With the first-ever ProFood Tech (April 4–6, 2017; McCormick Place, Chicago) quickly approaching, food processing machinery continues significant annual growth, increasing 11.3 percent, according to the 2017 Trends in Food Processing Operations report and accompanying infographic, “Food Processing Trends and Predictions for Tomorrow,” from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.
Powered by three of the world’s trade show leaders – PACK EXPO, Anuga and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) – and positioned as the most comprehensive food and beverage show in North America, ProFood Tech was launched to meet the demands of this growing market.
“Markets, channels and technology are changing the way consumers will purchase and consume food in the future,” says Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market development for PACK EXPO producer PMMI. “Over the next fifteen years expect to see significant changes to food manufacturing and sourcing, such as shorter supply chains because of transportation expense, growth of local production, benefits of microtechnology and nanotechnology for more sustainable production of food and improved taste, as well as stronger competition for land use as food, fuel and fiber battle for space.”
Currently, the industry is served by a relatively small amount of global producers that span multiple food verticals and channels. Cross-border investments are merging some of the world’s best known food brands in order to achieve growth. The majority of food processing establishments are small plants, but large plants represent a higher percentage of total value of shipments. While small plants accounted for 66 percent of all food processing establishments and large plants accounted for 12 percent, 77 percent of the total value of shipments is represented by large plants while small plants represent only four percent.
