Is your next big bet on food by design?
Increasing challenges in food supply and demand, as well as significant shifts in consumer preferences from mass-produced brands to more personalized, healthier sustainable food products have resulted in a growing interest in agricultural and food technology, both from businesses and governments.
For instance, Singapore recently announced the launch of the Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation, aimed at spearheading the country’s push into food research. The new institute is part of broader efforts to establish Singapore as a global leader in developing and commercializing agri-food innovation and technology solutions.
Agri-food innovation or food-by-design transformation was one of the key themes discussed at the recent EY Future of Food event in Singapore, attended by over 30 senior executives from the food and beverage sector across Southeast Asia. Product design, supply chain and capital strategies were other key themes of the day.
Over the course of insightful debate, there was consensus that five trends are opening new opportunities in food production for businesses to harness: personalization, sustainability, traceability, productivity, and health and wellbeing.
Participants shared that they can already see innovators exploring ways to use new technology to meet these changing expectations and, in the process, disrupt the US$5 trillion global food industry like never before.
We discussed examples of companies offering personalized meals tailored to consumer DNA, preferences and goals using in-store smart devices or apps; and online marketplaces that connect consumers to home-based chefs selling food prepared in their kitchens. Taking personalization to new heights, we also examined how consumers can now get tailored nutrient capsules for teas and smoothies as well as fortified snacks for an annual fee.
In addition to personalization, resource-efficient, sustainable options are gaining impetus. These include products based on plant protein; cost-efficient, non-GMO meat directly from animal cells without the need to raise or harvest animals; and indoor vertical hydroponics gardens that grow pesticide-free herbs, fruits, and greens all year.
That the food and beverage sector is not escaping the calls for transparency that have already impacted other sectors did not go unnoticed by the crowd. With consumers expecting to be able to follow and trace any food product from farm to fork, food transparency is becoming the new norm. Technology is once again making these expectations a reality.
For example, the EY OpsChain blockchain solution is currently being used to develop an e-commerce blockchain platform that allows wine producers, distributors, logistics providers and insurance operators to trace the origin, quality and authenticity of new and vintage wines.
Consumers are also re-setting their expectations when it comes to local and sustainably sourced food. In addition to the newly established Institute, Singapore is responding to these calls from local consumers by trying to become more self-reliant when it comes to food production. Its agri-food industry is already leveraging R&D and adopting new resilient and sustainable technologies. According to the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority, the amount of vegetables grown locally has jumped from 9,300 tonnes in 2010 to 12,200 in 2019.
By 2050, we will need four earths to sustain us, according to the World Resources Institute. At the same time, every year, a third of the food produced globally gets lost or wasted. The undeniable need to reinvent farming and processing methods through robots and automation and to invest in bright examples of food startups turning food waste into sustainable snacks, was one of the key takeaways.
Food-by-design will reshape what and how we eat, affecting global supply chains, economies and human health. Now is the time for companies to assess the role they can play in this transformation and seize the potential upsides.
