Key Takeaways:
- Many food companies are prioritizing AI (50%) and supply chain tracking (48%) investments in 2025, driven by goals of boosting production efficiency, cutting costs, and improving decision-making.
- Cost remains the biggest barrier to digital transformation (70% of respondents), followed by legacy system integration challenges (53%).
- Sustainability and food safety are major investment drivers, with half of companies planning to adopt energy/water conservation technologies and a quarter focusing on pathogen detection systems.
Nearly half of food industry companies are planning to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and supply chain tracking systems in 2025, according to research from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). And about a third expect to adopt big data and real-time analytics (35%), robotics and process automation (31%), and cloud computing/enterprise resource planning (ERP) (30%).
Almost 200 IFT members — including food, beverage, and ingredient manufacturers; industry consultants; and technology developers — shared their tech investment plans and predictions for this inaugural benchmark survey. When asked about their primary motivators for digital transformation, most respondents cited improving production efficiency (51%), data-driven decision-making (47%), and cost savings (45%). Improvements in manufacturing processes (34%), food safety (28%), and supply chain control (26%) are some of the top reported advantages of adopting new technologies.
However, nearly 70% of survey respondents face cost barriers when adopting digital transformation solutions. Other common struggles included integration with legacy systems (53%), employee reskilling (31%), and interdepartmental buy-in (28%).
Companies seek sustainable solutions
Meeting consumer demand for sustainable products (52%) and achieving cost efficiencies (43%) are growing industry adoption of sustainability technologies:
- Roughly half of companies plan to adopt energy (51%) and water (49%) conservation solutions.
- About a third are looking toward carbon emission reduction (36%) and upcycling/recycling (30%) technologies.
- Sustainability is also driving investments in packaging, with some respondents seeking advancements in packaging materials, coatings, and films (29%) and bioplastics (23%).
Recalls, regulations drive food safety investments
New food safety regulations, like the FDA’s Food Traceability Rule, alongside recent high-profile food safety recalls are motivating companies to adopt innovative safety technologies going into 2025.
Among these technologies, respondents were most likely to invest in advanced pathogen detection (26%), followed by real-time monitoring (19%), thermal and nonthermal processing (18%), and foreign materials detection (17%).
Product improvement through biotech
Biotechnology is advancing the development of functional foods, alternative proteins, and methods for extending shelf life, with roughly two in 10 surveyed food, beverage, and ingredient companies planning to invest in precision fermentation (22%) and biochemical technologies (21%).
Enhancing product functionalities (48%); improving flavor, texture, and nutrition (45%); and achieving process efficiencies (42%) are the main reasons for increased biotechnology investment.
Overall, food companies are anticipating significant investments in game-changing technologies such as AI, precision fermentation, and energy efficiency. These technologies aim to improve food safety, increase operational efficiency, enhance sustainability, and meet consumer demand for transparency and traceability, making 2025 a transformative year for the industry.
