From how food is grown and formulated, to where and what we eat, the food industry is looking to emerging technologies to address entrenched challenges, according to our latest study. While nearly two-thirds of study respondents say AI and robotics have transformed the food industry, far fewer (29%) say the technologies are critical to their company’s survival.

Throughout recorded history, food has played a central role in the human experience, and central to food’s role has been technology. The wheel improved agricultural efficiency. The mill powered the explosion of food production during the First Industrial Revolution. Pointof-sale tills are at the heart of the $570 billion fast-food industry1 that is a ubiquitous part of the modern world.