What is food innovation and why is it important? Food innovation is the development and commoditization of new food processes, products, and services. Right now, it’s happening rapidly. Food and beverage companies are looking for ways to make healthy, nutritious offerings that are not only enticing, accessible, exciting, and unique, but also sustainable.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best food innovations to have emerged recently. In it, you’ll notice developments in food packaging and processing, along with a host of exciting ingredients appearing in unexpected places. Personalization is a huge trend, with beverage and diet companies enabling individuals to customize their products. Fast-food restaurants are coming up with novel ways to make customers want to dine-in. And a number of brands are tailoring offerings to meet the unique needs of millennials, not to mention the fastest-growing demographic in the USA, the elderly.
Why should you care? Apart from the fact that you need food to live, this list includes plenty of ideas you could borrow (using this tool) for your own business, no matter which industry you’re in.
Navigate via the different types of innovation
We’ve split the list up into the different types of innovation to enable you to find your way easily.
Configuration
Offering
Experience
Configuration
Profit Model
Souvla
Fast-fine eateries, like modern Greek restaurant Souvla in San Francisco, are offering chef-made meals at lower prices. How? By eliminating a few steps in the chain. For instance, customers at Souvla order at the counter, rather than via waitstaff. Or they take their food to go, which requires fewer employees. Judging by Souvla’s popularity, it seems many diners will happily forego full-service in favor of a smaller bill at the end of the night.
Brandless
Consumers in the US spent more than $600bn on groceries in 2018, and with the market turning towards healthier, better-quality foods, the weekly shop doesn’t come cheap. Ecommerce store Brandless has found a way around that. They use data and analytics to uncover what customers are buying, and then they offer their own – often healthy and eco-friendly – versions via their website. Brandless keeps prices low by saving on marketing, advertising, distribution, and packaging costs.
Brew Dr.
Portland-based company Brew Dr. has a circular, zero-waste business model. They sell tea, kombucha, and distilled spirits. And the company reduces costs by connecting the production of all three offerings. They use their tea to make Brew Dr. Kombucha, and they extract the alcohol that’s produced in the kombucha fermentation process to make liqueurs, gin, and absinthe via their distillery.
Network
RePizza
Competing restaurants in Xintiandi, a popular dining district in Shanghai, joined forces to reduce food waste and sell their unused ingredients. They combined leftover food and used it to make pizzas, called RePizzas. They offer over 200 flavors, with different options available to consumers every night.
Structure
Tony's Chocolonely
Dutch confectionary company Tony's Chocolonely capitalizes on its socially responsible brand purpose – their tagline is, "Crazy about chocolate, serious about people." Tony’s produces and sells chocolate using fair trade practices, while taking a stand against slavery, child labor, and exploitation by buying cocoa beans straight from farmers (and giving them a fair price) via partnerships with trading companies in Ghana and Ivory Coast.
EDWINS
EDWINS restaurant in Cleveland employs formerly incarcerated adults to staff its kitchen. The business gives its employees hospitality and culinary training through its leadership institute, which enables them to serve classic, high-quality French fare. The chain benefits the community by giving their team members a chance to get back on their feet and build a career.
Feedr
Based in London, the Feedr platform connects corporate businesses looking for catered work lunches and functions with local food vendors. This is attractive because companies are quickly realizing the benefits of having their staff eat healthy and they’re wholly or partially subsidizing their food. Feedr can offer healthy catered meals for less than £5 per day, and companies like Etsy, Airbnb, DHL, and PwC chose Feedr over supplying food via canteens.
Process
Farther Farms
Based in Rochester, New York, Farther Farms created a new technology that leverages supercritical carbon dioxide to naturally pasteurize food, eliminating the need for freezing, refrigeration, and artificial preservatives. This approach extends the shelf-life of fresh-cut produce and reduces the energy used in processing and distribution by 70%, which may have massive logistics and supply chain implications, not to mention that it could lead to superior products. According to Dr. Syed Rizvi, professor of Food Process Engineering at Cornell University, “Such a breakthrough could be a major contributor to solving food system problems worldwide.”
Ekim
Are you ready to have your pizzas prepared by robo-chefs? French startup Ekim hopes so. They’re building 24-hour automated fresh-pizza kiosks where PAZZI, a pizza-making robot, prepares a pizza in 30 seconds. An interesting idea for transit stations and locations where people need to eat on-the-go at all hours, Ekim is also looking to serve salads, drinks, and desserts.
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is building a pizza-delivery car and robo-chef built into one. They aim to reduce costs and increase speed by having the human-driven vehicle prepare and cook pizza on the way to your door. Along with speed, this has the potential to reduce the risk of your pizza being cold.
