When talking about the latest digital advancements, there would hardly be any industry remaining that has not adopted robust AI development services to transform its operations. However, AI in the food industry is the latest trend that has recently gained huge momentum. Whether packaging, delivery, production, or even in the supply chain, there are countless applications of AI in the food industry, helping companies worldwide.
And why not? AI in the food industry has helped companies tackle some of the biggest challenges, including food quality and safety, smart packaging, sustainable operations, higher shelf-life, etc. Moreover, the use of automation and robotics in food industry is helping manufacturers depict accurate customer demands, perform data analysis, and satisfy growing consumer needs.
That’s why the market for AI-based applications in the food industry is predicted to increase by $5.66 billion between 2021-2026. The food industry market will accelerate at a growth rate of 21.9%, all thanks to the robust applications of AI in the food industry!
But what exactly is the use of AI in the food industry, and how can you develop various applications of AI for your food manufacturing business? Let’s uncover answers to all such questions in our blog below!
Table of Contents
AI in the Food Industry – Beginning of a New Era
Earlier, the food and beverage industry dealt with many complex business challenges. To name a few, we have:
- Quality control and inspection of the food items
- Accurately predicting the future customer demands
- Equipment and resource management
- Following all the rules and compliances related to the food industry
However, the advent of AI in the food industry brought about significant changes in the sector.
Today, a plethora of AI development services are used to resolve complex challenges in the food industry. For instance, AI in the food industry automates quality inspection and demand forecasting processes. Besides that, using AI in the food industry also helps streamline production, assembling, quality assurance, and recordkeeping processes.
Due to such magnificent benefits, terms like AI in food delivery, AI in farming, AI in the supply chain, AI in food production, and AI in food services are dominating the market. The role of robotics, data analytics, and AI in transforming the food industry is indispensable.
You can optimize a food product’s processing, shipping, and storage operations. Certain applications of AI in the food industry even allow you to know whether food is accidentally tainted, the various places to which that food was sent, and the origin of the purchase.
All that eventually helps to raise your company’s security and quality inspection processes.
Impact of AI on the Food Industry
AI in the food industry has not remained a luxury component for businesses. Instead, companies across the globe are utilizing various applications of AI in the food industry to enhance their business operations.
Better revenues, automated operations, enhanced customer experience, new recipes, easy management, innovative business processes, real-time analytics, etc., are only a few benefits of AI in the food industry.
Are you still confused? Explore a list of the most popular benefits companies gets with AI in the food industry!
Food Sorting
Sorting hundreds of food items can be a challenging task for businesses, especially the ones who are doing it manually. You need to employ several resources to pick the best-grade items that match the standards and guidelines of the state government.
However, the use of AI in the food industry has greatly reduced human involvement in food sorting activities. Today, the leading companies are using the robust applications of AI in the food industry to sort and pack their food items.
The companies are investing in custom AI solutions that utilize computer vision and robotics technology to sort food items based on color, shape, size, and other factors. The smart aI solutions leverage the images captured by the cameras and the data from lasers to sort the fresh items from the lot and reduce wastage and time consumption.
Predictive Maintenance
Businesses operating in the food industry utilize hundreds of machines and tools. Even a small error or mistake in them could lead to a huge downtime and loss of revenues. However, with AI in the food industry, you can easily prevent those situations!
The robust applications of AI in the food industry offer predictive maintenance, an advanced version of preventive care, that helps companies to repair or replace their machinery at a suitable time.
The smart AI algorithms monitor the moving parts’ temperature, vibrations, and friction to assess the best time for their maintenance. That eventually helps you reduce the losses due to downtime or unalerted failure of your machinery.
Supply Chain Optimization
AI in the food supply chain has been one of the biggest achievements for businesses. The supply chain consists of all the activities of the food industry, including food production, services, inspection, delivery, and packaging.
However, the complexity of the supply chain processes due to the involvement of various operations at each stage makes it difficult for the managers to handle. But not anymore!
The advent of AI in the food supply chain has today made it possible for managers to monitor and optimize every process. The companies use smart applications of AI in the food industry running on neural networks to optimize processes like shipment, inspections, packaging, etc.
Many other companies also leverage smart AI enterprise solutions for demand forecasting, predictive maintenance, and food quality inspections. That eventually helps to lower the operational cost while upscaling the quality of the food items. You can also leverage AI in the food industry to get real-time data on different processes as a part of your supply chain management process.
Read More: How Can AI Help in Enhancing Supply Chain Management
Consumer Trends Analysis
Personalization is the key to success in today’s competitive market, and the food industry is no exception! Gone are the days when users enjoyed the same items over a decade. Today, the rise in customer expectations has emerged in a need for the food industry to innovate with its products.
Well, thanks to the use of AI in the food industry, companies can today get real-time consumer data to help innovate their food items. Smart AI algorithms can predict the most suitable food items, flavors, and colors according to various demographic groups.
The information collected via various touchpoints is analyzed using machine learning algorithms. These algorithms then help companies to make changes in their existing products or develop new ones that match consumer requirements.
