Many food and beverage manufacturing companies are “risk averse” in their approach to innovation due to tight margins, a lack of industry-critical skills and a decline in capital.
Despite being one of the UK’s largest sectors, the food sector is home to around 12,000 businesses. However, the government is not investing enough to support innovation. This is a problem for SMEs. Policy Exchange report on strengthening food security in the UK.
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The report states that "there is considerable variability within the food industry, even though global food and beverage manufacturers are leaders in the sector." It also notes that 40 % of industry participants do not use any advanced digital technology.
The report states that "only 33 % reported using digital technologies for manufacturing processes, quality controls and monitoring. This is a lower rate than expected."
Which food manufacturers are using AI?
Most food industry players cannot afford to acquire “fit-for-purpose” technology, and others cite high costs, system complexity and lack of internal skills as reasons for not adopting AI or other technologies.
This is particularly true for SMEs, which make up the majority of the sector. This raises concerns about the possibility of a “two-speed” technological evolution, with multinational players often leading and SMEs lagging behind.
Food manufacturers are already under pressure from rising costs, including fuel, ingredients and personnel. Additional barriers to adopting new technologies will make them hesitant to invest, or even delay it.
The report says they may have invested in established areas such as data capture and optimization and automation, but “they are not prepared to invest in new and untested innovations and methodologies.”
AI in Food and Beverage Needs More Investment
Some manufacturers argue that it is therefore necessary to support and adopt established technologies, not innovations around lesser-known or new technologies. Manufacturers want more automation.
A global food manufacturer surveyed said that “more work needs to be done in automation.” Robotics and sensor technology are the two biggest drivers of automation today. The use of data and AI in forecasting and supply chain management has great potential. “Big data analytics,” the report says.
AI is a topic of great interest in the industry and manufacturers are aware of its potential to improve productivity. However, it has not been adopted by most companies in their daily practices.
“Right now, people are connecting data to figure out how lines should be run and so on. Those connections could be made by AI. “The UK is the perfect place for this expansion,” said one global manufacturing company.
AI is also being used by other companies to develop early warning systems, using sensors that can estimate potential failures and help prevent them. Although small food producers are not as clear about its application and potential.
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