In recent years, consumers have shifted their focus from foods that are convenient and low-cost, to those that are wholesome and supportive of a healthy lifestyle. With the public increasingly aware of the link between diet and disease, the main tech trends in the food market are reflecting this.
Food Safety and Transparency
Although data on ingredients and fat content have been displayed on food packaging for some years now, the increasingly health-conscious public is hungry for optimum transparency when making their purchases. To that end, suppliers are going to be offering smart labels — RFID tags or QR codes — that consumers can scan with their phones to quickly gain all manner of data about a product. From nutritional benefits to end-to-end traceability, these smart labels will offer consumers a complete resume of each individual product. With blockchain technology providing an efficient and cost-effective way for producers to monitor food production at such scales, the stage is set for increased trust between consumers and producers.
Alternative Proteins
Hand-in-hand with consumers’ health and safety concerns is an increasing shift away from animal protein. Not only is this of nutritional significance, but with the breeding of livestock an environmental concern, the trend toward cultured meat, insect, and mycoprotein-based foods is going to reduce the carbon footprint associated with traditional meat production. While advances in molecular biology and 3D protein printing are enabling a whole host of alt-protein producers to enter the market, regulatory barriers remain, however. Currently, only Singapore has approved cultured meats, with the United States and EU still pending their approval. That said, the alt-protein market is projected to be worth $85B by 2030, with plant-based proteins likely to be the consumer preference.
Nutraceuticals
Derived from natural food sources, nutraceuticals are supplements that cover a wide range of categories from functional foods (which are fortified during the production process) to gut microbiome enhancers such as probiotics and postbiotics. With research suggesting that nutraceuticals help reduce the risk of such conditions as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and a host of autoimmune diseases, nutraceuticals are likely to increase in prominence over the coming years. Although criticisms of these products remain due to their unregulated nature, the perceived health benefits of nutraceuticals currently outweigh any regulatory concerns.
Personalized Nutrition
With no single diet being a perfect solution for everyone, we’re going to see an increased uptake of at-home blood and urine test kits that help identify the diet that best suits an individual’s genetic profile. Whether you’re gluten-intolerant, susceptible to diabetes, or have issues digesting short-chain carbohydrates, food producers will be able to cater to your personal dietary requirements, managing this production at scale with the use of robotics and 3D printing. With tracking devices allowing consumers to monitor their health and tailor their diet accordingly, personalized nutrition will allow diets to become ever more focused and effective.
eCommerce
The one prominent food tech trend that isn’t quite so diet-oriented concerns innovations in food supply chains. With grocery suppliers and food brands connecting directly with consumers via apps, we’re likely to see a sustained increase in direct-to-customer (D2C) distribution. Further to this, safety concerns that arose from the pandemic have resulted in a steady increase in the number of delivery-only restaurants (often referred to as ghost kitchens or cloud kitchens). That said, with food more expensive to produce and ship than ever before, the increased cost of an extra delivery step between the consumer and the supplier may very well impact demand.
eCommerce aside, however, food tech is trending toward a healthier, more conscientious consumer. With climate concerns and low consumer sentiment being major issues in the food industry at the moment, it seems the cheap hamburger is set to make way for a healthier, more conscionable, and more expensive one.
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