GenNext
food machinery
Dr A Sivakumar offers an overview of
the food and bakery equipment industry
Preferences for greater food variety,
changing demographics (the prevalence
of one-person households) and
changing lifestyles play a role in driving
market expansion for processed food. For
instance, demand for food processing
equipment in the bakery segment is expected
to increase due to the growing popularity of
ready-to-eat, takeaway meals and snacks
rather than traditionally home-cooked, set
meals. This means that the market for food
machinery is going to expand in a big way.
The Indian food scenario presents a picture of
enormous potential, as much of the
agricultural produce goes waste without
processing. This again provides an opportunity
for food equipment manufacturers to expand
their market. The agricultural and food sector
in India is one of the few sectors that have
not been significantly influenced by
liberalisation and globalisation. Indigenous
machinery manufacturers, therefore, are yet
to face the heat of competition from global
players. Globally, food safety is a major issue
that affects food and bakery machinery
manufacturers. Indigenous manufacturers of
food and bakery equipment need to learn a lot
from the global trends in order to produce
equipment of international standards and
requirements. Traceability has become an
important consideration with manufacturers
having to incorporate tracking systems in
their machines. New food safety standards are
also spurring an increase in software-based
industrial food processing equipment.
Technological developments in the market are
being driven by international legislation
governing food safety, product quality and
energy efficiency. At the same time,
heightened competition also supports
constant product innovation. Here, the
equipment manufacturers' effort has been to
boost productivity and reduce labour costs
through flexible automation and higher
capacity machines. This, in turn, is expected
to enable companies to pass on the savings to
customers. Thus globally, as well as in India,
foods processing as well as bakery equipment
producers are in for challenging times.
Global scenario
Intense competition has put customers of
food processing machinery in a good
bargaining position. They want higher
specification or better equipment, namely
higher output and more flexible machinery
for the same amount of money. The
challenge for manufacturers is to remain
price-competitive and retain market share in
this highly charged environment. The
development of technologically advanced
machines with dual-application capabilities is
expected to assume greater relevance due to
changing consumer tastes. As consumers
demand greater variety in their food, there is
expected to be a corresponding rise in
demand for processing equipment with
crossover applicability. With increasing
demand for home meal replacement and
convenience foods, end users are putting
