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Robotics, AI and the future of food: ‘The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that robots were built to address’ By Katy Askew COVID-19 has accelerated interest in the role that automation, robotics and data can play in food and agricultural production. We speak to industry leaders to learn about the latest developments.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a stress on food producers across the supply chain. From growers, to manufacturers and caterers, companies have been confronted with the need to implement social distancing measures and have faced workforce shortages as employees fall sick or self-isolate. In some sectors, notably meat packing and sections of the agricultural sector, outbreaks linked to production facilities have forced shutdowns.
Olam Cocoa is launching a new premium cocoa business, Twenty Degrees. By giving remote cocoa producers market access the company will be able to offer ‘artisanal products with a unique flavour and story’, business head Leopold Palmer told FoodNavigator.
The seismic events of 2020 have shaped consumer behaviours and expectations. The COVID-19 pandemic has reached every part of our lives – and the flavours we crave are no exception. Here’s our round-up of the flavour trends we can expect to tickle out taste buds in 2021.
Retail predictions 2021: Experts talk bricks-and-mortar and the ‘jet propulsion’ of e-commerce What key challenges are in store for supermarket retailers as we move into 2021? Will bricks-and-mortar continue to play an important role? Do experts predict e-commerce to continue its unprecedented boom?
2020 certainly challenged the retail sector. Less than 12 months ago, supermarkets were struggling to keep their shelves full as shoppers stockpiled staple products
en masse.
As the coronavirus pandemic swept Europe, the sector was also forced to implement social distancing procedures – with many retailers altering their in-store infrastructure to protect employees and customers alike.
Challenges have not abated, suggest retail experts, who predict supermarkets will be forced to deal with some of the old – and indeed, some new – obstacles in 2021.
Plant-based in Russia: Region’s ‘first’ incubator for animal-free food tech prepares to launch The newly formed Association of Alternative Food Producers (AAFPP) is preparing to welcome its first cohort of start-ups in the plant-based space. The incubator is an industry first for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), say its founders.
This year, AAFPP will open what it claims is the first Russian and CIS start-up incubator for food companies that produce or develop alternatives to food of animal origin.
Start-ups eligible for the programme fall into a number of set categories. Makers of plant-based alternatives to foods of animal origin (meat, fish, poultry, dairy, desserts etc.); cultivated meat, fish, poultry or dairy; plant-based cultivated hybrid products or related products and technologies, such as scaffolds production or 3D bioprinting; or plant-based food ingredients, such as animal protein replacements or functional ing