Innovation in Food Technology

India’s food landscape is shifting fast. The recently released Godrej Food Trends Report 2026, built on inputs from hundreds of industry experts, lays out clear trends that F&B brands can’t afford to ignore. From an F&B perspective, here’s what brands need to internalise - + Savoury protein is the next big format → Sweet protein has hit fatigue. The pivot is toward namkeen - bhel bars, high-protein kebabs, street-food-flavoured protein snacks. Backed by new manufacturing tech, this category is primed to scale. + Fibre is the new protein → ‘Fibremaxxing’ is going mainstream. Gut-health awareness, GLP-1 diet influence, anti-UPF sentiment - all pushing in the same direction. Fibre-fortified snacks and RTE products have a real runway. + Snacking needs a mood brief, not just a taste brief → Mindful indulgence is what drives the next generation of snack loyalty, like nostalgic flavours, mood-enhancing cues. + Beverages → Savoury-forward cocktails - fat-washed, fermented, umami-rich - are redefining the bar occasion. For beverage brands, the brief is shifting. Complexity and cultural storytelling over sweetness and high ABV. + Q-commerce is reshaping home cooking → ‘Assisted cooking’ - quality base preps + consumer-finished dishes - is a product innovation white space that didn’t exist three years ago. + Flavour boldness is non-negotiable → India isn’t chasing global fads. It’s doubling down on teekha-chatpata roots. Innovation that plays it safe on flavour will get ignored. + Sweets & desserts → Mithai is going Indo-modern - texture mashups, western influences, multi-sensory indulgence. The traditional sweet is being reinvented. + Provenance sells → GI tagging, micro-region storytelling, and women-led agri sourcing are becoming premium brand assets - not just CSR footnotes. In today’s world, consumer signals - expressed and otherwise - are multiplying fast. Brands that read them early and build them into innovation pipelines won’t just keep up. They’ll own the shelf. #trends

There is a quiet crisis building inside India’s food ecosystem, and it is not being talked about enough. Over the last few weeks, I have been in conversations with multiple restaurant owners and cloud kitchen operators across cities. Different cuisines, different scales, different geographies. But the underlying story is the same. The pressure is no longer coming from one direction. It is coming from everywhere at once. The economics were already tight. Platforms continue to charge commissions in the range of 20 to 30 percent per order. On top of that, visibility is no longer organic, so restaurants are forced to spend on ads and discounts just to stay relevant. At the same time, GST of 5 percent without input credit further reduces actual margins. What looks like a growing business from the outside is often operating on extremely thin or negative margins on the inside. Now add another layer to this situation. Commercial gas, which is the most basic requirement for any kitchen, has become difficult to access consistently. Supply disruptions and availability issues are being reported by multiple operators. When your entire operation depends on cooking at scale, even a short disruption creates immediate revenue loss. To cope with this, many small entrepreneurs have started experimenting with temporary alternatives like bhattis or makeshift cooking setups. These are not long-term solutions. They are survival tactics. They come with safety risks, inconsistency in output, and additional operational challenges. And this is where the situation takes a more serious turn. Instead of support during a period of stress, there are increasing reports of informal payments being demanded at the local level. In several cases, operators are being asked to pay around five thousand rupees just to continue running these temporary setups without interruption from MCDs. At a time when margins are already under pressure, this is not just an added cost. It is a signal of how vulnerable the smallest players in the ecosystem are. Larger brands can absorb shocks. They have stronger supply chains, better negotiation power, and more operational buffers. Small food entrepreneurs do not have that luxury. If we step back and look at the broader structure, the picture becomes clearer. Platform commissions, rising marketing spends, increasing input costs, supply uncertainty in essentials like gas, and now informal leakages at the ground level. Each layer adds pressure. Together, they create a system where survival itself becomes the biggest challenge. The Indian food services market is estimated to be worth over 4 lakh crore rupees and employs millions of people directly and indirectly. A significant portion of this ecosystem is driven by small and mid-sized operators who bring diversity, innovation, and local flavor to the industry. When they struggle, the impact is not isolated. It affects livelihoods, quality, and the overall health of the market.

