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The spotlight on foodtech: Why we believe that what we put on our plate will determine the future

Have you ever wondered where did your lunch come from?

No, the answer is not as simple as “the hawker centre near the office”. There is an entire system involved to bring that bowl of chicken rice to our table. This complex system begins in the production process of the food itself: growing the livestock, planting the rice in the field. After that, there is the matter of bringing in the agricultural products in the city, making it accessible for the uncle who sells the chicken rice.

Even after you are done eating, there is still another process of managing the waste from your meal.

This complex process –in addition to affecting our survival for the day– can also affect how our future look like. History has proven many times that progress in human civilisation is strongly related to how humans produce their food.

As detailed by National Geographic,  12,000 years ago, changes in the agriculture sector “triggered” a massive change in society that its development has been dubbed the Neolithic Revolution.

“Traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles … were swept aside in favour of permanent settlements and a reliable food supply. Out of agriculture, cities and civilizations grew, and because crops and animals could now be farmed to meet demand, the global population rocketed — from some five million people 10,000 years ago, to more than seven billion today.”

This is why, especially after the changes brought by the pandemic, we believe that we are now standing at the crossroad that will take us into our future –starting from what we put on our plate. The tech innovation that we are using in producing, distributing, and managing our food supply will determine the quality of our life today, and beyond.

This matter has become more urgent if we are putting the local context into it. For example, in Singapore, the government has been making effort to push for stronger local food production in order to curb dependency on imported food. This effort has also included the works of startups such as ACE for fishery and Sustenir Agriculture for fresh produces.

In Indonesia, startups such as TaniHub Group and JalaTech are working to improve the livelihood of farmers while making food more accessible for the customers.

Certainly, the investors do not want to be left behind as we begin to see more and more funding being announced in the foodtech vertical.

This is certainly an opportunity that innovators do not want to miss.

Also Read: Foodtech startup Next Gen Foods shares the secret behind their successful expansion, fundraising

What is on the menu for e27

As part of our mission to empower entrepreneurs with tools and resources to build and grow their company, e27 aims to provide content that helps startup founders, investors, and other professionals in the ecosystem make an informed decision for their businesses.

To achieve that, we have prepared a series of articles that will focus on the different branches of foodtech ecosystem.

There are different definition to what constitute the branches of the foodtech industry. But Forward Fooding, a US-based foodtech innovation hub, conveniently divided the industry into eight macro-categories:

  • Agritech
  • Consumer apps and services
  • Food delivery
  • Food processing
  • Food safety and traceability
  • Kitchen and restaurant tech
  • Next-gen food and drinks
  • Surplus and waste management

We are preparing eight articles that will look into the challenges and opportunities available in each category, and the startups that are working in the sector.

In addition to content produced by our team of in-house writers, we have also published written pieces by our contributors –and are looking forward to publishing more. If you are working in the foodtech vertical and would like to share insights and knowledge to the SEA startup ecosystem, feel free to check out our Contributor Programme feature.

Apart from all of the above, we are also opening up opportunities to collaborate with organisation and individuals who have the mission to build the foodtech ecosystem in the region. If you have great ideas that you would like to discuss with our team, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

We are looking forward to seeing the innovation that you are bringing to the (dinner) table.

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Image Credit: Cristiano Pinto on Unsplash

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