Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Manufacturing News

TECH FLASH

Feeding the world in 2030: Can innovation and technology keep up with growth?

Booming population growth and commodity prices demand new models for food companies.

Feeding the world in 2030: Can innovation and technology keep up with growth?
March 26, 2013
Feeding the world in 2030: Can innovation and technology keep up with growth?
A.T. Kearney envisions four potential scenarios for the food industry's future.

With the global population exploding, weather patterns in flux and commodity prices racing up, food companies will need to adapt to new models to survive—and thrive—in the next decade.

The world population reached 7 billion in 2012, and developing economies grew at a torrid 6.3 percent annually between 2000 and 2010. The most obvious impact of this increase in worldwide wealth has been the growth of a global middle class. In 2000, China had just 3 million households with disposable income over $10,000. It now has nearly 60 million such households, and will have 230 million by 2020.

How will the global food markets of the future react to such intense population and wealth growth? A new study from A.T. Kearney offers four possible scenarios for the future of food, each in response to hypothetical increases or decreases in agricultural output and minimal or radical shifts in consumer demand.

The first scenario results from decreased output and minimal shifts in demand. In this scenario, current trends continue to create larger global wealth disparities, supply shocks are common and prices are unstable.

Scenario two would result from radical demand shifts but decreased production, and envisions an economy dominated by supply exclusivity. This dynamic would see companies compete not on the basis of price or quality but on assured supply continuity, and the effectiveness of global networks determined by the ability of food companies to meet global demand.

In scenario three, the current supply and demand dynamic—where demand slightly exceeds supply, but not enough to create a panic—persists, leading to stagnation. A.T. Kearney says this scenario would result from increased production and minimal shifts in consumer demand.

Only the fourth scenario, wherein governments and companies balance supply and demand in a flexible, equitable and predictable manner, achieves equilibrium. That scenario would result from increased agricultural output and radical changes in consumer demand.

According to the study, new market dynamics will cause faster innovation cycles, industry consolidation and competition between supply networks rather than individual companies.

Social media, emerging information technologies and the onward march of globalization will ensure that tastes change even more quickly and over a broader geographical scope. The study says current strategies and R&D organizations aren’t oriented to respond with sufficient speed and cost effectiveness, and they must adapt with faster innovation cycles.

Such rapid shifts in consumer demand combined with a constrained supply base will increase interdependence among partners in the supply chain. According to the study, food companies will have to augment network management skills as competition shifts from individual companies to supply chains.

Along with this shift in the dynamic of competition, global scale will be increasingly important to meet demand in emerging markets and secure access to inadequate resources. The companies best able to take advantage of their scale and influence on the global market will adapt best to changing opportunities in the face of population growth, shifting diets and restricted availability of agricultural commodities.

KEYWORDS: food security food supply

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    Latest headlines
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Cleaning | Sanitation
    By: Richard F. Stier
Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

Food Plant Openings and Expansions June 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions June 2025

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Shalima Sreenath

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Shalima Sreenath

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Samara Heaggans

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Samara Heaggans

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

More Videos

Popular Stories

Cargill Cocoa Plant

Cargill Invests in its Cocoa Supply Chain

Campbell’s Utah plant

Going for Gold(fish): Inside The Campbell’s Company’s $160M Cracker Plant Expansion

Chicken Alfredo Listeria Products

Listeria Outbreak Connected with Pre-Made Chicken Alfredo Meals Results in 3 Deaths

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 17, 2025

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ State of the Cold Chain

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

July 10, 2025

Smarter Innovation With AI: How the F&B Industry Can Stay Agile

Join our webinar to explore how practical AI solutions are helping leading brands reduce compliance risks, streamline reformulation and accelerate time-to-market.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • Small water falls

    World facing a 40 percent shortfall in water supply by 2030, UN report warns

    See More
  • FIT-Development-Program

    How the FIT Development Program can keep technicians in the food and beverage industry

    See More
  • sustainable packaging

    Packaging industry pumps up R&D to keep pace with green goals

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • 9781138081420.jpg

    Ultraviolet Light in Food Technology: Principles and Applications, 2nd Edition

  • ready to eat.webp

    Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

  • download.jpg

    Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • July 10, 2025

    Smarter Innovation With AI: How the F&B Industry Can Stay Agile

    Join our webinar to explore how practical AI solutions are helping leading brands reduce compliance risks, streamline reformulation and accelerate time-to-market.
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!