The future of our food system sustainability is being developed at the convergence of biology, human innovation, artificial intelligence - and hundreds of millions of bugs! Nature's most efficient protein factories have been hiding in plain sight. While we've been debating sustainable food futures, black soldier flies have been quietly demonstrating how to create abundance from what we've overlooked. I visited the Innovafeed facility in Nesle, France with Mathilde Barge to explore how AI is helping reshape our core food systems. Innovafeed has built something remarkable: a system where these flies - with metabolism 25x more efficient than cattle - transform agricultural by-products into high-quality protein and oils. These ingredients replace resource-intensive fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture and animal feed, addressing our protein challenge without requiring additional farmland, driving deforestation, or depleting oceans. AI systems continuously analyze millions of data points across their facility, predicting growth patterns and optimizing conditions in real-time. It's running today and producing nutrition with 80% less carbon impact than conventional methods. When we talk about sustainability, we often frame it as a sacrifice. This approach reveals the opposite: abundance through smarter systems. Using technology not to extract more from our world, but to create regenerative loops where outputs become inputs. And it's proof that transformative AI doesn't only emerge from Silicon Valley, but often in unexpected sectors like agriculture where practical problems demand inventive solutions. The technologies pioneered in these unlikely places - where insects meet algorithms - will ultimately reshape how we feed our planet. The future belongs to those who see possibility in what others have overlooked. My gratitude to CEO Clément Ray for the warm welcome at the factory and to Nadège AUDIFFREN and Enzo Ballestra, for making this insightful visit possible! #CircularEconomy #FoodSystems #SustainableInnovation #AI #FutureFarming The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation

73% of restaurant brands are investing in AI. Only 9% say it's making a meaningful difference. That gap isn't a technology problem. It's an execution problem. I sat down with Jenifer Kern, CMO at Qu, to go deep on their 7th annual State of Digital Report, and the headline is clear: the industry has moved from "should we do this?" to "why isn't this working yet?" Here's what stood out to me: Digital is no longer a channel. It's core infrastructure. 57% of brands now generate over 25% of total sales digitally. QSRs just made their biggest jump yet. And with that scale comes a new set of problems nobody fully planned for. Fragmentation is the silent killer. Guest satisfaction on digital orders runs up to 10 points lower than in-store. Not because the food is different. Because the experience spans channels, systems, and data silos. Tech spend is actually going up, despite margin pressure. That surprised me. But it makes sense. Brands that dumped money into experiments now need those experiments to work. Cutting tech spend would just make the ROI problem worse. The smartest question right now isn't "what AI should we buy?" It's "what outcome are we trying to drive, and does our data infrastructure support it?" The year of serving smarter doesn't start with technology. It starts with getting your foundation right. Full episode and report breakdown in the comments.

What is the potential of technology to meaningfully reduce fresh food waste, and in doing so significantly alter a grocery retailer’s P&L? Heading into Groceryshop later this month the challenge of escalating shrink is top of many minds. Much focus is understandably on increasing theft and the impacts of organized crime on retailers and their employees. The largest source of loss for many grocery retailers, though, remains fresh food wastage. Fresh food waste can cost up to 3% of total turnover for some grocers, therefore significant reductions here have the potential to transform the economics of grocery stores that run on such wafer-thin margins. And there’s a greater opportunity, as between 40-60% of fresh produce grown globally is wasted. There’s a clear sustainability and moral imperative to do better. Around the world we’re observing a range of technologies emerging that seek to reduce fresh food waste, and which fall into four broad buckets: 1. Dynamic Pricing tools that utilize AI to automate the mark-down price to ensure products sell out before date expiry, like Ahold Delhaize's Albert Heijn chain is trialing in the Netherlands 2. Produce coatings or protective stickers, that utilize natural antimicrobial compounds to protect against disease and extend shelf life, like Apeel, AgroSustain SA or Stixfresh 3. Ordering or inventory management tools powered by AI that optimize order quantities, manage in-store positions or empower store teams to efficiently allocate rescue channels, such as those from Picadeli, Afresh or Smartway.AI 4. Hydroponic vertical farms, located in-store to dramatically shorten the supply chain and respond quickly to changing demand, like SweGreen currently in ICA Gruppen Sweden and now expanding in EDEKA ZENTRALE Stiftung & Co. KG supermarkets in Germany I’d love to hear your thoughts and other solutions you’re seeing or trialing. Let's chat at Groceryshop!

