Our top food & beverage research and trends to watch

In 2022, global supply chains continued to experience intense disruption, restaurants’ profit margins took a hit in the face of rising labor costs, and grocers increasingly fell under pressure to invest in tech designed to help them adapt to the omnichannel shopper journey. In response, players across the food & beverage value chain zeroed in on tech that would allow them to enhance their operations while retaining customers and boosting profits. 

We covered all of these developments and many more across the food & beverage space to help affected players make informed tech-buying decisions.

For example, grocery retailers focused on omnichannel enablement can discover relevant tech solutions in our omnichannel enablement market map for grocery leaders, determine which markets to prioritize with our corresponding MVP framework, and decide which companies are ideal for partnerships or investments using our market-specific ESP Vendor Rankings, including this one covering grocery microfulfillment. 

Our predictions for the upcoming year include:

• Companies will continue to invest in AI and robotics to increase customer engagement as well as address both labor shortages and increased labor costs. For example, these technologies will help fast food chains leverage automation to make kitchen operations more efficient and cost-effective.
• Restaurants, food & beverage brands, and grocery retailers will shift more of their focus toward managing costly food waste and meeting their climate goals. Expect these players to turn to tech such as food monitoring hardware, surplus food marketplaces, and more.
• To build more resilient food supply chains, farmers will likely continue to deploy easy-to-install precision agriculture tech, like farm management software, which improves farm efficiency at a relatively low capital cost.

To kick off 2023, we brought together our top food & beverage research in the curated list below.

GROCERY RETAIL TECH

• The Future of the Supermarket: How technology is making grocery shopping more personalized, efficient, and sustainable
• [Client Research] 157 companies helping grocery leaders adapt to the omnichannel shopper journey
• [Client Research] How grocery retailers should prioritize these 11 technologies supporting omnichannel enablement
• [Client Research] What are Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons doing in microfulfillment?
• [Client Research] Analyzing Ocado’s growth strategy: How the grocery tech giant is shaping the future of the supermarket
• [Client Research] What this $37B grocery giant is doing to optimize its inventory management
• [Client Research] Tech Market Map Report: Supply Chain Optimization in Grocery
• [Client Research] MVP Technology Framework: Supply Chain Optimization for Grocery Retailers
• [Client Research] Analyzing Carrefour’s growth strategy: How the retailer is digitizing its operations to improve profitability

RESTAURANT TECH

• Unbundling McDonald’s: How the traditional fast food industry is being disrupted
• The Future of Fast Food: How robot chefs, virtual ordering, and autonomous delivery will feed us in 2030
• How restaurants can increase profitability and reduce food waste using robotic food preparation
• How restaurants can reduce the cost of R&D using AI tongues and social listening
• How restaurants can increase check size using conversational AI and AI-powered recommendation engines
• How restaurants can capture high-value customers using NFT loyalty programs
• How restaurant chains can use the metaverse to create a new digital channel for orders
• How restaurants can reduce reliance on gig workers using autonomous delivery
• [Client Research] 160 companies helping food service leaders to automate and digitize their restaurants
• [Client Research] Prioritizing the 12 technologies automating and digitizing the restaurant and food service industry

SUSTAINABILITY & FOOD WASTE MANAGEMENT

• [Client Research] 88 companies reducing food waste across the supply chain
• [Client Research] Analyzing Nestlé’s growth strategy: How the company is prioritizing health & sustainability across its portfolio
• [Client Research] Analyzing Danone’s growth strategy: How the CPG giant is creating a more sustainable food supply chain
• [Client Research] Analyzing PepsiCo’s growth strategy: How the CPG giant is improving supply chain sustainability and reducing emissions

FOOD & MEAL DELIVERY

• [Client Research] Analyzing DoorDash’s operational strategy: How the delivery leader is investing in local commerce
• [Client Research] 60+ early-stage companies reshaping food & meal delivery
• [Client Research] 40+ early-stage companies transforming food & beverage product development and distribution

AGTECH

• [Client Research] The Future of the Farm: How technology is making farms more connected, efficient, and sustainable
• [Client Research] 107 companies developing precision agriculture tech to enhance farm operations and environmental impact
• [Client Research] Prioritizing 12 precision agriculture technologies streamlining farm operations
• [Client Research] Analyzing John Deere’s growth strategy: How the American manufacturing giant is betting on agtech