Taster
With food delivery becoming increasingly popular, ghost restaurants that are designed solely for delivery are popping up everywhere. One of these ventures is Taster. The company has a chain of online-order-only restaurants that can prepare food in five minutes and have it deposited at your door via Deliveroo in just 20 minutes on average.
Gastrograph AI
AI and machine-learning platform Gastrograph AI compiles and analyzes data on the raw ingredients in the food we buy. They use this to help food and beverage companies predict which products customers in their target demographic will pay for. Manufacturers can see the flavors, scents, and textures consumers prefer, and develop products, optimize their branding, and produce cognitive marketing campaigns accordingly.
Offering
Product performance
Garlidoux
Love garlic but hate garlic breath? Garlidoux claims to have found a way around that. The award-winning company has removed this infamous flavor pain-point, producing a natural garlic paste that brings you the health benefits and great taste of garlic, without the nasty scent.
Stixfresh
Startup Stixfresh has produced a sticker that they claim can make fruit stay fresh 50% longer. The sticker works by creating a protective layer around the fruit, they say. Its coating is made from beeswax and ingredients that feature a GRAS (generally considered as safe) status issued by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Drinkfinity
Consumers are increasingly interested in personalization, and PepsiCo took notice. Wanting to offer “greater choice and flexibility to consumers,” the company launched their Drinkfinity program which enables customers to customize their own drinks by mixing pods of different flavors together with water. The pods contain dry or liquid ingredients and claim to offer different benefits – their “Renew” pods contain electrolytes for hydration and their “Charge” pods serve coffee extract.
Ceria Brewing Co.
Non-alcoholic beer sales are expected to grow substantially by 2024, with 20- and 30-somethings drinking less of the hard stuff. Catering to this market, Ceria Brewing Co. by Blue Moon offers an alcohol-free beer that provides a different kind of buzz – their drinks are infused with an increasingly popular ingredient in the industry, the THC from cannabis. Heineken’s Northern California craft brewery Lagunitas is doing the same with their beer and cannabis blend, HiFiHops.
Allergy Amulet
The number of people with food allergies and intolerances is on the rise, so no doubt products like Allergy Amulet’s portable food allergen sensor will come in handy. The company has developed a disposable test strip which enables you to test whether the food you’re about to eat has a potential allergen in it.
Tufts' food sensor
In 2018, Tufts University announced they’d developed a tooth-mounted sensor which could detect or measure your alcohol, sugar, or salt intake. The 2mm x 2mm sensor could be useful for medical purposes, and to enable people on specific diets to monitor and track what they’re eating.
Nutrino
Based in Tel Aviv, Nutrino collects physiological data from users via their platform, and with the help of machine learning and AI, recommends customized diet programs. Acquired by Medtronic in 2018, the medical device giant says they intend to use the service’s insights to help diabetes patients.
23andMe
Though nutrigenomics – using a person’s genetics to recommend an eating plan – is still in its infancy, companies like 23andMe, DNAFit, Nutrigenomix, and Habit are all offering customized diets based on a sample of DNA. Some even offer to supply you with pre-prepped meals based on your needs. However, researchers are still investigating how much a person’s genetic makeup actually impacts their dietary needs. But some links have been drawn – certain people absorb specific nutrients better than others, for instance.
Gatorade
In 2020, Gatorade is set to release a sweat-sensitive skin patch that lets you know when your hydration and electrolyte levels are low by changing color. If users send a pic of the patch to the affiliated app, the app will recommend one of many Gatorade pods accordingly.
Platejoy
Platejoy gives users tailored meal plans based on their specific dietary needs – such as food allergies or intolerances – and cooking habits. It also uses their nutritional data and information from IoTs or wearables to measure their unique energy requirements.
FoodMarble
Digitization and robotization are impacting the diet world. FoodMarble built a device – which they call a “personal digestive tracker” – that can test your breath to measure hydrogen levels (which increase when food doesn’t digest properly). Via a corresponding app, it can tell you what you should and shouldn’t be eating based on how your body responds after consuming certain foods.
Viome
A major player in the at-home-testing-kit diet customization game is Viome. The company reviews each customer’s microbes via various samples to detect whether they require more of a specific supplement (because they struggle to digest it).
Remedy Organics
Beverages are becoming functional. No longer is simply serving the taste buds enough, drinks need to improve the health of customers, too. Brands like Remedy Organics are infusing their handcrafted, small-batch made, organic beverages with natural ingredients that boast prophylactic properties. Ingredients like MCT oil, cannabis, mushrooms, and pre/probiotics will continue to inspire new drinks, so expect to see them on shelves near you.
Feed.
Designed for convenience, French startup Feed. serves complete ‘meals in a bottle.’ The ingredients in their drinks and bars are designed to appeal to health-conscious millennials. Their products are gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, and lactose-free. And they include protein, fiber, and fats to ensure each serving delivers the same nutrients as a complete meal.
