Emerging Deep-Tech Solutions for Food Supply Chains

What is the potential of technology to meaningfully reduce fresh food waste, and in doing so significantly alter a grocery retailer’s P&L? Heading into Groceryshop later this month the challenge of escalating shrink is top of many minds. Much focus is understandably on increasing theft and the impacts of organized crime on retailers and their employees. The largest source of loss for many grocery retailers, though, remains fresh food wastage. Fresh food waste can cost up to 3% of total turnover for some grocers, therefore significant reductions here have the potential to transform the economics of grocery stores that run on such wafer-thin margins. And there’s a greater opportunity, as between 40-60% of fresh produce grown globally is wasted. There’s a clear sustainability and moral imperative to do better. Around the world we’re observing a range of technologies emerging that seek to reduce fresh food waste, and which fall into four broad buckets: 1. Dynamic Pricing tools that utilize AI to automate the mark-down price to ensure products sell out before date expiry, like Ahold Delhaize's Albert Heijn chain is trialing in the Netherlands 2. Produce coatings or protective stickers, that utilize natural antimicrobial compounds to protect against disease and extend shelf life, like Apeel, AgroSustain SA or Stixfresh 3. Ordering or inventory management tools powered by AI that optimize order quantities, manage in-store positions or empower store teams to efficiently allocate rescue channels, such as those from Picadeli, Afresh or Smartway.AI 4. Hydroponic vertical farms, located in-store to dramatically shorten the supply chain and respond quickly to changing demand, like SweGreen currently in ICA Gruppen Sweden and now expanding in EDEKA ZENTRALE Stiftung & Co. KG supermarkets in Germany I’d love to hear your thoughts and other solutions you’re seeing or trialing. Let's chat at Groceryshop!

We talk a lot about fintech, mobility, and e-com. But the sector that still feeds our GDP and our families is agriculture. It’s big, underperforming, and the least digitised sector globally. How big? Agriculture is roughly 24% of Pakistan’s GDP and employs about one-third+ of our workforce. In FY24, it also led national growth (+6.25%).  Despite one of the world’s largest irrigated systems (~82% of land), our yields fall far short of potential. Where are the gaps? Yields trail the frontier. Wheat averages ~3.1–3.2 t/ha vs. top producers at >7 t/ha;  Post-harvest losses are huge: double-digit to 20–35% for many perishables due to weak cold chains and handling. That’s value evaporating before it reaches a buyer. Why now is a once-in-a-decade opportunity? The Middle East/GCC imports ~85–90% of its food (the UAE is ~90%). If Pakistan raises yields + quality and fixes losses, the export upsides are immediate.  We’re already seeing signals: record rice exports after India tightened supply - Pakistan’s rice shipments jumped to ~5.6m tonnes and ~$3.6b in 2024’s marketing window. That’s what happens when supply meets a hungry market. Enter Agrilift (my latest podcast): deep tech + operator rails What I loved in this conversation is how Agrilift is approaching the problem like systems engineers, not just app builders: on-ground farm data, computer vision, deep learning agronomy models, and decision support to lift yields, raise quality, and cut input waste. Two years of problem-mapping on thousands of acres. No tech bias and handpicking the right technology for each challenge and fusing them into one unified platform & delivered through institutions farmers already trust. With FFC (Fauji Fertilizer Company) and their Sona centres they’re scaling “crop monitoring ag-services” across thousands of acres, plugging AI into an existing field networks to cover the last mile gap instead of reinventing distribution. Ag businesses like Fauji Fresh & Freeze, British American Tobacco, and National Foods are rolling out precision farming across their field networks to enhance farm visibility and unlock new levels of productivity. They’ve even invested in a soil diagnostics labs to ground the AI in real agronomy, not guesses. What this adds up to: Closing even half the yield gap and cutting losses could unlock billions in exports while lifting incomes across millions of rural jobs. With the GCC’s built-in import demand, this isn’t about the next app, but about fixing the plumbing of a $70–80B growth engine. I left this recording deeply optimistic: It’s the right recipe: tech where it matters, and distribution where it already exists. I think there’s real upside here for Agrilift, for farmers, for anyone investing in agri and for Pakistan’s export story over the next decade. Full podcast link with Agrilift’s Co-Founder and CEO, Jawwad Hasan & Salar Malik, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer of FFC, in the comments.

