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Technology such as robotics will be a big game changer this decade
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Monday, 09 January, 2023, 13 : 00 PM [IST]
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Sanjay Vazirani
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The food and beverage industry has shown immense growth post-pandemic. According to a latest news report, the current market size of the industry is Rs 4.5 lakh crore, which is estimated to grow to Rs 6 lakh crore in the next two years. Restaurants and cafes are also increasing day by day which has also contributed to the growth of the F&B industry. Post the pandemic, people are getting more cautious about their health and hence food hygiene and demand for healthy food is on the rise. GenZ and young millennials have taken after healthy eating in a major way, especially in the post-pandemic era. They are constantly in search of healthy options, sourced in a more ethical way causing the least harm to the environment. Innovations in the food industry are inevitable and technology will be a major disruptor in this space. Some of the trends that will shape the F&B industry in this decade are as below:
Alternative Proteins
Proteins are an important part of our daily diet. Traditionally, the only true protein source that is popularly known is the one derived from animal meat. In the last couple of years, post-Covid 19, there has been a huge shift in people’s eating habits. The demand for alternative protein sources, both for health and environmental concerns is on the rise. Cultured meat, lab-grown food, plant-based nutrition, and mycoprotein are the primary alternative protein sources. Food startups that use technology such as 3D printing in the food industry allow the exact amount of nutrients to be inserted into the food to maintain the desired nutritional value. It also allows them to extend and maintain certain tastes to plant-based meats that make it more appealing to the consumer.The use of fermentation and molecular biology helps in developing sustainable alternative protein production solutions offsetting the ethical concerns and concerns about the carbon footprint of industrial meat production.
Nutraceuticals
In the post-Covid era, overall awareness about health and wellness has increased. The focus has now shifted towards eating food that is right, having supplements that help in building immunity and leading a healthy life. There is an increasing concern about the impact of food habits on health and a growing need for essential nutrients for a healthy lifestyle. This has made nutraceuticals a top trend in the food industry and is 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 allergies, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and immune diseases.
Food Safety & Transparency
Food safety has come into prominence in the last few years. Customers are now consciously looking at food ingredients, their origin, and their source besides just the expiry date. Smart labelling or digital labelling is only going to get stronger and smarter in the near future with technological advancements.Technologies such as IoT and Blockchain allow end-to-end traceability of food brands. Consumers prefer brands that are transparent and hence food companies are furthering food safety and transparency by developing cost-effective and scalable monitoring solutions.
Personalised Nutrition
With the rise in health-consciousness, the demand for personalised nutrition is also increasing. People are demanding diets such as sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan diet, diets based on blood groups and nutrigenomics-based diets. The options are innumerable and are only going to increase with research and innovation in this area. Innovations in 3D printing and the adoption of robotics in food assembly lines allow food manufacturers to provide nutrition personalisation at scale.
Restaurant Digitisation
Restaurant digitisation started when restaurants opened up for the first time post the lockdown. It became the need of the hour due to strict rules and regulations that were laid down by the government. To reduce direct human contact, restaurants integrated digital menus, self-service kiosks, and cashless payment methods. Digitisation also helps restaurants to gather data points at each stage, enabling data-driven decision-making throughout operations. Interaction chatbots and voice bots are up-and-coming tools for assisting customers with food orders and other restaurant-related queries. Restaurants use this information to offer food recommendations to their customers and also design new menus.
Technology
Technology such as robotics will be a big game changer for the F&B industry. The use of robotics in the food industry will keep getting more prevalent. This improves their efficiency, productivity, and food quality. For example, robots can be used for jobs that are riskier or time-consuming like carving intricate meats. Robots will also be used in restaurants to cook food before it is served to the guest. This will ensure that food is cooked to the perfect taste and in a timely manner avoiding delays in restaurants. The use of robots also ensures that food that comes to the table is cooked in a completely hygienic manner.
(The author is CEO, Foodlink)
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