2018 Food Trends #6 - Technofoodology

Techno-food-ology, and Artificial Intelligence, in particular is one of the best things to ever happen to a grocery store.

Our smart phones and all that we can do with them.

And home-based assistants are ushering in a new way to buy our foods. Sure we can replenish our foods by asking Alexa to order from Amazon, but just last week one of my favorite c-stores – Sheetz - announced that their “made to order foods” from all their 564 stores can be ordered on Alexa. Wow.

By 2020 there will be 55 million smart devices in our homes – making that the biggest supermarket chain on the planet.

What this clearly shows is that relationship between “the internet of things” and food is here. In our homes smart refrigerators and cupboards will take over the automatic replenishment of those branded products that we can’t live without. The Bounty paper towels, the Heinz ketchups – those staples we love – which leaves the supermarket with the “exciting” foods – the fresh foods, the artisan foods, the prepared foods to focus on and to become exceptional.

And for retailers The Internet Of Food means.

Finding out everything they need to know and reduces waste and food safety issues.

As the UC Davis IC-Foods Project.

Blockchain technologies.

And even biodegradable micro sensors offer us the information we need to make our food supply even better and offer consumers the total transparency they seek.