination; this expansion is driven by multiple forces.
The food system worldwide is noticing an ever-rising food demand from a larger population that lives in urban areas and demands food that has a longer shelf life. The FAO reported that the global crop cultivation reached 9.9 billion tonnes in 2023, around 2% more than in 2022. But this will fail to fulfill the rising food demand worldwide. The FAO and other authorities are continuously pointing to the massive demand for processed food, which increases demand for processing, preservation, and packaging. As the producers invest more in food processing, it helps them in multiple ways, such as by providing better food safety, limiting post-crop yield loss, and widening market reach.
As globalisation increases, a single mistake in food protection can make or break a brand’s reputation. Moreover, governments are also looking into the matter and implementing stricter norms to keep transparency. The FDA’s CORE surveillance and recall activities demonstrate how contamination risks and recalls can cost brands millions and damage trust. Therefore, processors are taking extra efforts towards hygiene equipment and monitoring systems to reduce risks.
The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA) has also shifted from responding to contamination to preventing it from occurring. This mandates equipment designed for easy cleaning, minimal bacterial harborage points, and built-in sanitation monitoring. Equipment that can demonstrably enhance food safety is not a luxury; it's a license to operate. The European Union's "Farm to Fork" Strategy, a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, explicitly encourages investment in innovation to "help scale up new technologies and solutions." Under this program, the EU planned to make 27 concrete actions to transform the EU's food system by 2030. This creates a favorable regulatory and funding environment for equipment that reduces energy consumption, water usage, and food waste.
Due to the rise of social media penetration, consumers are more vigilant about the food they are eating. They ask for a clean-label product, which compels companies to increase transparency in their food processing techniques. Instead, there is a need for flexible equipment that can quickly switch from producing a dairy-based yogurt to a nut-based alternative, or that can employ non-thermal preservation methods like High-Pressure Processing (HPP) to meet clean-label demands while ensuring shelf life. The market is propelled by continuous collaboration between companies and increasing investment in R&D projects. Here is a list of the recent advancements made by the industry giants to meet the transforming consumer demand.
Key
Player
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Recent
Development
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Country
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Investment
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GEA
Group
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Manufactured
a New Food Application & Technology Center (ATC)
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Janesville,
South Central Wisconsin
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Almost
USD 20 million
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JBT
(now JBT-Marel)
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Took
over Marel hf
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Chicago,
U.S.
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Around
EUR 3.5 billion
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Tetra
Pak
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A
joint venture with the Yellow Dreams to develop a recycling plant
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Ittervoort,
the Netherlands
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More
than €3 million for joint plant and nearly €42 million for
additional recycling infrastructure investments
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Alfa
Laval
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Facility
& program investments
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In
places including Sweden, Italy, China, and the US
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-
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Rising energy costs, supply chain volatility, and persistent labor shortages are squeezing profit margins. Updated food processing equipment is designed to address these challenges to reduce waste and increase operational efficiency across the global food industry.
The next generation of food processing equipment is leveraging technologies like IoT, AI, and robotics to create a "smart factory" that would have been unimaginable a decade ago. Key Technology, TOMRA Food, and other key players have come up with optical sorters that use special cameras and AI & machine learning. These systems are competent enough to diagnose an issue and eliminate the defect on their own. The advent of high-pressure processing (HPP) to inactivate pathogens and spoilage microorganisms from the clean-label food items without heat or chemicals is another breakthrough in this industry.
This allows brands that involve Suja Juice and Evolution Fresh to deliver cold-pressed, preservative-free juices with an extended shelf life. The equipment is a direct enabler of the multi-billion-dollar clean-label market. Furthermore, robots are not a thing to be seen in the automotive industry recently; they are widely used in the food processing industry. In September 2025, Chef Robotics and JBT Marel's Proseal partnered to develop a joint solution for meal assembly automation, and the Japanese startup company TechMagic is moving one step forward and planning to develop humanoids for food processing applications. These advancements are writing a big picture of the industry in the coming years.
Food processing equipment is just not time-efficient; they are the primary tool for managing food safety and resilience. It helps a brand to build its reputation, expand its consumer spectrum, and enhance operational efficiency. As the world inclines more towards safety and sustainability, food processing equipment is going to be the future key to having a smart and lucrative food factory.
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