One thing that the COVID19 crisis has undoubtedly highlighted is the need to build a more resilient food system. These learnings have been uncovered throughout the crisis due to new pressures at labor level, obstacles with goods transportation and logistics and stock breaks in supermarkets across the globe. This panorama of pressures and tensions are provoking some irreversible changes in our consumers needs and behaviours. Users are becoming increasingly concerned about the transparency of goods; where they come from, how they are made and the way in which they are delivered.
The question is; how can we improve our food system in order to adapt to these recent challenges posed to us by the post-COVID era?
The Israeli entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem is the second most renowned in the world, coming closely behind Silicon Valley of course. During these times, its ecosystem has been offering us various solutions to adapt to this new reality by applying food technology across the board:
More sustainable production systems:
During the current climate its almost imperative that we require a more sustainable production system that ensures the right production and supply of food without harming the planet.
Established in 2006, Vertical Field aims to transform the way we consume food and make shifts in the food supply chain, which shorten the distance from the consumer to the edible plant while also largely removing transportation expenses. The young company brings all the benefits of plants into the urban ecosystem including air and noise filtering, waste reduction, as well as pesticide-free and naturally bug-free plant walls. They are now developing a smart farming technology that allows for the integration of nature into our urban lifestyle – in both indoor and outdoor environments – while also enhancing human health and environmental conditions in urban settings.
Facilitating food delivery:
Technology can greatly facilitate management when delivering products to consumers.
Kitchen Robotics specializes in the development of automated programmable cooking appliances for commercial kitchens. They focus on automating the cooking process for delivery only kitchens (AKA “dark kitchens”). These refer to food that is prepared at seperate takeaway locations rather than a restaurant, and is currently the preferred way for minimizing contact between clients and operating staff. This solution is ideal for multiple types of cuisines such as Italian, Asian and various other fast casual markets. The hardware is easily deployable between locations, and integrated with multiple delivery service providers that operate across international markets.
SRP Analytics is a mobile-first merchandising platform which revolutionizes relationships between FMCG brands, small retailers and consumers to increase sales, reduce costs and improve loyalty. The SRP platform helps brands and manufacturers regain market leadership, as well as providing the segment of small grocers with similar tech and digital capabilities as those of large retailers, all accessible from a mobile app. SRP is currently working with leading food manufacturers and distributors in Israel which are using SRP’s unique platform on a daily basis in more than 1,500 stores. And guess what? The use of SRP has proven to increase the revenues of both parties by 10%!
Avoiding food waste:
New food preservation and freshness control technologies can help us minimize food waste.
Evigence Sensors is a startup solving the challenges of the freshness lifecycle in the brand-through-consumer delivery chain. By moving away from the antiquated and arbitrary use-by-date system and developing the next generation of visual freshness sensors, they empower handlers and users to make far more informed decisions as to the freshness of their products, which helps reduce waste and save money.
In our next webinar “Israeli startups Showcase: Solving New Challenges in the Food Industry” in collaboration with the Economic and Commercial Mission in the Israeli Embassy in Spain and the Israel Export Institute, we will delve into these solutions and how they help to solve the next challenges that we face from the food system.
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