The two dominating trends
Technology and sustainability are the key forces transforming the food industry in terms of production, distribution, and consumption.
The industry’s demand for greater efficiency, innovation, and transparency drives the increasing implementation of automation and advanced technologies such as AI, blockchain, and IoT applications. Consequently, ‘dark factories’ also known as ‘lights-out factories’, which operate with minimal or no human intervention, are becoming more common.
The EU legislation known as The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) ensures dedication to sustainability by establishing it as a key performance indicator (KPI) for businesses. In other words, companies must now showcase their commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and include in their annual reports which actions have been taken to uphold this commitment.
These implementations not only streamline production processes but also offer consumers valuable insights into the entire journey from farm to fork, hence meeting the demand for more transparency.
Retailer preferences
Retailers are becoming more stringent when selecting suppliers and for good reasons. The food industry is adopting higher food safety standards due to increasing consumer demand for higher-quality food products and tighter national laws and regulations.
For example, The BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard, which provides a framework for ensuring product safety, legality, and quality, is a highly regarded certification that retailers often require food producers to maintain.
Keeping this in mind, automating the inspection process using vision technology, thereby fully automating production and packaging lines, can be a key factor in becoming a preferred supplier to retailers. Ensured product quality protects a retailer’s brand and sales, therefore food producers that offer reliable automated processes for preventing non-compliant products from reaching supermarket shelves are very appealing to retailers.
