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A panel discussion organised by Institute of Technological Excellence
In the aftermath of the pandemic, all industries have had to adapt a digital form of business. The food and beverage industry too has had to make changes in its working environment. New emerging technology has taken up space and is attempting to reshape the entire industry.
In an effort to understand this evolution better, Noida-based Institute for Technological Excellence arranged a webinar as part of their ongoing NXT-GEN Tech webinar series on “Emerging Technologies Reshaping Food and Beverage Industry” with knowledge partner, FLEXIM, Germany on 10th November, 2021.
Arun Gopalaswamy, Central Manager Engineering ICML, ITC Foods spoke on how companies like ITC have integrated into the digital marketing space said, “COVID-19 has triggered fundamental changes that started and will now continue to accelerate. The real digital transformation that we always talked about is now real and it is fast tracked within the space of a few months. As leaders, all of us have realized the value and flexibility that comes along with the digital enabled operation. We have embraced the smart factory concept which is holistic and innovative and enhances end-to-end supply chain capabilities which encompasses artificial intelligence, robotics. In a nutshell, what was a can before the pandemic is now a must. It is either you adopt or you perish, i.e. either you get on to the digital bandwagon or you perish.”
On the other hand, Nilabdhi Samantray, Head of Data Science and AI, CSM Technologies, Bengaluru elucidated the different ways new age technologies are helping in value chain optimization in the food and beverage industry, “We have to understand that when we talk about the food and beverage industry, the value chain includes a much larger ecosystem. The most commonly used technology are online ordering systems, delivery apps, contactless payments, digital kitchen display systems, automated inventory managing system, QR code, we just auto scan the barcodes these days. On top of that simulation technologies, augmented reality (AR), blockchain, IoTs, these are some of the technologies that helps the value chain optimization in the food and beverage industry. For instance, Jack Daniels uses an AR software to show customers a 3D version of their distilleries for a great customer experience.”
Further, Mahendra Mehta, Vice-President, Food and nutraceutical, Chemvera Speciality- Food and Nutraceutical, Mumbai spoke on how automation and new technologies are playing a key role in this sector, “As a food sector we focus on the need of the people. Traditional methods were there but now people are moving to products that are untouched by hands, has to be in sterile environment. Even for milk, automation is used for the milking process to reduce contamination. There are loses during processing of foods but then some vitamins and nutrients are added back but dispersing it homogeneously is the question. Here there are a lot of process developed by automation. Nanotechnology is an emerging area. Nano particles are added in foods which boosts absorption by the body.”
Indeed, the time and age of doing things by hand is almost ending, especially in big industries. As demand for cleaner, safer, less contaminated food items is climbing, industries are adopting more technologically advanced methods to keep up with demand. There is definitely a monumental change occurring in the food and beverage industry which can revamp the face of the entire business.