Digitalization of the food industry

2024: Food Industry Technology Trends Identified

Experts from the Center for the Development of Financial Technologies (CRFT) of Rosselkhozbank analyzed the main trends in the technological development of the world food sector. Among them are the emergence of new tastes, alternative food and food production technologies, as well as a change in public consumer behavior. This was announced on February 7, 2024 by Rosselkhozbank.

The food industry, not only in Russia, but throughout the world, is inevitably subject to constant changes and technological adaptation against the background of the rapidly growing population of the planet and the accompanying escalating need for the imminent achievement of international food security. In turn, the technological development of the food industry is inextricably linked with the change in the culture of consumption itself: against its background, the internal attitudes and eating habits of consumers change, which, in turn, affect the trajectory of innovation.

Experts from the Center for Financial Technology Development analyzed international food trends, the results of which are presented in the material "Food of the Future" on the platform "RSHB in numbers." The study was conducted on the basis of data from industry unions and analytical agencies, as well as information from open sources.

RSHB analysts have brought out several global food trends in different areas of food production. One of them concerns the field of industry innovation, which focuses mainly on the direction of cultivation of new types of food ("alternative food") and the development of an innovative food production methodology. In particular, we are talking about products grown using regenerative agriculture tools, synthetic meat and fish alternatives, as well as using 3D printers and other tools.

Analysts also note significant changes in the culture of eating in a technological society: increasingly, consumers choose locally produced products, flexitarian diets (an intermediate stage between meat eating and vegetarianism), complex slow-cooked dishes ("slow food"), while paying attention, first of all, to the nutrient composition of food, and not its appearance. Against this background, the popularity of edible packaging is also growing, which reduces environmental pollution and allows more efficient use of production waste.

Renewable and edible ingredients and organic substances such as polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and fats are used to create such films and coatings. For example, starch, collagen, gelatin, gluten, casein, beeswax and fatty acids. The annual growth of the edible packaging market through 2030 will range from 4-6%.

The high-tech segment never stands still, various solutions, trends and phenomena constantly appear, simultaneously reflecting and generating the specifics of their unique time. The food industry is no exception. Due to the rapid growth of the world population, environmental threats, the coronavirus pandemic, which significantly destabilized supply chains, the issue of providing Russians with food is more important than ever. In this situation, technologies come to the rescue that create a resource for creating the country's food security, "said Elena Baturova, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Rosselkhozbank.

See also

• Food industry in Russia