The food company of the future stands at the center of a dynamic ecosystem of data, technology, and societal change. These companies are no longer driven solely by production efficiency, but by a multitude of factors such as consumer behavior, laws and regulations, innovations, sustainability, and external circumstances. How can companies stay smart in this environment? At Aptean's Food & Beverage Business Event, companies received information, inspiration, and practical tools. Naturally, the role and potential of AI were extensively discussed.
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Everything revolves around data: It connects the links, provides insights, and enables targeted action. The Food & Beverage company of the future is not only efficient but also transparent, sustainable, and innovative. "Data drives this transformation, not only for the company itself but also across the supply chain," said Joris Kolff, Senior Regional Sales Director Food & Beverage at Aptean. A company is part of an ecosystem where the consumer plays a key role. Consumers determine demand, but also want to know: Where does my food come from?
"Transparency about food origin and enabling conscious choices, such as reducing sugar, alcohol, and meat consumption, are becoming increasingly important and serve as differentiators." At the same time, companies must comply with new laws and regulations, meet above-legal standards from retailers, ensure food safety, and respond to a variety of external factors such as inflation, extreme weather, and supply chain disruptions. Innovations like AI, AI agents, chatbots, and machine learning are helping companies to produce smarter and become more customer-centric.
Copilot and AI agents
Hans Loomans, Go-to-Market Lead Business Applications at Microsoft, guided visitors through Microsoft's vision for digital transformation. Eighty-seven per cent of companies believe AI will give them a competitive advantage, yet many are unsure how to implement AI in a way that is specific to their company.
Every employee can already have a personal AI assistant, Copilot. This tool helps generate documents and analyze data within tools such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and Dynamics 365. Taking it a step further are AI agents: digital assistants that can perform tasks autonomously, understand context, learn from data, and collaborate with both people and systems. Hans also discussed the importance of responsible AI, ensuring reliability, privacy, and ethics in AI development and deployment.
Managing a robot army
Blindly trusting AI is unwise, however. Vigilance is essential, warned Kristiaan Glorie, Director at Erasmus Q-Intelligence. "Within certain boundaries, AI can complement or even take over human tasks; outside those boundaries, AI output becomes less accurate, less useful, and can impair human performance. Determining exactly where those boundaries lie can be tricky, especially for inexperienced or junior users."
When properly deployed, AI offers many opportunities and can create entirely new possibilities. "The combination of human and machine is the strongest," he said. To harness this, employees must learn new skills: Data literacy, the ability to combine process knowledge with AI insights, and the ability to manage their own robot army. He concluded with a quote from Professor Lakhani: "AI won't replace humans — but humans with AI will replace humans without AI."
Compass for the future
What are the trends from 'Farmer to Plate'? Looking at the economic outlook, consumer trends, and the sustainability challenges facing the food sector, Marcel Lambregts, Sector Manager Food at Rabobank, concludes that the sector is moving toward a future where cooperation, transparency, and true value are key.
Despite persistent inflation, consumers in the Netherlands continue to spend. Higher wages and government stimulus are keeping the economy afloat. Yet consumer sentiment remains volatile. "We see consumers making different choices. They are downgrading to cheaper products or switching to discount retailers," Marcel said.
Health, sustainability, and convenience
The three dominant consumer trends — health, sustainability, and convenience — are increasingly shaping purchasing behavior. This shift is influencing both food retail and foodservice. However, a gap remains between what consumers say they value and what they buy. "It is important to remove mental barriers. Consumers must know what is sustainable or healthy," he said.
Geopolitical tensions and potential import tariffs of up to 25% could significantly limit sector growth. Climate change is also playing an increasingly large role. Consider the reduced availability of coffee, rising food prices (rice and maize: +40-55% by 2030), and the salinization of farmland, including in the Netherlands. "Without intervention, parts of Africa will become unsuitable for food production. The Netherlands also faces serious challenges, such as salinization," Marcel warned.
Legislation: Duty and opportunity
With the introduction of legislation such as the CSDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive), companies must map out how they handle environmental, human rights, and social responsibility issues. Major buyers and banks (including Rabobank) expect their suppliers to report transparently on these matters. "Those who get it right are rewarded with better financing terms," Marcel said.
Younger employees and consumers increasingly expect companies to operate sustainably. There are already examples of sustainable initiatives: AH, Colruyt, and Plus with closed-loop supply chains, Lidl's Kipster, and the Yespers and FoodMasters concept, where apples are fully utilized from product to by-product.
According to Rabobank, the transition to a sustainable food system is not only morally necessary, given the growing world population and scarcity of resources, but also offers strategic opportunities for companies that invest early in chain collaboration, data analysis, and sustainability. Rabobank is fully committed to the True Value principle: a system where environmental and social costs are incorporated into pricing. "Those who succeed in reducing their external costs will become cheaper and more sustainable. This requires cooperation, not competition," Marcel emphasized.
"Stay human"
To conclude the Aptean event, former top ice skater and IT entrepreneur Ben van der Burg surprised the audience with a lively and energetic lecture on the role of AI and, above all, the indispensable human factor. His message? "Technology is getting smarter, but surprise, feeling, and guts remain human."
AI can do a lot: it analyzes, generates texts, and performs tasks faster than humans. But it also has limitations. "AI is trained on the past. It doesn't surprise, it doesn't feel, it doesn't celebrate." He urged companies to embrace technology while preserving their humanity. "The world is changing at lightning speed. Don't wait for perfection. Try, fail, learn — and stay human."
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