Innovation Trends

Our business sector has always relied on innovation, hence we have already discussed here the latest trends in logistics, dining experiences and sustainable alternatives to traditional foods. Now the trending topic is vertical farming, which entails growing plants on layered vertical structures, often indoors.  According to a recent analysis, the global Vertical Farming Market was valued at USD 3.1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 11.2 billion by 2028, with an extraordinary CAGR of 25.2% during the forecast period. As if to say, the future looks bright…and tall. By stacking plants vertically on shelves or tall pillars,…

90 billion euros: that is, according to Italy’s farmer association Coldiretti, the estimated turnover of fake Italian products all over the world. From parmesan to pasta achuta, countless are the products that pretend to be Italian but are not Made in Italy at all. Defined as “Italian sounding”, these products are marketed using brand names, images and color combinations evocative of Italy. Although some might argue that this extra “visibility” supports the growth of authentic Italian exports, the truth is that this is still worth half of the Italian sounding one.  Fake Italian products do not add value to the…

Online and offline are not two sides of the same coin anymore. Since we are all online, all the time, it should not come as a surprise the recent approach that combines physical presence with digital engagement called “phygital” marketing. If on the one hand restaurants need to keep satisfying their customers’ needs, on the other hand customers expect the same level of personalization and accessibility in person as they do online. In this scenario, applying the phygital marketing approach to the industry seems the most sensible choice.  As the phygital approach is all about improving engagement, this can start…

The World Food Programme estimates that 45 million people are currently on the brink of famine. Last year, the UN estimated that about 800 million people were already living with hunger. Ending hunger is classified as the second of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve by 2030, yet statistics are so alarming that call for quicker actions. Food insecurity has doubled in the past two years, food prices are spiraling and - although food supplies have been first disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic then by the Ukrainian conflict - global hunger is an ongoing, long-standing problem that needs…

English is the most widely spoken language in various contexts in the world and it has been the global language of trade for a long time. This still holds true especially for meetings, negotiations and contracts yet, when it comes to online sales, the scenario is rather different these days. As most of the action in today’s export industry takes place online, offering a multilingual experience becomes central to any efficient marketing strategy. Several studies have demonstrated that, on average, 75% of people want to purchase products in their native language and 92.2% want to make purchases in their local…

The pandemic and the supply chain disruptions that followed have highlighted how important it is for many consumer goods - particularly perishable foods - to be delivered intact and on time. At the same time, the attention paid by customers to food waste and food safety has risen to unprecedented levels. Innovative technologies are now helping the sector to extend the shelf-life of food products while improving food quality and safety. Among them, high pressure processing (HPP) is still the most popular. HPP is a unique food preservation method that utilizes cold water and extreme pressure to inactivate foodborne pathogens…

If the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global supply chain, the conflict in Ukraine is putting it under a serious strain. According to a recent report, just over 600.000 businesses worldwide rely on Ukrainian and Russian suppliers. With such a high number in mind, it is easy to understand how the ongoing war is creating barriers in the market that damage the flow of commodities: mainly wheat, corn, sunflower seed but also oil, gas and semi-finished iron products. Despite the long-term effort to make the whole logistics system more efficient by implementing integrated supply chain management solutions, it seems that now…

Last month we launched e-alifood.com, a new digital touchpoint for food professionals and international buyers alike. Considering the quick acceleration of the digitalization process - boosted by the Covid-19 pandemic - and new emerging market trends, we transformed our offline customer-centered approach into an online shopper experience that is truly unique. We still offer the best selection of top-quality Italian food products to international buyers all over the world; yet this online solution has allowed us to add a new tool to the ecosystem of services we already provide, in order to make our worldwide clients more autonomous about what…

When we started Alifood we had the ambitious dream of matching the quality of our services to that of the Italian food products we export. Twenty-five years later, we can proudly say that we made it. Thanks to an approach which is following the new tendencies after these years of pandemic era, we have now added a new digital touchpoint. A new e-commerce which is based on new exigences of professional and international buyers offering to them an efficient, speed and easy-to-use buying experience. E-alifood.com must be considered and utilized as a new online tool, always accessible from everywhere in…

When it comes to food, packaging plays a fundamental role in keeping it fresh, preserving its quality to reduce food-borne diseases as well as extending its shelf-life to minimize loss and waste. Although a plastic-free attitude is a linear approach to the green question, a circular one may be more efficient. If we take into consideration the negative impact that producing food which remains uneaten or distributing inedible food has on our environment and economy, food loss and food waste call for new packaging solutions. One of the latest trends entails converting agri-food residues into innovative bio-packaging. In this perspective,…

When innovative technologies are mentioned, chances are that the food and beverage industry does not come to mind. Yet our sector is one of the most affected by the ongoing digital transformation which is rapidly reshaping the way that many businesses are run. As a matter of fact, new technologies and the rise of Industry 4.0 are creating a vast range of brand-new opportunities for everybody, food and beverage companies included. These technologies - such as, for example, advanced data analytics, clouds, Internet of Things (IoT) and smart sensors – are proving to have the potential to lead a sustainable…

The digital era we live in entails an ongoing digital revolution that changes technology rapidly. The interesting part of these fast changes is the versatility shown by technological innovations that seem to develop new potential when applied to different sectors. Take blockchain, for example. Initially created to regulate the transactions made in cryptocurrency, it now stands as the most revolutionary way to innovate the food sector and its supply chain. We all know by now that a blockchain is a digital distributed ledger, maintained by a network of multiple computers that store data in the form of blocks which are…