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Tremendous Growth, Potential Forecast for AI in Food and Beverage

Nov. 29, 2023

A new Rabobank report says artificial intelligence ‘may be the most fundamental enabler of change in the food industry.’

Dave Fusaro

Artificial intelligence’s impact on the food & beverage industry is likely to be transformative on multiple levels, says a new report from Rabobank.

“What we are witnessing, beyond the hype, is profound change,” says Julia Buech, a senior analyst for consumer foods. “AI is set to play a key role in the shift toward a more sustainable approach to food production.”

The Dutch multinational financial group just published a market report that predicts AI – however that label gets assigned to a salable product – will reach a market size of $35 billion in the global food & beverage industry by 2028, up from $7 billion in 2023, citing Mordor Intelligence. That’s a compound annual growth rate of more than 38%.

“AI may be the most fundamental enabler of change in the food industry,” the Rabobank report hypes. “Food companies are exploring the potential of artificial intelligence to refine their operational processes, forge deeper connections with consumers and develop innovative solutions for sustainability and nutrition.”

The three key application areas for AI in the food industry are operational efficiency, marketing & customer experience, and product innovation.

For a deeper dive into this subject and the Rabobank report, click here.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.