Food and drink start-ups are often credited with driving the tech space to new heights, and that’s no different in the food and drink space as FoodNavigator uncovers.
From genetic modification to AI and waste-reducing solutions, food and drink is at the coalface of innovations driving things forward.
Genetic modification is more accessible
“At FlyBlast, we do genetic modification, something that 10 years ago would have cost millions [of dollars] and years and years of research, but it’s now available because technology has evolved and suppliers are ready to help you with that,” FlyBlast CEO Johan Jacobs said at the recent Future Food-Tech event in London.
Funki Foods CEO Sirli Rosenvald, however, is focused on reducing ingredients use to develop a more cost-efficient, healthier and accessible business for a variety of stakeholders, she said.
“We’re a cultivated meat company, so technology is built into everything we’re doing,” said Meatly CEO Owen Ensor. “Particularly we’re focused on media cost reductions, so the nutrients we’re providing to the cells. We’ve dramatically reduced the cost of that in the last 18 months.”
Watch more: Ask the experts – what F&B start-ups get wrong
Though tech use in the space doesn’t always have to focus on food and drink development, but could help businesses find investment and investors, as New Food Finance founder Gerard Wynn said.
“We’re providing investment data to the ag tech and food tech space,” he explained. “The way we’re using tech is by AI around scraping websites, so news websites, data websites, so we can collect all that data on deals to provide transparency through all the online data on deals.”
Watch the video above to find out how other food and drink businesses are utilising, improving and developing tech in their industries to drive the sector forward.