The Time is Riper Than Ever for a Data Disruption in Food
The majority of the foods we eat really don’t cut it. We know this, but it is a big challenge. In a global industry struggling to evolve; consumers spend 3 Trillion a year on packaged foods. There’s growing evidence that eating packaged foods is highly related to the increase in chronic disease around the world; cancers, diabetes, poor mental health. I believe that our current state of food technology is largely to blame.
People are consuming differently now. With plant-based products on the rise, dietary restrictions becoming more commonplace, and considerations about calories, sugar, and salt content-generating deeper concerns, consumers are conscientious about the way food affects their health and the environment. Further, the majority of people across the globe want to know what they’re eating and are more cautious about ingredients in the packaged foods they buy. That’s why we want to bring consumers and food companies the data they want, need, and deserve. Knowing what goes into your body isn’t only important; it’s vital to global health and our rapidly changing.
Today, there are about 37,480 people for every 1 food scientist on the planet according to global and US workforce estimates. A world without food science means no way to keep food fresh, nutrition would indecipherable, food would look and taste bad, cost of food would be higher, preparing food would take longer, food would be unsafe to eat, and food availability would be a major concern.
So you can imagine why, making great food is hard. And because we haven’t pushed enough to solve food and its state of digitalization, we run into a lot of barriers: finding ways to scale nutrition, wasted money, low insights and learnings, and wasted time from high inefficiency. Companies are STRUGGLING to find the way to meet consumer needs.
With a fast-growing 600,000 CPG businesses (and millions more in food in general) in the US food industry, there is a constant influx of data telling us what consumers want and need. But what are we doing with this data? Not enough. While companies do use these insights to inform their products, the current data companies receive isn’t cutting it because the right questions are not being asked. That’s why we need innovative tools to make nutrition and product formulation research and development processes better and faster, so food companies can bring better products to their constituents faster. The way to do this is by harnessing the data and trends across the industry into the best, healthiest products possible.
The future of food is simple: it’s using data to disrupt tired habits, slow processes, and less-than-ideal nutrient profiles.
With innovative tools, like our interactive dashboard that used AI/ML, that harness data in new ways we are seeing the future of food right now. The future is plant-based; the future is inclusive options for all diets; the future is data-driven product design that matches as closely as possible to what people need in real-time; the future is full of companies that don’t have deep compromises on health benefits vs. costs. The future is data. Come take a journey with us into the future.
