Tag: 2022

Top 10 Food Technology Innovations & Trends for 2022 and Beyond

INNOVATION OUTLOOK OF FOOD TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN 2022

Opening up of the HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, Café) industry after the peak Coronavirus period is benefitting stakeholders in the food technology and innovations industry. Food businesses are increasing efforts to strike the right balance of creativity and science to meet taste palettes of foodies whilst aligning their business to a circular economy. But do food businesses need constant improvement for technological innovations? Let’s find out!

Top 10 food technology trends that are revolutionizing the market landscape can be illustrated as follows:

  1. Food Safety & Transparency

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of food safety and transparency. Blockchain holds promising potentials to enable food safety by tracking how food products travel from farm to the customer’s table.

2. Veganism

Researchers in the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, are developing plant-based cheese that stretches and melts through prolamin technology. Innovations are underway for extrudable fat technology that mimics animal fat in plant-based meats and allows for more authentic fat textures, such as marbling.

3. Alternative Proteins

Following suit for vegan food, alternative protein product manufacturers are drawing innovations in plant-based meat, lab-grown meat and edible insects amongst other items. Microbial based protein is grabbing the attention of consumers since it is derived from the dried cells of micro-organisms such as yeasts, microalgae and fungi.

4. Nutraceuticals

Though nutraceuticals are storming the health and fitness industry, there is a need for ready & near-market platform technologies for processing ingredients like proteins, fibers & probiotics into marketable value-added functional food & nutraceutical products.

5. 3D Food Printers

3D (3 Dimensional) food printing is a breakthrough innovation in the food technology industry and is expected to grab the attention of the Gen Z population that opt for Instagram-friendly pictures of food items.

6. Personalized Nutrition

Mobile apps are emerging as one of the best strategy to facilitate personalized nutrition for individuals in need of weight loss and weight gain. Customized diet plans help individuals of different age group and ethnicity to align with their fitness goals.

7. Food Wastage Reduction

The FoodCloud social enterprise app is gaining recognition for allowing food businesses to upload information about their stock whilst alerting charities to collect and distribute any surplus.

8. Restaurant Digitization

Paperless menus and collection of consumer data are key restaurant digitization trends. Food product merchandizing through eCommerce and hyper-local food delivery apps are propelling growth in the landscape of food technology & innovations in 2022.

9. Robotics

Food serving robots and robots for food manufacturing are bringing a sea change in the food technology industry. Right from agriculture stages to restaurants, grocery stores and home cooking, food robots are being programmed to help with food cultivation & production tasks.

10. Plastic-free & Smart Packaging

Since sustainability has become one of the most overused words in any industry, manufacturers are designing plastic-free and smart packaging solutions that are suitable for high temperature food items. They are innovating in realistic plastic alternatives like bioplastics that are both biodegradable and non-biodegradable.

Above takeaways indicate that the market of food technology & innovations is projected to advance at an astonishing CAGR in 2022 and the upcoming decade.

Trends that are Catalyzing Chemical Innovations

A look at the evolving landscape shaping the chemicals industry

The Coronavirus outbreak is catalyzing innovations in the global chemicals industry. Customers are witnessing the influx of antiviral and antimicrobial materials, machine learning for better testing of chemicals and 3D printing amongst other trends. Manufacturers are increasing efforts to strike the right balance between innovation and the future for a circular economy to boost their credibility credentials.

Circular economy goals

Chemical companies are taking cues from the European Green Deal of 2019 to tackle climate change and environmental degradation. Growing e-waste from smartphones is suggested to be recycled. Since recycling also contributes for a large carbon footprint during production process, smartphone companies are bullish on increasing the lifespan of mobile devices. Repairable and upgradeable smartphones are becoming the new rage in forming a circular economy.

Deep Dive in Chemicals for Oil & Gas Industry

Production chemists are gaining cognizance about key aspects like improved oil recovery and enhanced oil recovery. However, the issue of greenhouse gas emissions is stifling market growth. Since increasing number of chemical companies are keen on adding value to their business operations, they are joining forces with researchers and technicians to adopt a proactive approach at knowing emission inventories, the emission sources and the parameters required to control individual emissions.

Hydrogen economy and the rising customer expectations

Hydrogen technology is gaining prominence in automobiles and the overall mobility sector. Proton exchange membrane cells are paving the way for emission-free vehicles with a long range and the advantage of having a quick refueling. But high implemention cost in the current early stages of fuel cell technology is inhibiting market growth. Thus, companies should maximize production of hydrogen using high temperature solid oxide electrolysis (SOEC), proton exchange membrane electrolysis (PEM) and alkaline electrolysis (AWE) to lower its cost during the coming years.

Increasing number of customers are willing to associate with environmental-conscious companies. Chemical companies are using strategies like improved waste recovery, water management and power to X technologies, where the latter is a method that uses CO2 to convert it into useful chemicals via biomass combustion & waste combustion techniques. Biotechnology holds potentials to produce useful industrial enzymes and remediate environmental pollution.

In all aspects, investment in R&D by partnering with think-tanks and technicians will help chemical companies to build a sustainable future for customers in the value chain.