At Forward Fooding, we believe in the power of innovation and collaboration to power the food tech revolution and transform our food system. That’s why we’re delighted to have NEOM as our gold sponsor in our latest edition of the FoodTech 500. The future-thinking vision of NEOM is one that resonates with the passion for sustainability we hold fundamental here at Forward Fooding, and which makes up a core component of how the FoodTech 500 is created. We interviewed Andrew Yip, Manager for Digital Technologies at the Future of Food Sector at NEOM, to discover more about their dedication to innovation, their thoughts on the current food system, and why they’re as excited by the FoodTech 500 as we are.

About NEOM: The Story Behind The Innovation

Can you please briefly introduce NEOM for anyone who doesn’t know what you do and tell us a bit about your vision for the future?

NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of the New Future. Being built from the ground up as a living laboratory, NEOM is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea and a place where entrepreneurship will chart the course for this New Future. It will be a destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses, and reinventing environmental conservation.

I’m Dr. Andrew Yip, Manager for Digital Technologies at the Future of Food Sector at NEOM. In my role, I am working to leverage digital technologies as NEOM shape a new food system from scratch. Our food vision is to build a global community where food is at the heart of nourishing the people and the planet, harnessing the power of innovation for a secured food future. Food systems are complex, and NEOM has a unique opportunity to shape a food future, free from legacy. At NEOM, we are converging global talents and expertise to build this future for the world, underpinned by digital and data as NEOM bridges the gap between consumers and producers, bringing people closer to the food they eat.

Where did the idea for developing NEOM first come from? And where do you see NEOM in the next 5 years?

NEOM is the vision of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and is a centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision plan to grow and diversify the Saudi economy and position the country to play a leading role in global development.

NEOM is home to economic sectors that will pioneer prosperity, and the next five years will be the formative base of the future of the food sector. I’m very excited to see things moving towards implementation and can’t wait to get my hands dirty to build the food future that we were only dreaming about a year and a half ago.  Infrastructure, with an early focus on experimental facilities that will inform commercial-scale decisions, has already been kickstarted. NEOM is attracting technology companies, food-focused firms, and innovators to join us in co-creating this future.

Can you tell us a bit more about what you are planning to develop in NEOM when it comes to FoodTech? If so, can you expand a bit on the time of projects you’ve developed/are planning to develop?

Food is not just about growing produce. Going beyond agriculture, we are exploring how NEOM can leverage the natural bounty of the Red Sea, effectively farm valuable fish species for the region (aquaculture), lead the way in alternative food, especially in the protein space (alternative protein), and leverage circular economic principles in designing the biomaterial flow to enhance the food NEOM grows and consumes.

In terms of digital technologies, we have built in-house tools to help assess productivity of current farming operations and performed analytics that inform NEOM’s pilot activities for various new technologies in the areas of agriculture, aquaculture, and pest management. As NEOM continues to grow, we look at our future residents, engaging these consumers, and tailoring food and beverage products while providing world-class nutrition and food experiences.

How do you envision the future of food to be within urban environments of the future? What type of FoodTech innovation do you envision in NEOM?

Food is essential to human experiences. As NEOM champions liveability, the food experience will be integral to our urban environment at NEOM. For example, the Future of Food is developing community gardens and other food-centric spaces that will be fully integrated into the urban environments of NEOM. This way, visitors and residents alike will have more meaningful and direct relationships with food, while experiencing the latest innovations in food in their everyday lives.

About The Future of Food: Where We’re Heading and Where We Want To Be

We’ve discussed a little about NEOM as a company, and the incredible work you’re doing to champion innovation within the global ecosystem. Now, we want to talk a little more specifically and address the future of food. What do you hope we see in the next 50 years in the FoodTech field for sustainability and beyond?

Alternative ingredients and effective management of scarce agricultural inputs, such as water, has been a steady trend, and it is expected to go mainstream in both awareness and adoption. A more transparent and interactive food value chain is also a key theme in the making.

What changes would you like to see within the FoodTech industry? And why do you think it’s important to see the food industry embrace tech?

The difficulty in digitization and adoption is to demonstrate their value on the ground in an immediate manner to those who would need to adopt them. Education and regulatory support are both important in making this penetrate the bottom of the pyramid.

What does the future of Food and FoodTech look like? What are you most excited about in FoodTech’s future?

NEOM is championing a waste-less and circular food economy, and I am incredibly excited at how this model will serve as best practice for other cities to follow in the future.

About the FoodTech 500: NEOM’s Sponsorship and Why It’s Important

What made you interested in becoming the official sponsor for this year’s FoodTech 500?

FoodTech 500 demonstrated the success of their methodology in their prior year’s ranking and has been helpful in helping our team in identifying key opportunities and emerging spaces. I am excited NEOM is sponsoring FoodTech 500 as we move into the implementation phase for our food vision. Global partnerships and discovering hidden rising-stars in the food tech space are core components to successful collaboration.

What role do you think partnerships and collaboration play in creating a more resilient and sustainable food system?

A resilient and sustainable food system can only be built by curating diverse perspectives and expertise, an aim which FoodTech 500 is well-positioned to support.

How do you think the FoodTech 500 feeds into the vision of NEOM?

NEOM is a vision of the New Future. At NEOM, the power of technology and entrepreneurship in the agri-food space is well-recognized. FoodTech 500 provides a platform to celebrate these achievements and diverse innovations across the globe through their ranking methodology. FoodTech 500 signifies our commitment to food and NEOM’s empowerment of innovators in solving the world’s most pressing challenges in food security and sustainability.

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Want to view the FOOD TECH 500?

Download ‘The Official 2020 FoodTech 500’ white paper, to see the full list, learn more about our methodology and how we are crafting the final ranking.

The final ranked list will be officially released on the 15th of February 2020.

Forward Fooding is the world’s first collaborative platform fostering innovation via FoodTech Data Intelligence and Corporate-startup Collaboration.