Like many other sectors – including computers and mobile phones – food tech is already growing and evolving at an increasingly rapid pace, said food futurist Tony Hunter.
Underpinning this rapid evolution were five influential food technologies centred around three key pieces of tech:
- Alternative proteins
- Cellular agriculture
- Genomics
- Microbiome
- Synthetic technology
Each of the food techs were being evolved and driven by AI, quantum computing and/or sensors, said Hunter during a presentation at the Food Ingredients Europe exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany, today.
“Food technology is advancing, exponentially and the future of food is now – it’s ‘techxponential’,” he said.
Who is Gen Alpha and how will they change food tech?
This was good, as the generation of consumers – Gen Alpha – would further expand and best utilise the next iterations of technology.
“Tech is one thing, but what about the consumers,” said Hunter. “If we look at the long term future of food, it’s Gen Alpha we need to talk about. They’re the ones who will drive the future of food.”
This was a digital and technology native generation, growing up with not only the internet but dancing robots, companies launching rockets into space, streaming and a host of other advancements.
“But you can’t do much research on Gen Alpha because they were born in 2010-2024, so it’s frowned upon to do too much.”
However, their future leanings could be predicted by looking at earlier generations. For example, 77% of Gen Z are comfortable with technology being used to make their food,” said Hunter.
It would be rational to believe the generation after would be just as or even more comfortable with the same.
More poignantly, there will be 2bn Gen Alpha consumers by the end of the year, he pointed out. “The global population at the end of the Boomers was 3.5bn on the planet – this [Gen A] is going to have a massive effect,” said Hunter.
Almost two-thirds (63%) of the generation have the latest tech, while 46% want tech that doesn’t exist yet, he continued.
The tech-driven Gen A
“I’m saying the world with Gen A is going to be something that’s very tech-driven,” added Hunter.
Not only that, it was a global generation that adopted trends and ways from worldwide cultures.
“You don’t just need to worry about the Gen A in your own country, they’re globe-spanning and what happens in one part of the world can expand into another within minutes,” said Hunter, highlighting the rise of K-pop as an example.
With Generation Alpha at the helm, consumers and businesses can expect to be living and working with the likes of tattoo sensors and e-skin that’s powered by sweat, telling wearers about their microbiome and dietary needs.
“We [people] will end up being surrounded by an AI cell that will look inwards via sensors and outwards to other AIs. But it won’t be the food police and deny us what we want,” predicted Hunter.
People’s AIs will also interact with businesses’, such as restaurants, to help chefs create dishes that match the exact nutritional needs of individual diners.
