Increased consumer knowledge on sustainability in manufacturing sparked by growing environmental awareness, and the prevalence of digitalisation, are changing the manufacturing industry, according to a recent study.

Half of the world’s consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products, said the study by Accenture.

The same research shows that more than three quarters of consumers (83 per cent) believe it is important for companies to design products that are reusable or can be recycled.

It is a trend that manufacturers must pay attention to in order to remain successful in a competitive marketplace, and is one of more than 20 major topics under the spotlight at the second Gulfood Manufacturing Foodtech Summit, taking place from October 30-31 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), in Dubai, UAE.

The agenda-setting summit, which runs on the sidelines of Gulfood Manufacturing 2019, the sixth edition of the Middle East and North Africa’s largest food and beverage processing and packaging forum, will deep-dive into the industry’s rapid transformation and chart the best way forward.

Lars Holmquist, vice president packaging solutions and commercial operations, Tetra Pak, will address the summit on how sustainability and digitalisation are impacting the industry in his session titled ‘Food manufacturing and packaging – the changing rules of the game’.

Holmquist said: “Sustainability is something that every manufacturer and packager should seriously consider for long-term success. It is the future and its adoption is a must for all players in this industry.”

“Sustainability is not only essential to maintain consumer demand but also to enhance the overall profile and health of the industry. Sustainability provides long-term opportunities for F&B manufacturers,” he added.

Under the summit theme ‘Food Production Reinvented’, Samir Moftah, director research and innovation, Quality and Food Safety, Danone Egypt, will address the summit with a presentation on ‘Design thinking as a tool to move faster and de-risk innovations’.

“Design thinking is a process and mindset that tries to reduce risk that comes from fast and bold innovation,” said Moftah. “As the F&B industry needs to meet more complex consumer and customer desires at neck-breaking speed, we need to learn from other industries how they handle innovation at speed.”

Moftah suggests bolder strategies and solutions are needed to stay relevant in a fast-changing market to ensure complex consumer needs are fulfilled.

“I am excited to speak at the Gulfood Manufacturing Foodtech Summit about how to introduce bold innovations speedily in the F&B industry. I am also looking forward to attending the other sessions and hearing about new technologies, supplier strategies, and the chance to meet industry leaders,” he added.

With key topics such as how artificial intelligence is impacting the F&B industry, the on-set of smart packaging, the adoption of new technologies, transforming food safety and tastes of the future, the Gulfood Foodtech Summit will serve as a holistic platform to shape the future of the F&B industry.

Amongst the other noteworthy speakers taking to the stage over the two days are Dr Imad Farhat, global VP Taste, Firmenich, who will address ‘Taste for Good, the role of flavours in sugar reduction’; Athar Siddiqui, executive vice president digital factory, Siemens, who will deliver a session titled ‘A Case Study: Digital Twins’, looking at digital replicas of manufacturing facilities; and Dr Jarrah El Jarrah, COO - Al Rabie Saudi Foods Co, who will highlight the importance of  value proposition and the urgency of moving from operational excellence to operational innovation in F&B industry.

Gulfood Manufacturing 2019 will run alongside co-located events including Private Label & Licensing Middle East Exhibition, the Mena region’s first dedicated private label and licensing exhibition; SEAFEX Middle East, the only professional seafood event for the Middle East, Africa and Asia and yummex ME, the Mena region’s leading event for the sweets and snacks industry, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service