A perfect example of that can be seen in the USA, where the soft-drink brand Coca-Cola installed vending machines that offer various soft drink flavors for different users. So the ML algorithms installed inside those machines capture the data from users and eventually help the company to make alterations in their product using consumer interests.
Grading and Inspection
Product grading and inspection are the two most important operations for businesses operating in the food industry. The companies operating in the food industry had to employ several resources that followed standards and rules to grade certain food items in a particular category.
However, today we have several applications of AI in the food industry that can do that work. The smart AI solutions learn from the admin’s new data and standards and then grade the food items according to those standards.
Several companies use computer vision technology to inspect and grade their food items. Smart computer vision systems use sensors’ images and data to detect the food item’s shape and other parameters. The smart solution also uses data like protein, fats, and different nutrient levels to grade the products. Undoubtedly, AI in the food industry has automated various complex tasks!
Efficient Food Delivery
Finally, efficient food deliveries are the most popular benefit of AI in the food industry. Food delivery has become the most critical and profitable segment of the food market. There are several leading brands operating in this niche.
That said, the food delivery market is also one of the most challenging and complex tasks that begins with the order and ends with the final delivery. One has to handle many aspects, including proper delivery, real-time tracking, customer queries, returns, product information, etc.
However, the recent surge in the use of AI in the food industry has led to innovation in the food delivery sector. Today, companies are using smart recommendation systems to offer meaningful suggestions to customers.
They are also using machine learning algorithms to decide the most efficient route for the drivers. Furthermore, demand prediction, change in rates due to a surge of a particular food item, and traffic analysis are also possible by using the smart applications of AI in the food industry!
What are the Most Popular Applications of AI in the Food Industry?
Machine learning and AI in the food and beverage industry have become a hot trend in the market. Whether delivery, manufacturing, supply chain, or consumer analytics, the smart applications of AI in the food industry has shown tremendous effects in increasing business revenues.
But what custom AI solutions do most companies use to enhance their business operations? Let’s learn in brief!
Do you have certain ideas in your mind and want to kickstart your custom AI software development for the food business? Simply fill out our consultation form to connect with our experts and begin your enterprise solution development!
Product Sorting and Packaging Solutions
Product sorting and packaging solutions work on machine learning algorithms. The system utilizes a plethora of data to learn about the company’s standard processes. After that, smart AI solutions use data from various tools, including high-resolution cameras, laser-technology-based systems, X-ray-based systems, and IR spectroscopy.
Other AI development services like computer vision and robotics are also used to develop AI-based product sorting and packaging systems for the food industry. The smart systems first categorize the products according to the predefined factor, then helps in packaging according to the item.
Quality Inspection
Quality inspections are another popular applications of AI in the food industry that most companies use. AI-powered quality inspection solution uses computer vision, robotics, and image processing techniques to monitor the quality and grade of certain food items.
The smart quality inspection solution identifies the defects and anomalies in the food items from a lot. It delivers them to their respective categories early in the supply chain.
Equipment Cleaning Solutions
Many restaurants and food pantries require machines to clean their tools and machinery without human involvement. That’s why many leading companies use AI-based cleaning solutions that utilize ultrasonic sensing, and optical fluorescence imaging to detect the food remains in the equipment.
You can easily install cleaning solutions in your restaurants to ease employees’ work and offer them more time to do practical tasks.
AI-based Food Delivery Applications
AI-based food delivery solutions are the most popular applications of AI in the food industry. Several types of AI-based food delivery systems, such as smart mobile apps, recommendation systems, voice assistance, self-order placing solutions, smart vending machines, etc., can be used to enhance your delivery processes.
Furthermore, the use of drones and robotics has further advanced the existing food delivery processes. That means customers can now get deliveries at their preferred locations using drones and unmanned vehicles.
Recipe Recommendation Systems
As the name suggests, recipe recommendation systems utilize recommendation engine capabilities and machine learning algorithms to identify the users’ exact needs and offer them the most suitable recipes.
The system is used mostly in websites and apps connected with the food industry. The smart applications of AI in the food industry first analyze the interaction of users to your website/app. The smart system then learns about the various recipes and offers users the most suitable recipes based on their interests/ingredients.
Hygiene Monitoring Solutions
Lastly, we have hygiene monitoring systems as our most popular application of AI in the food industry. These smart AI applications use facial recognition and image processing techniques to analyze the hygiene of the workers involved in your food production and packaging.
The smart system also checks whether the workers are wearing gloves and masks for better food security. AI-based hygiene monitoring solution also captures the exact image of the instance where the workers did not follow the mentioned protocols.
How Can You Create AI-based Software for Your Food Business?
So, you have learned and explored everything about AI in the food industry. You also uncovered the amazing benefits that it can have on your business. But how can you develop custom AI solutions for your food business? Well, that’s a challenging task, especially for those new to the development field.
Creating any sort of custom enterprise solution is not a piece of cake. However, it can be easy to follow the right steps and partner with an experienced software development company!