🤔 The next $B opportunity? You’re probably missing it. 🥗 Food might be the one you’re overlooking. It could be the next AI. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Written by Nadezda for Included VC, this Deep Dive unpacks food, climate, capital, and the trillion-dollar tech you’re not watching closely enough. Because the next climate crisis won’t hit your power grid. It’ll hit your plate. Agrifoodtech is the quiet revolution reshaping how we grow, move, & consume everything. This isn’t just climate. It isn’t just tech. It’s the infrastructure of civilisation itself. And it’s massive: 🍽️ Food systems drive one-third of global emissions 🚜 Climate change is wrecking farmland 💸 VC capital is shifting from hype to hard returns At the center? A new generation of startups making agriculture not just sustainable, but scalable. Here’s what’s changing: 🌾 AI-powered precision farming 🛰️ Satellite crop monitoring and smart sensors 🤖 Autonomous tractors solving labor shortages 💧 Intelligent irrigation systems that cut water use 📦 AI for food logistics, inventory, and traceability 🧫 Biotech proteins grown without animals 💨 Soil carbon tracking that fuels carbon markets And momentum is shifting fast: 📈 India’s agrifoodtech investment surged 215% last year 📉 Series B+ deals are drying up, but seed is still hot 📦 Cold chains, cloud kitchens, AI warehouses - foodtech’s biggest bets are landing here. Why now? 🚀 Generalist VCs are stepping back → Corporate VCs are stepping in 📉 Late-stage funding is cautious → Early-stage innovation is thriving 🤖 Capital-light models + AI = faster, leaner wins 🌱 Regenerative agriculture is finally getting its moment This isn’t farm-to-table - it’s farm-to-future. And it’s already here: 🚛 Einride - autonomous trucks transforming food freight 🌱 Varaha - 80K farmers using AI to generate carbon credits 🍄 Infinite Roots - mycelium-grown protein at scale 📦 Trusty - blockchain-powered traceability across the supply chain 🧠 Bloomfield Robotics - AI systems that monitor plant health on the ground Because this isn’t just the future of food. It’s the future of EVERYTHING; energy, equity, climate, capital. You can’t solve climate without fixing food. And you can’t fix food without rethinking the system from the seed up. The next decade will decide whether we feed 10 billion people sustainably, or not at all. 🥦 From seed to shelf, this is the tech rewriting how the world eats. 🔗 Deep Dive in the comments - feast your brain (haha).

🔎 What if nearly half your harvest never reached the consumer? That’s reality today — 40–50% of fruits and vegetables are lost post-harvest due to poor cold chain and handling. It’s not just food waste. It’s lost revenue, higher emissions, and missed impact. 📊 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted annually. 💸 Up to 25% of supply chain costs are tied to spoilage. 🧊 Ice-based logistics? Outdated, expensive, and risky. 🚀 But a new generation of innovators is changing that: 🌱 Hazel Technologies – BreatheWay® ❄️ No more ice. Modified atmosphere pallet bags extend shelf life, reduce CO₂, and lower weight. 🛡️ Apeel Sciences 🍃 Invisible plant-based coating acts like a second skin, doubling or tripling shelf life — no packaging needed. 🕸️ Cambridge Crops (Mori) 🧵 Silk-protein film slows respiration and spoilage in delicate produce like berries and peaches. 🌸 FreshPaper 📄 Botanical-infused sheets for retail boxes or kitchens — freshness boost without refrigeration. 🍃 It’s Fresh! – RYPEN Tech 🌬️ Absorbs ethylene gas to slow ripening. Protects apples, kiwis, and more. 🧪 Oscillum – Stiint® 🔬 Food-contact patch that delays deterioration, keeping flavor and nutrients longer. 🌍 This isn’t just sustainability — it’s strategy. ✅ Less shrink = more profit ✅ Better shelf life = happier customers ✅ Smarter tech = cleaner supply chains 💭 Which approach do you believe will scale fastest? 💬 Let’s connect ideas, reduce waste, and redefine freshness — together. 🍅♻️ #FreshProduce #PostHarvest #ShelfLife #ColdChain #FoodTech #AgroFood #HazelTech #Apeel #ItsFresh #Oscillum #CambridgeCrops #RetailInnovation #FoodWaste #Sustainability #ZeroWaste