Whole Foods Market: food trends follow values, not fads Whole Foods Market – the US-based natural and organic retail chain (part of Amazon, over 500 stores, ~$22B revenue) – just released its annual food trend forecast for 2026: The Next Big Things. --> https://lnkd.in/edC5Mvxn Curated by the Whole Foods Trends Council, the report reveals how evolving consumer values around health, sustainability, and lifestyle are reshaping the food landscape. Here’s what stands out: 🔹 Tallow Takeover Animal fats like tallow are making a return, as consumers move away from industrial seed oils and revisit traditional fats. → Indicates a broader shift from plant-based purity to a more “ancestral” approach to eating. 🔹 Focus on Fiber Fiber is stepping into the spotlight, especially for gut health, satiety, and overall wellness. → Reflects how microbiome health is entering mainstream nutrition awareness. 🔹 Year of the Female Farmer In line with the UN’s declaration of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, there's growing recognition of women-led agricultural ventures. → Puts diversity and inclusion at the center of food production. 🔹 Kitchen Couture Design-forward packaging is transforming everyday staples into display-worthy kitchen objects. → Highlights the increasing role of branding, aesthetics, and self-expression in food purchasing decisions. 🔹 Freezer Fine Dining Chef-crafted frozen meals with global inspiration and clean labels are redefining the frozen aisle. → Convenience is no longer at odds with quality or transparency. 🔹 Very Vinegar Vinegar – especially small-batch and drinkable formats – is gaining traction for both flavor and function. → A signal of fermentation culture and acidity becoming wellness tools. 🔹 Sweet, but Make It Mindful Natural sweeteners, fruit-based desserts, and smaller portions are reshaping indulgence. → It’s not about restriction, but about intentional choices. 🔹 Instant Reimagined Premium instant foods and beverages – from lattes to meals – now deliver on taste, nutrition, and clean ingredients. → A rising category for time-poor, quality-conscious consumers. Whole Foods Market remains a reliable indicator of conscious consumption trends in the North American food ecosystem – often with global ripple effects. Europe here we come ;-) #foodtrends #retailinnovation #consumerbehavior #fmcg #foodtech #ecommerce #retailstrategy #omnichannel #healthyfood #naturalproducts #packagingdesign #conveniencefood #sustainability #agriculture #femaleempowerment #nutritiontrends #futureoffood #cleanlabel #microbiome #fermentation #guthealth #sweeteners #frozenfood #instantramen #globalcuisine #wellnessindustry #us #northamerica #wholefoods #amazon #foodsystem

It does not have to be big factory farms versus small organic ones. There is another way. AI robots fill in for weed killers and farm hands. A solar-powered, AI-driven robot autonomously weeds fields without chemicals. It offers a sustainable solution to labour shortages and herbicide resistance. Designed by former Tesla engineer Richard Wurden, the robot mimics human weeding and runs on sunlight. The robot's AI system takes in data from onboard cameras, allowing it to follow crop rows and identify weeds. Farms are struggling: → Chemical resistance is growing Herbicide-resistant weeds are now found in 101 crops across 72 countries. → Labor shortages are real The share of U.S. farmers reporting labor shortages jumped from 14% in 2014 to 53% during the pandemic—making automation not just a luxury, but a necessity. But here's how AI and robotics can change that: → AI that thinks like a farmer → Powered by pure sunlight → 97% accuracy in weed removal → Zero chemical footprint The Real Impact: → 96% less chemicals needed → Healthier soil microbiome → Stronger crop yields → Sustainable farming at scale BUT one big challenges remains. Commercial entry-level robots often cost around $13,000–$20,000 each. Innovation with new modular robots are being developed for as little as $2,500 to make technology accessible to small and mid-sized farms. While humankind has never before produced as much food, feed and other agricultural produce on this planet, the number of people going to bed hungry tonight has also never been as high as today. Food production is an important contributor to climate change and at the same time is acutely threatened by its consequences.  Follow me Dr. Martha Boeckenfeld for more on Tech impacting our Future. ♻️ Repost to learn about organic farming with technology. #AgTech #Sustainability #FutureOfFood

