F4F2023 closes its third edition with 8.372 professionals

May 22th 2023

F4F – Foodtech Expo

F4F – Foodtech Expo consolidates itself as a leading European foodtech event with a new record of visitors. A total of 8.372 congressmen and professionals from more than 34 different countries have gathered at the BEC in Bilbao to find out about the latest technological innovations that are transforming the food industry in all its segments.

The third edition was attended by the Lehendakari of the Basque Government, Inigo Urkullu, which, in addition to recognizing the importance of putting technology at the service of food, has advocated adopting the 2030 Agenda as its own to advance the sustainability of the sector and prepare society for future challenges. “We are a responsible community, a people aware that we do not have a planet B”, she has indicated. 

In addition, this edition of F4F – Expo Foodtech has become more international than ever, bringing together the largest Japanese delegation of companies in the food sector. As a guest country, Japan has unveiled its latest technological innovations for the food sector. Koji Miyaura, director general at the Department of New Businesses and Food Industry of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan, has thanked the country for participating in such an important event for the industry. “Japan and Spain share a culinary culture and have also contributed significantly to improving the health of citizens. Both countries are developing technologies that improve nutrition in all these areas and will improve the quality of life of the population”, he pointed out.

To present their innovations and publicize how the foodtech sector is being transformed, a total of 287 exhibiting firms They have presented their latest solutions in robotics and automation, processing and packaging machinery for the food industry. This is the case of firms such as AgroBank, AZTI, BCC Innovation, Blendhub, Chemometric Brain, Christeyns, Basque Food Cluster, CNTA, Eurecat, IFR, Tecnalia, CEIN, Tech Transfer Agrifood, Dassault Systemes, Essence Food, Hiperbaric, Ingersoll Rand, Knauf Industries, Lev2050, Multiscan, Sener and T-Systems, among many others. Besides, 124 investment funds Internationals have revealed trends in foodtech investment and have discovered the emerging projects of startups from around the world at the Foodtech Startup Forum.

The technology that makes the sector evolve

413 international experts from firms such as Bimbo, Campofrío, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Danone, or Nestlé, among others, they have explored the technological trends that are leading the sector to the new era of food. On the last day, dove more, Investor in Plug and Play, has analyzed the global perspectives of investment in food technology in order to offer predictions on the competitiveness of the market. And it is that, in 2022, the food and agrotech industry raised 29.600 million dollars, 44% less than in 2021. “The reasons for the global decline are that investment in home delivery is finally decreasing, we are experiencing our industry, the The global investment crisis is also affecting the food market, and the lack of new unicorns makes it difficult to take references. We are not transforming the industry, we are creating a new one”, she has qualified.

The specialist, who has reviewed how investments have decreased by continent, has predicted that "compared to other industries, the European agrotechnological sector is well prepared to compete on a global scale." In addition, he has predicted that the entire African continent and Europe, and France in particular, will be the great protagonists of agrotechnology in 2023, a year that, in his opinion, will be the year of the P: "Precision, Prediction and Personalized will be the concepts key to follow ”, he has sentenced.

For its part, Alessio D'Antino, founder and CEO of Forwardfooding, has shared the evolution of the industry in the last 10 years and has bet that the “agri-food technology will continue to be a major force in creating a more sustainable food system”. Looking ahead, the expert expects great news in the foodtech industry. “We have seen significant advances in regulation, which will accelerate the commercialization of innovative solutions. We also see opportunities in areas such as 3D printing, fermentation and vertical farming”, he explained. To this has been added the updating of food regulations, including those for pets, which are now grown. Other highlights, in his opinion, will be the development of molecular solutions for agriculture, advances in vertical farming, and the use of the microbiome as a guide for personalized nutrition.

Precisely, the importance of customizing food to adapt to new consumer habits has been another of the central themes of the event. By 2050, one in five people will be over the age of 60, and half of them will suffer from dysphagia, the difficulty swallowing food, drink or saliva. In this context,Rodolfo Brajcich, Global Director Nutrition & Health at Sigma, a multinational in the food sector, has presented the Campofrío 'healthcare' line, one of the brands in its portfolio so that people with this problem can eat healthy. "This is an example of an opportunity to continue developing solutions adapted to a specific group." 

At the same time, Rodrigo Jesus, CEO of Salus Optima, has considered it essential to make changes in diet and improve metabolic health to reverse the worrying trend of obesity, which could affect more than half of the world's population by 2050. "There is a business opportunity in the field of personalized nutrition. Data is key to changing behaviors and creating better results, and at the same time, knowing how our bodies react to different foods allows us to make better decisions.” Finally, Jorge Tejero, co-founder of Personal Food, has opted for probiotics to help the population have a longer life, which is why his company has developed a chocolate rich in probiotics that achieves a balance between flavor and healing function.

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