Ellie ThompsonConsumer satisfaction is the name of the game in today’s food industry. With customers wanting their food to be made faster, fresher, and healthier, manufacturers have been forced to adapt to their needs and look towards making technological improvements to their production process more than ever before.
In this environment, it’s the survival of the fittest. Those who don’t adapt are left behind, while those who do excel and rake in tremendous profits. Without further ado, here are a couple of ways that recent technological innovations have changed the food industry.
1. Refrigeration Services
While refrigerated transport has been around for a long time, the service has taken on a key role in the food industry in recent times. Younger generations are slowly moving away from mass-produced foods and are willing to spend a premium on freshly-produced goods. Thus, the vehicle in which these goods are carried from Point A to Point B becomes important as well. Cold storage containers for sale are important for any business that deals with food or pharmaceuticals since these boxes are ideal for maintaining the quality of the product.
Refrigerated transport is an excellent resource for transferring products such as meat, dairy products, medicine, and other perishable goods. The service makes shipping premium products that need temperature modulation possible. Whether you’re a customer, small business owner, or supermarket manager, refrigerated trucks will keep goods that require ideal conditions fresh.
2. Packaging and Preservation Techniques
Recently, grocery store chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have exploded in popularity due to their emphasis on selling organic and all-natural products in eco-friendly packaging. To compete, most companies can no longer sell their goods in simple plastic packaging and throw in potentially harmful artificial preservatives to make them last.
As a result, various manufacturers have resorted to using technology and robotics to find greener alternatives to plastic, even stumbling upon solutions such as edible and bacteria-fighting packaging. Meanwhile, natural alternatives such as rosemary extract are being found to be excellent preservatives.
3. The Amazonization of the Industry
The extraordinary success Amazon has had ever since the beginning of this century has forced companies to make adaptations to their business models, including prioritizing the E-commerce sector. Online commerce is the most customer-centric model globally, as one can have practically anything delivered within two business days with zero questions asked.
Seemingly every major sector within the food industry has adapted to this model today. Online food ordering apps such as UberEats and DoorDash expand the restaurant sector’s profits by delivering food to a customer’s doorstep with a few clicks. Retail grocery stores such as Walmart and Target have their own mobile apps in which you can have your groceries delivered to you at any time. Customer convenience has become paramount.
4. Provision of Sustainable Alternatives
Studies expect Earth to be the home of nearly ten billion humans by 2050. Food manufacturers are resorting to finding healthier, more sustainable alternatives for consumers to support this anticipated large population.
The domestication of animals and cattle farming – at this rate – cannot last forever due to the globe’s ballooning population. Younger generations are already making the switch toward plant-based diets. And now, companies are being forced to invest more resources in finding plant-based alternatives to staple meat cuts and dishes.
Brands like Impossible Meat are a prime example of this school of thinking. Even bigger establishments such as Burger King are making strides into this sector with their Impossible Whopper.
The Continued Innovations of the Food Industry
The food industry is an ever-growing sector thanks to the constant stream of technological innovations that are being created. With an emphasis on product freshness, sustainability, consumer convenience, and the provision of healthier alternatives, manufacturers are finding new ways to increase their profit margins yearly.
