WHAT IS FOODTECH?
How technology is reshaping our food system
At Forward Fooding we define FoodTech as 'the emerging sector exploring how technology can be leveraged to create efficiency and sustainability in designing, producing, choosing, delivering and enjoying food.'
Technology is today the most sought-after ingredient in our diet, as reflected by the rising investment in innovation projects and companies, like for example those related to FoodTech, by the world agrifood industry. The sector aims to adapt to the changing times and provide for the needs of ever more demanding consumers with healthier and more sustainable food habits.
FoodTech encompasses all of these topics. However, it isn't a natural assumption that the Food and Tech industry would complement one another. Nonetheless, the long-overdue collaboration has created a pioneering industry that ensures we strive towards a more sustainable future.
OUR PROPRIETARY TAXONOMY
To help you navigate the global FoodTech innovation landscape, we developed our proprietary taxonomy that divides the supply chain into 8 macro categories and more than 150 specific technologies
AGTECH
Services and technology products that aim at increasing farming efficiency and sustainability, including the use of field sensors, drones, farm management softwares, water & fertilizer management solutions to name a few. This category also encompasses novel farming techniques such as AgBiotech, vertical faming and aquaculture solutions among others.
NEXT GEN FOOD & DRINKS
Novel solutions and processes that leverage science and technology to create new types of foods and beverages. This category includes alternative proteins such as plant-based, precision fermentation and cellular agriculture, insects-based products, functional food and drinks as well as meal replacements among others.
FOOD PROCESSING
Products or services that leverage novel techniques to process food or to improve food ingredients' functionality. This category includes solutions like 3D printing specifically designed for food, encapsulation technology for particular ingredients or industrial-scale robotic solutions among others.
FOOD DELIVERY
Direct-to-consumer food delivery services on-demand. This category includes grocery delivery, ready-to-eat meals delivery from restaurants, dark kitchens, meal kits delivery, delivery of speciality food and drinks from local producers, delivery technologies, and B2B delivery services among others.
KITCHEN & RESTAURANT TECH
Smart kitchen appliances as well as smart equipment or technologies that help restaurants managing their business more efficiently. This category includes hardwares and softwares to make professional kitchens smarter through IoT (internet-of-things) technology: POS systems, supply chain management tools & ordering platforms, kitchen robotics and other smart food processing appliances among others.
CONSUMER APPS & SERVICES
Apps and services that facilitate access to food and the information behind it. For instance, personalised nutrition and recipe apps, specialised e-commerce platforms, apps that help users to find restaurants based on specific dietary requirements, services that allow to hire professional 'cook-at-home' chefs, or retail technology among others.
FOOD SAFETY & TRACEABILITY
Tech-powered solutions to sanitise food processing equipments, assess products' freshness and prolong their shelf-life. This category also includes products or services for detecting unwanted food ingredients, pathogens and allergens, as well as applications that help tracing the entire supply chain.
SURPLUS & WASTE MANAGEMENT
Products and solutions that help reducing food waste. For instance, consumer-facing apps that redistribute food surplus from restaurants & supermarkets, products or byproducts made of food waste, and optimisation of side-streams. This category also includes sustainable packaging solutions such as plastic alternatives made of biopolymers, or biocoating solutions to extend products shelf-life among others.
FOODTECH EXPLAINED
Unveil the #FoodTechExplained series, an empowering resource that unravels the mysteries of food technology, making it accessible to everyone!
Explaining intricate technologies can be a daunting task. That's precisely why we've crafted a collection of images and blog posts to demystify these complexities and map the key players in the global AgriFoodTech ecosystem who are developing such technologies.
Stay tuned for our upcoming publications and dive into the world of food technology with us!
DO YOU WANT TO NAVIGATE AND UNDERSTAND THE GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM?
The FoodTech Data Navigator is the world's first AgriFoodTech data intelligence platform that helps professional investors, corporate executives and entrepreneurs to discover and track the key AgriFoodTech players of the global ecosystem including startup and scaleup companies, international accelerators and incubators as well as Corporate Venture Capital and institutional investors.
Our state-of-the-art data platform allows to access:
- A global database of 22,000+ ecosystem players
- News & funding information about companies
- Smart analytics tools for benchmarking data
By merging multiple sources of data, we provide insight-rich and up-to-date information about most of the international FoodTech players allowing you to discover the most relevant companies and organizations for your business and build your own customized data intelligence tool.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions or suggestions, we'd love to hear from you!