Billions are flowing into food tech — but are we backing the right problems? DigitalFoodLab just dropped their excellent 2024 breakdown of investment trends (link to download the report in the comments) No surprises at the top: Delivery, AgTech, and Alt Proteins are still pulling in most of the money. Clear stories, high visibility and consumer buzz. But some things that caught my eye: ➡️ Packaging is finally climbing the agenda — lots of deal activity, but capital is still lagging behind. ➡️ Food waste management is way behind — low deal flow, low investment, despite being one of the biggest climate and cost levers we have. ➡️ And animal feed? Last year’s favourite, this year’s ghost. A reminder that hype doesn’t always lead to impact. Alt proteins continue to dominate. But the space is fragmenting fast. Lots of startups, thin differentiation, not enough scale. This isn’t about picking winners. It’s about asking better questions. Are we investing in what’s easiest to pitch — or what’s hardest to fix? If we’re serious about food system transformation, we need to back the unglamorous stuff too: waste, packaging, infrastructure. The stuff that sits upstream. The stuff that actually shifts the system. What would it take to move capital in that direction?

From an outsider’s perspective, the state of the AgTech and FoodTech sectors does not look much different halfway through 2025 than it did at the end of 2024, with financing and M&A activity continuing to decline. However, I think it would be a mistake to believe that nothing has changed, especially with the onset of the second Trump Administration and its implementation of many new policies and regulatory changes. The agriculture and food sectors have been impacted in very different ways by these policy initiatives, with immigration and trade policies causing significant disruptions to agriculture leading to price increases, whereas policies focusing on Make America Heathy Again are creating challenges for many established food companies and opportunities for new entrants. Additionally, there is real technological advancement happening in certain areas (AI, automation, computer vision, digitization, functional medicine, natural ingredients, and robotics) with the ability to drive more-rapid product adoption.   Many observers remain bearish about the AgTech and FoodTech sectors, which is a reasonable conclusion based on most companies’ inability to validate technology, scale up production, achieve commercial traction, and become profitable. Despite these serious challenges, I think there are some reasons for optimism in the short term and higher confidence in the long term, including those technologies that have been optimized for success, at the same time that consumers are dealing with rising food prices, which are the result of not only increasing production costs caused by labor shortages following an immigration crackdown, but also rising tariffs on imported products. Although I still have many short-term concerns for AgTech & FoodTech companies, I do believe that we are seeing the beginning of some green shoots this year that will lead to improved financing and M&A markets in 2026 and 2027. https://lnkd.in/g-Msag8 #agtech, #foodtech, #investment, #M&A EcoTech Capital Cy Obert Jessica Oliveira Lee AgTech Alchemy

ThrillingTechTrends #13 - Carbon Intelligence ♻️ is redefining what’s possible. Measuring freshness is great. But measuring freshness with impact is even greater: Using a combination of real-time IoT sensor data, AI-based route prediction, and lifecycle-based emission models, it’s becoming possible to measure and manage CO₂ output across every leg of the fresh supply chain — from pre-cooling and storage to multimodal transport and last-mile delivery. Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes: ✅ Telematics & Sensor Fusion: Temperature, humidity, energy consumption, and fuel data are aggregated via connected devices on trucks, containers, and warehouses. ✅ Edge Analytics: Emission data is processed on the move to detect anomalies, idle times, and inefficient cooling cycles — enabling instant optimization. ✅ AI-Driven Carbon Forecasting: Predictive models simulate carbon impact under different routing, timing, and packaging scenarios to support low-emission decisions in real time. ✅ Dynamic CO₂ Attribution: Each product unit can be assigned a precise carbon footprint based on actual transport conditions, not static averages — enabling true product-level transparency. The result? A smarter cold chain that keeps food fresh and carbon footprints low. Decarbonizing fresh logistics is no longer an ambition — it’s getting reality & will make our world better. 🌎 #CarbonIntelligence #FreshLogistics #ColdChainTech #SupplyChainInnovation #IoT #SustainableLogistics #AIinLogistics #GreenTech