Algama
Paris-based food technology company Algama is finding ways to turn microalgae into a tasty, sustainable, protein-rich food source for daily consumption. They’ve already released SPRINGWAVE, a naturally blue spirulina-based drink that’s loaded with vitamins and we look forward to discovering what they come up with next.
Evoware
Speaking of algae, Indonesia-based startup Evoware is putting the eco-friendly raw material forward as a plastics replacement for food packaging. Its production doesn’t require fertilizer, and it actually absorbs CO2 during growth. The company developed edible packaging (that contains fiber, vitamins, and minerals) for Belgian fine waffles manufacturer Bruxelwaffle.
Perennial
Having already found success (with millennials) via his plant-based food company Beyond Meat, co-founder Brent Taylor turned his sights to the fastest-growing demographic, adults over 50. Noticing the frustration felt by the age group at having been left behind by the plant-based trend, Taylor launched Perennial – a non-dairy beverage designed with older consumers’ bone, gut, and brain health in mind.
CERELAB
Another company turning its sights on food innovation for elderly consumers is CERELAB. This R&D center specializing in wheat-flour bread developed a protein and energy enriched brioche bun. The product has been shown to improve the health of malnourished residents in nursing homes better than the typical combination of breakfast and supplements.
Experience
Service
Super U
French supermarket chain Super U has come up with an innovative way to engage consumers who are concerned about whether the produce they’re buying is sustainable or not. Shoppers can scan QR codes on labels via Snapchat Stories to instantly receive information about where it came from and whether it was ethically caught (in the case of fish), farmed, or grown.
Taco Bell
US fast-food chain Taco Bell offers convenient drive-thru service, but like many in the industry, they’re encouraging consumers to eat in-house. Taco Bell is opening their Cantinas across the US, with each location customized according to the location. They offer exclusive menus and even enable consumers to change the music. Additionally, like McDonalds and Wendy’s, their consumers have the choice of going to the counter or ordering via easy serf-service kiosks.
Starbucks
Another chain that’s working on their ambience in order to encourage diners to eat-in (well, drink-in) is Starbucks. Their Starbucks Reserve New York Roastery is a high-end 23,000 square foot space that entices customers to stick around with a full-service bar, mixology stations, an on-site coffee roasting plant, terrarium, and delightful décor.
Project Nourished
A study by Cornell University suggests that VR can be used to enhance taste, which is exactly what Project Nourished aims to do. The company develops VR and AR gadgets and combines them with meals to give users “gastronomical virtual reality experiences.” They aim to trick the senses by mimicking, changing, or enhancing the texture, sound, taste, and experience of eating certain foods. This tech could be used for weight management, sustainability, or to deliver weird and wonderful dining experiences.
Tree by Naked
Speaking of which, virtual reality restaurant Tree by Naked in Tokyo guides guests through meals that are meant to illustrate chapters in the journey of life. Diners are led through the experience by a narrator, with the help of a soundtrack, light show, and wind machine. And they’ll dine alongside farm animals in fine clothing – via their headsets, that is.
Channel
Eatwith
The Eatwith app is giving consumers unique experiences, enabling those traveling the world to not only sample the local cuisine, but cook it. Via their smartphones, travelers can peruse a number of authentic cooking experiences in the region they’re visiting. Think learning to make lasagna with an Italian or fries with a Belgian.
Too Good To Go
Food waste is an issue that consumers and retailers are increasingly paying attention to. Copenhagen-based food sharing app Too Good To Go is bringing like-minded foodies and businesses together. The service connects customers with restaurants who are offering up their unsold, surplus food rather than see it go to waste.
Customer engagement
Club SÖDA NYC
Millennials are drinking less alcohol than older generations, and companies are catering to this trend. Not only are non-alcoholic spirits (such as Seedlip) and beers flooding the market, but events designed to replace the booze-buzz with an exhilarating experience and opportunity for connection are emerging. One of these businesses is Club SÖDA NYC (Sober Or Debating Abstinence) – a location designed to bring people together who enjoy being high on life, and nothing more.
The Avocado Show
Two trends that go hand-in-hand are health foods and social media. Fitness influencers will happily promote your restaurant’s meals via Instagram for free if your food is trendy enough to trigger engagement. The Avocado Show in Amsterdam knows this. The restaurant exclusively serves dishes that feature – you guessed it – avocado! The novelty of their brand and its huge following have seen it receive more than 150 franchise requests since it opened in 2017.
Brand
Feel the Peel
You know the pulp and rind that you throw away after making orange juice? Well, Italian design studio Carlo Ratti Associati is putting it to use via their Feel the Peel automated juice bar. After the juice is served, the rind is separated into a clear drum, heated, and mixed with polylactic acid to make a bioplastic which is then fed into a 3D printer. What do they make? The recyclable cups customers sip the juice from, of course.
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