How Food Has Become Tech's Newest Star - Inc.

There's no doubt that the food industry has undergone significant changes in the past two-plus years, much of it driven by new and advancing technology. What is left to ponder is what will be "The Next Big Thing" at the intersection of food and tech?

As the founder and CEO of HUNGRY, a purpose driven food-tech marketplace that's disrupting office meals, restaurant pop-ups, and more, I have a front-row seat to see what's coming around the corner, and I'm going to share it with you. First, let's unpack the three major trends that have led to explosive growth and significant change throughout the food industry, creating a number of new giants in the sector:

1. Changing consumer demands. Consumer desires for better-for-you and plant-based foods are producing major shifts in what farmers, grocers, restaurateurs, and food companies are offering. In almost every case, tech-enabled companies are leading the way in this territory, from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods revolutionizing plant-based meat, to SweetGreen and Honeygrow mastering the art and science of fresh fast food with one-click ordering solutions. These companies are capitalizing on changing consumer demands and growing exponentially--and rapidly--as a result.
2. Eating at home. The Covid-19 pandemic radically grew the popularity of at-home eating, both in terms of meal prep and restaurant delivery. Technology has powered the fast rise of companies like DoorDash and UberEats for seamless home delivery of restaurant food. Similarly, at-home meal players like Freshly and Territory Foods lean on tech to ensure consistent and efficient packaging, customer service and user engagement.
3. More convenient grocery shopping. The idea of getting groceries delivered to your doorstep was, until recently, a luxury only available to the super wealthy. That's all changed with the birth of companies like Instacart, GoPuff, GoodEggs, and of course Whole Foods/Amazon Prime, which have experienced dramatic growth by making grocery and convenience-store deliveries both fast and affordable.

So, what's next? What new trend will emerge at the intersection of food and technology, and who will be best positioned to capitalize on it?

The next exponential growth area that I see in the food-tech realm will be fundamentally different from the ones mentioned above in that it won't be a B2C opportunity but rather B2B. Before Covid-19, companies were spending $60 billion a year on office catering and feeding their teams. With most employees working from home or in a hybrid fashion, the office-catering industry has been decimated as all of that demand shifted to at-home eating.

Now, as Covid-19 shifts into its endemic phase, companies are eager to get their teams back together--in person--to foster communication and creativity and to build culture. Leaders know that nothing brings people together like food, and the business demand for office catering will skyrocket out of its current anemic levels.  A company's demand for food will also have tremendous variability by day and over time, so providers must be able to easily accommodate these huge swings.  Providers will need to move quickly and nimbly to meet that demand. HUNGRY and EZ Cater are two examples of food-tech organizations that have a structure in place to fill the opportunity in the marketplace.

At HUNGRY, our core purpose is to improve the lives of everyone we touch, specifically our chefs, clients, community, and team. This defines our approach to business and shapes our daily decision-making. How do we do it? We leverage our marketplace of top local chefs in various cities around the country; we support a robust tech platform that enables us to operate efficiently, reliably, and in a scalable manner; and we continuously invest in training and team development.

One of our latest innovations--Cafes & Coffee Bars by HUNGRY--reimagines the corporate cafeteria experience by providing permanent, flexible food-service solutions that don't require expansive build-outs or prohibitive operating costs. We help curate food produced offsite by top local chefs, providing full and self-serve meals with adjustable layouts and authentic hospitality.

The idea of food as a mechanism to bring people together is hardly new. What is new is harnessing cutting-edge technology to enable better, more sophisticated B2B services like top-quality office catering, live chef demonstrations, corporate café setups, food truck events for companies, pop-ups, restaurant delivery options, and more.

That's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what opportunities exist in this exciting world of tech-enabled food companies. What other emerging trends do you see out there that will shape the future of food, and how and what we eat?

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