🌍 Reporting from New York during the UN General Assembly — where conversations about innovation, technology, and humanitarian response give us real hope for the future. At the World Food Programme, we’re not just talking about innovation — we’re scaling it. Three examples: 🔹 Building Blocks: Our blockchain-based system, now used by 55 agencies in Ukraine, has saved $270M in the last three years while reducing unintended assistance overlaps. 🔹 SCOUT: An AI solution for supply chain optimization — already saving $2M in its very first pilot. 🔹 Food Security Forecasting: Using AI, we can now forecast food security up to 90 days ahead, helping us prepare and respond faster to crises. This is exactly what humanitarian innovation should do: make us more efficient, effective — ensuring that every donated dollar reaches the people who need it most. #Innovation #Humanitarian #AI #Blockchain #UNGA WFP Innovation Accelerator

China is quietly industrializing agriculture. Robots no longer operate as isolated machines but as coordinated systems: vision models detect ripeness, robotic arms harvest with precision, and logistics software synchronizes transport and sorting. Humans remain in the loop, but mainly to handle anomalies rather than routine work. The real shift is cadence. Harvesting can run continuously, day and night, unconstrained by labor availability. The outcome is straightforward: lower production costs, less damaged produce, and a far more reliable food supply chain.

We have a "Logistics Paradox" in nutrition: The best molecules are often the hardest to scale. In the industry, we call Lactoferrin "Pink Gold." It is nature’s most sophisticated delivery system—an "armoured truck" that safely transports iron and modulates immunity. Biologically, it is perfect. Logistically? It is a nightmare. To get enough of it for the mass market, you have to process massive amounts of cow’s milk. It is scarce, prices are volatile, and the supply chain is fragile. This is the "Hard Tech" reality of our industry: You can identify the perfect ingredient, but if you can't stabilise the supply chain, it remains a luxury item for the 1%. At De Novo Foodlabs, we refused to accept that trade-off. We turned to precision fermentation—not just because it’s "cool science," but because it solves the business problem. Consistency: No seasonal price/volume fluctuation. (see my cost in use post) Scale: Abundant supply. Sustainability: Identical molecule, zero cows. We moved from extraction to creation. The future of nutrition isn’t just about finding better ingredients. It’s about engineering better ways to get them. #Biotech #PrecisionFermentation #SupplyChain #FutureOfFood #HardTech

Agriculture is quietly becoming one of the most advanced frontiers of robotics—and most people don’t even realize it. Walk into any grocery store today and you still see shelves stocked with apples, peaches, and other delicate produce. But behind the scenes, the labor required to harvest that food is becoming harder to find every year. So what’s stepping in? Robotics. Tevel, in partnership with Darwin Harvesting Group, has developed one of the most fascinating solutions I’ve seen in the field. A large, wheeled robotic platform navigates through orchards while deploying multiple tethered flying drones. These drones are electrically powered through the base unit and work together to identify, pick, and handle fruit—like apples—directly from trees. It’s not just automation—it’s coordination, perception, and real-time decision making at scale. And none of this works without the brains behind it. Recent advances in embedded computing—driven by companies like NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Intel—are what make systems like this viable. High-performance edge AI allows these robots to: - Process visual data in real time (ripeness detection, obstacle avoidance) - Coordinate multiple drones simultaneously - Operate efficiently in outdoor, unstructured environments We’re watching a fundamental shift happen. Agricultural robotics isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about resilience. It’s about keeping food supply chains intact when traditional labor models start to break down. And this is just the beginning. The same technologies powering orchard harvesting today will extend into planting, inspection, sorting, and full end-to-end autonomous farming systems tomorrow. The question isn’t if robotics will transform agriculture. It’s how fast. #Robotics #Agriculture #AgTech #Automation #AI #EdgeAI #NVIDIA #Qualcomm #Intel #FoodSupply #AutonomousSystems #Drones #Innovation

