The food industry has seen its fair share of evolution over the last few years, from ghost kitchens and QR codes to sustainable packaging and enormous growth in the delivery space. But one of the most innovative and potentially transforming developments in the food game in recent years is the emergence of 3D food printing, and it could be reshaping the restaurant industry as we know it.
Similar to traditional 3D printing, this technology is revolutionary, allowing for the creation of food, one layer at a time. The process involves using edible materials like chocolate, dough, or meat paste , designing a digital model of the food item, and then depositing the material layer by layer, creating customized food products that are masterpieces in their own right.
Potential Pros of 3D Food Printing
The potential applications of 3D food printing span many areas of the food industry, making it a possible game-changer for restaurants.
Customized Nutrition: 3D food printers will allow restaurants the ability to create customized meals tailored to customer’s dietary restrictions and preferences. Whether a guest is following a gluten-free diet, is interested in functional nutrition, or has food allergies, 3D food printing can deliver.
Unlike mass-produced industrial food products, smart food printers will allow users to print fresh, healthy meals with maximum transparency and minimal time and effort. Because it’s also easy to add vitamins and minerals to ingredients before printing, users will be able to plan their meals down to the last micronutrient.
Sustainability: By using precise measurements, 3D food printing has the potential to reduce food waste. It can also promote sustainability by using alternative protein sources.
Culinary Creativity: Chefs can push culinary artistic boundaries and produce food products with precision and consistency. By being able to create intricate designs that were painstakingly time-consuming when crafted by hand, 3D printing will allow restaurants to offer unique and beautiful dishes that are affordable and accessible.
Current Cons of 3D Food Printing
Although 3D food printing offers many benefits and many chefs have begun experimenting with the technology, there are some issues that still need to be worked out before it is used by restaurants on a larger scale.
The difficulty in preserving the proper texture while ensuring print accuracy is one of the issues that need to be resolved.. The need for the tools and implements to be immaculate to maintain shelf life and prevent contamination is also at the top of the list of difficulties.
Anticipated Growth
In 2021, the 3D food printing market brought in $140 million, but experts are anticipating a tremendous acceleration in growth, with estimates for it to reach $8.49 billion by 2030.
The largest foreseeable growth for 3D food printing is anticipated to be in North America.
The driving force behind this region’s expansion appears to be increased awareness of nutrition, health, and sustainability and higher disposable income. In response to these numbers, many companies in the food game have begun experimenting and creating 3D food printed menu items. The 3D food printing market in the Asia Pacific is also anticipated to expand quickly.
Companies Shape-Shifting the Restaurant Industry
BeeHex
Specializing in 3D printed pizza, BeeHex is exploring partnerships with pizza chains and restaurants. Allowing users to create pizzas dishes with precise ingredient placement, it is foreseeable that the technology will enable customization and reduce food waste.
Bocusini
With a focus on 3D printing desserts and confections, Bocusini allows pastry chefs and home bakers alike to create intricate and artistic desserts, pushing the creative boundaries of sweet treats.
Redefine Meat
Revolutionizing the meat industry with 3D-printed plant-based meat alternatives, Israeli startup Redefine Meat is creating sustainable, flavorful, and nutrient-rich meat substitutes using 3D printing technology.
Redefine Meat’s range of products include whole cuts, plus burgers, sausages, lamb kebabs, and ground beef. Sold in over 150 restaurants and establishments in Israel, the company is working on a launch in the US and Asia.
Natural Machines
The company behind the Foodini 3D food printer, Natural Machines, allows users to prepare a wide range of dishes, from pizza to pasta, using fresh ingredients and customized recipes. The company’s mission is to make fresh, homemade food affordable, accessible, and convenient.
Nūfood
NuFood is a 3D food printing technology that employs a printing technique that produces individualized and healthy foods. An invention based on a patent-pending method that uses high-pressure extrusion to make complex shapes out of food ingredients, the NuFood system makes it possible to create food items that are difficult to produce using conventional 3D printing techniques.
3Desserts Graphiques
Part of a new class of 3D printers that employs distinctive robotic technology, 3Desserts Graphiques is a French company that offers 3D chocolate-making printers.
Opportunities for Restaurants
The ability to customize food opens up a whole new world of opportunity for restaurateurs. Customized pasta, intricate chocolate creations, and enticing plating, 3D food printing is the perfect marriage uniting high-end cuisine with scientific precision, allowing chefs to create masterpieces that would be highly impossible, impractical, and unaffordable when made with the human hand.
Because there is no such thing as “too complicated,” 3D food printers will help chefs elevate their creative culinary skills on a whole new level.
Take Away
3D food printing is poised to shape-shift the food industry in significant ways. From customizable nutrition to sustainable food production, the potential applications of this technology are seemingly endless.
By Eileen Strauss
