Future Food-Tech brings together some of the brightest minds to tackle the most pressing innovation challenges in food and agriculture. The event featured dozens of sessions with R&D leaders at companies such as Mars, Cargill, Kraft Heinz, Unilever, Danone and many more.
Halo was a proud sponsor at this year’s conference in San Francisco, which welcomed more than 1,500 attendees from around the world. This year provided invaluable insights and underscored the importance of navigating today’s complex food system through both cutting-edge technology and strategic partnerships. Here are four trends we’re keeping an eye on.
Designing modern collaborative ecosystems to increase innovation speed
A major topic at this year’s conference was addressing the critical need for better internal and external coordination to tackle the growing complexity of food innovation, particularly in areas such as sustainability, regulatory compliance and consumer health. When R&D teams, marketing, consumer insights and procurement align early in the process, it not only speeds up innovation but also ensures products are launched with greater strategic alignment and fewer disruptions.
Beyond internal teamwork, external R&D partnering is crucial scaling innovations. The pressure to innovate quickly and sustainably is driving R&D teams to seek partnerships with researchers, startups and suppliers that specialize in emerging technologies.
Danone’s Vice President of Advanced Technologies, Albe Wendt, was quoted saying “Science alone doesn’t drive change– collaboration does. To make alternative ingredients mainstream, we need food brands, innovators and investors to work together.”
In an article with Future Food-Tech, Maxine Roman, Innovation Collaboration and Partnerships Lead at Kraft Heinz, shared the company’s approach to forming meaningful external partnerships. Roman explained, “Successful innovation isn’t built on total ownership but on balance and embracing a flexible partnership model where partners add meaningful value in strategic ways. At Kraft Heinz, we believe if someone else can solve a challenge better, faster, or in a unique way, collaboration is the right choice.”
As a long-time user of Halo, Kraft Heinz recognizes the considerable expense to create an innovation community with the right specialized skill. This is why platform like Halo have become such a critical tool for their team. “If we want to scale innovations quickly using an external partner saves us time and resources, and Halo already has a global network of thousands of academic scientists, start-ups and suppliers actively looking to partner with companies like Kraft Heinz.”
“If we want to scale innovations quickly, using an external partner saves us time and resources, and Halo already has a global network of thousands of academic scientists, start-ups and suppliers actively looking to partner with companies like Kraft Heinz.”
Actionable takeaway for R&D leaders: R&D teams should prioritize efforts to foster early alignment to streamline the product development process and avoid costly delays. Ensuring clear communication and collaboration from the outset will not only speed up innovation but also enhance strategic alignment.
Targeting functional health benefits with precision fermentation
As consumers become more health-conscious, food companies are expected to offer products that address specific health concerns such as gut health, immunity, sleep, cognitive performance and mental well-being. Precision fermentation and biotechnology are emerging as key tools in developing functional foods, enabling companies to create bioavailable nutrients and ingredients that support consumer health.
This shift represents a structural change in how food products are formulated, presenting a unique challenge for R&D teams to create food that delivers tangible wellness benefits. These innovations allow companies to create products that not only satisfy hunger but also provide measurable health benefits.
Actionable takeaway for R&D leaders: R&D teams should prioritize partnerships with biotechnology companies, academic institutions and health experts to develop innovative functional foods that meet consumer demand for holistic wellness solutions.
Using AI to enrich product development and innovation cycles
The food and agriculture sectors are undergoing profound transformation stemming from numerous external forces, such as GLP-1, wearables, geopolitics and climate change. But one topic that is inescapably dominant at any conference these days is AI, and Future Food-Tech was no exception.
Several sessions stressed how companies that fail to embrace AI risk falling behind, as this technology plays a pivotal role in streamlining operations and improving supply chain efficiency. Although now more than ever, AI is more than just a tool for automation; it’s becoming central to how products are developed and brought to market.
Machine learning algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data, predict consumer trends, personalize product offerings and optimize sustainability. It allows companies to refine formulations, adjust marketing strategies and optimize ingredients to meet consumer demand faster than their competitors.
AI can also play a pivotal role in areas like precision agriculture, where it can predict soil health, weather patterns and optimal planting times, ultimately improving crop yields and supporting sustainable farming practices.
Additionally, food safety is increasingly challenged by climate change, with extreme weather events and shifting environmental conditions impacting food production, storage and distribution. Predictive modeling powered by AI is becoming essential for forecasting these disruptions and developing proactive measures to safeguard the food supply chain.
Actionable takeaway for R&D leaders: Teams must invest in internal and external AI capabilities not just for automation, but as a strategic tool for driving faster, more targeted innovation. By using machine learning to predict trends, optimize formulations, and enhance sustainability efforts, R&D teams can refine their development processes and respond more agilely to market demands.
Overcoming regulatory clarity as one of the biggest barriers to scaling alternative proteins
Alternative proteins hold enormous potential to reshape the food industry, with recent reports of a 960% rise in alternative protein patents in the last 10 years. At Halo, we continue to witness a growing number of R&D partnering opportunities from top companies addressing this trend.
Several discussions at Future Food-Tech highlighted that scaling alternatives proteins globally is hindered by inconsistent regulations across regions. For R&D teams in this space, staying ahead of shifting landscapes is critical to ensure that products meet safety and quality standards in multiple markets.
Experts emphasized that varying definitions, approval processes and safety standards not only slow down time-to-market but also create uncertainty for investors. The solution? Collaboration. Successful scaling of alternative proteins requires strong partnerships between food-tech innovators, regulatory bodies, and external experts to drive unified, global standards.
Actionable takeaway for R&D leaders: Building cross-sector partnerships with regulatory bodies and other stakeholders is crucial for influencing policy changes that facilitate global adoption of alternative proteins. R&D leaders should actively engage in public-private collaborations to help shape the regulatory landscape and meet global market needs.
The Halo team left energized and inspired by this year’s Future Food-Tech San Francisco, where the conversations reinforced that the future of food is driven by those who embrace collaborative partnerships to evolve with the changing landscape.
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