🎯 Can Artificial Intelligence See What the Human Eye Can’t? Food Science Says Absolutely Yes 🤖👁️🥔🌈 📊 A 2024 IEEE Food Engineering study found that machine-vision systems using spectral imaging improve defect detection in agricultural products by up to 47% compared to manual inspection. 🧠 Research from the University of Wageningen shows that AI-based sorting reduces false rejections by 38%, meaning significantly more edible food reaches consumers instead of being wasted. 📘 According to a FAO technology impact report, intelligent produce grading systems can increase usable yield by up to 26% while simultaneously improving food-safety outcomes. 💡 What’s really happening inside these systems? Invisible light wavelengths expose hidden bruises.  Algorithms classify shape, density, and chemical signatures. High-speed processors make thousands of decisions per second. This isn’t just automation — it’s computer vision + data science + food engineering working together. ✨ The result? 🌈 Cleaner supply chains  🛡️ Safer meals  📦 Higher farmer revenue  🌱 Less agricultural waste  ⚡ Faster processing with higher accuracy In modern food production, precision equals sustainability. 🔬 Scientists call this revolution “intelligent post-harvest processing” — where digital perception replaces human limitation, ensuring quality, safety, and efficiency at scale. 🌟 When AI learns to “see” beyond human eyesight, it doesn’t just improve machines…  It protects consumers.  It supports farmers. It strengthens global food security. 🌍✨ 🤔 Reflection for today:  If technology can reduce waste and increase safety at the same time…  shouldn’t we use it everywhere food is produced? Credits: 🌟 All write-up is done by me (P.S. Mahesh) after in-depth research. All rights for visuals belong to respective owners. 📚  

The future of food is here. And no, it’s not just about what's on your plate. It’s about how it gets there. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation are transforming the CPG industry by driving efficiency, innovation, and sustainability at scale. Here’s how: 1/ Efficiency Redefined By 2024, AI is expected to boost revenues by 10% and reduce costs by 11% for CPG companies. (Source: ZIPDO) Companies are achieving forecast accuracy improvements of up to 60%, optimizing inventory and slashing waste. (Source: ZIPDO) AI-driven demand forecasting aligns production schedules with consumer demand, minimizing overproduction. (Source: CAS) 2/ Innovation at Its Best Mondelez International uses AI to accelerate snack recipe creation, cutting development time and reducing unnecessary taste tests. (Source: Mid-Day) AI-powered product insights have improved innovation success rates by up to 80%, allowing companies to meet real consumer preferences. (Source: ZIPDO) 3/ Sustainability That Matters AI enhances predictive analytics, helping food companies reduce waste and prevent overproduction. (Source: CAS) Tools like SwagBot, developed by the University of Sydney, improve cattle farming efficiency and sustainability by preventing overgrazing. (Source: AP News) 📌 Real-World Impact: Brisbane-based Priestley's Gourmet Delights launched a $53M AI-powered smart factory, using real-time data to streamline processes and drive growth. (Source: The Australian) AI is creating a smarter, cleaner, and more innovative industry. For leaders in CPG: Adopting AI isn’t optional—it’s essential. How is your organization leveraging AI to innovate and build a sustainable future? Let’s discuss. 🚀 #CPG #AI #FMCG #CPGTrends #Headhunting