Digitizing the Palate: Exploring Opportunities for Digital Transformation in the Food Industry

Food industries have to cater to a plethora of consumers having a variety of tastes. To survive in such an environment, companies must continuously analyse their production processes, their supply chain both upstream and downstream, as well as the market situation. Increasingly larger amounts of data are collected on these aspects, and with the highly dynamic environment now dominating the food sector, companies struggle to keep up with many customer demands. Using advanced analytics can allow the food industry to optimise operations and gain better returns on investment by adopting a digital transformation. Opportunities include the combination of different technologies and approaches such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, blockchain, the Internet of Things, and simulation and modelling. This chapter focuses on analysing different digitalisation opportunities that can be implemented by food industries to make them more effective and efficient.