So, as a leading software engineering studio with decade-long expertise in AI software development, we list some steps you can follow to create your custom AI solution.
Understand Your Business Requirements
Before implementing the robust applications of AI in the food industry, you need to understand and analyze your business goals. Any business operating in the food industry deals with many complex tasks.
For instance, your company could deal with food manufacturing, supply chain, or packaging processes. Whatever processes, you need to analyze them and select the most specific ones that need to be optimized.
You must also ensure that your development strategies match your core business goals. Ask your questions like:
- What are my business operations?
- How will the robust AI applications optimize my ongoing processes?
- How can I measure the results offered by custom AI-based food solutions?
- What processes need to be optimized for better business growth?
Answering questions like these will help you create a suitable development strategy to modernize your business infrastructure. Besides analyzing your requirements, you also need to identify and adopt the latest market trends.
For instance, robotics and computer vision services are big in the food industry. Hence, you can adopt these AI development services to enhance your business operations.
Select a Proper Use Case of AI in the Food Industry
Once you have analyzed your business requirements, you must select a proper use case of AI in the food industry. There are countless applications of AI in the food industry. However, you must ensure that your custom AI solution matches your specific business requirements.
Hence, as a leading AI software development company, we are listing the most popular use cases of AI in the food industry:
- AI in Farming
- AI in Food Sorting and Packaging
- AI in Food Supply Chain
- AI in Food Delivery
- AI in Food Production
Hire an Experienced AI Software Development Company
Once you have framed an effective software development strategy, you need a team to convert your ideas into a custom solution. That’s where an experienced AI software development company comes into play!
A reliable and experienced software development company understands your business requirements and helps you explore the latest market trends for successful enterprise solution development. They offer talented developers, testers, project managers, and designers that help you implement the robust applications of AI in the food industry.
From expert consultation and MVP development to testing, maintenance, support, and even deployment, an experienced software development partner offers a wide array of services tailored to your business needs. Hence, you must find a reliable and professional AI software development company to help you develop a custom AI solution for the food industry.
While selecting, look at their portfolio as it shows that your chosen company has experience delivering similar solutions to businesses. Furthermore, make sure that they offer expert consultation, market analysis, and similar software development services, as it will help you maximize the success of your digital product.
At Matellio, you get a free consultation service and a no-obligation quote for your product alongside the abovementioned services. We also help you explore the latest AI trends and offer you an in-house development experience. You can choose everything, from design and features to development team and pricing model. Fill out our consultation form to explore our offerings and development method.
Read More: How to choose a Custom Software Development Company?
Always Begin with an MVP
MVP is crucial in reducing your development cost, getting an expected digital solution, and reducing your testing time. An MVP (minimum viable product) is a functional prototype that helps you explore your digital solution before it is developed.
With an MVP, you can easily access your custom AI application’s navigation, user interface, functionalities, and overall performance. You can check how easy it is for your users to access certain functionalities and what design patterns can be implemented to make your custom solution more user-friendly.
All that eventually helps you increase the user experience of your custom solution, making it more popular and effective. And all that can happen before the actual development begins. As a result, you save on your development cost, and the testing time is reduced since most of the functionalities are tested during MVP development.
Enhance Your Solution’s Capabilities with Third-party Integration
Needless to say, in today’s time, users want a solution that can do everything. However, we all know that a single solution cannot perform tasks outside its scope. That’s where third-party integration comes into play!
If your custom AI solution can integrate with other third-party solutions, you can achieve much in less time. For instance, if you plan to implement AI in the food supply chain, and your solution integrates with ERP, warehouse management, and fleet management operations, you can easily get real-time business data in one place.
As such, you can optimize your operations, save on hiring costs, and generate better business revenues! You can easily manage your cycle from food production to final delivery. Hence, always ask your development partner to develop a custom AI solution that integrates with other third-party systems.
Testing is Crucial
Last but not least, ensure that your product is tested under different environments and for multiple devices for maximum efficiency. Testing is the most important software development service that can impact your brand value and customer experience.
By opting for testing services, you can ensure that your custom AI solution is free from bugs and glitches left unidentified during the development process. Hence, make sure that your hired AI software development company offers testing services as an integrated part of the enterprise software development package.
At Matellio, we offer automated and manual testing services to ensure that our clients get an error-free digital product running smoothly over various platforms and environments.
Conclusion
Technology is everywhere, and the food industry is no exception. What once was considered a human-dependent market had become the most innovative sector thanks to robust AI applications.
Today, companies worldwide are leveraging the robust applications of AI in the food industry to enhance their supply chain and delivery operations. Whether manufacturing, services, maintenance, or demand forecasting, AI-based food solutions are used everywhere!
Hence, when your competitors are doing it, why not you? Take a step towards Industry 5.0 and bring your business to the front using our custom AI development services. Connect with our experts and launch a fully custom AI solution that automates your processes and generates future revenue models using smart data analytics capabilities. Simply fill out our form to get a free 30-minute expert consultation!
