“The future of the food industry is online. Whether you’re buying ingredients or recipes, people will rely less and less on physical stores and more and more on online delivery.”
– Sharma, head of Saffron Fix, an online Indian cuisine service1
While we are not quite at the point where we have talking robots dropping off food at our door, that reality is not far away. Even without automated delivery, the strides taken in incorporating technology to the food industry are fascinating, and all are aimed at giving customers faster, easier access to the foods you produce.
Technology has integrated itself into countless industries, from fashion to music, predominantly through online shopping and digitally enabled purchases. Now, with the emergence of online food delivery companies, the food industry is also being affected and influenced by technological advancements. In fact, more and more customers are preferring to use apps or websites over physically going out to get their meals.
Graph provided by McKinsey & Company2
Customers are becoming steadily more interested in their food, from where it was grown and how it was produced to what it tastes like and is made of. Food suppliers are being held to a higher standard in order to satisfy consumers’ desires in terms of quality, authenticity, and now, accessibility.
As people became increasingly more comfortable with online shopping, they also became more used to the ease with which most items could be obtained. The expectation of having a multitude of options at one’s disposal that can be chosen and received quickly and without duress became commonplace, and was swiftly applied to the food industry, with consumers looking for the same effortless experience when ordering meals as when ordering shoes.
With all these new advancements in the industry, it’s no surprise that new ways of servicing have developed, from ordering through an app or online from a favorite restaurant to businesses that will construct and ship a box of ingredients so that customers can cook for themselves without having to go out and purchase groceries.
Popular platforms include those developed by companies such as Blue Apron and Saffron Fix, allowing one to select the meal they wish to create and have it shipped directly to their door. Having such service allows for fresher produce to arrive in front of customers in less time than ever before, making online food deliverers the perfect solution to satisfy the population’s craving for fast food that maintains its farm fresh quality.
With all these developments, it is important not to be lost in the nuances of the technology and focus on being able to deliver the highest quality food possible. Check our blog regularly for further updates and guidance to help you navigate the changes in the food industry and keep your business operating at its best.
2http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/the-changing-market-for-food-delivery
