AgNext & SourceTrace partnered to create Food-Safety and Fair-Trade platform for Agriculture and Food Businesses, called TraceNext

Today, amidst lockdowns and growing pandemic, global food value chains stand disrupted across all commodities. Food safety has been a growing global concern that is only set to rise in this covid world. It is in these times that it has become more imperative than ever, to ensure unadulterated and safe food across global food value chains.

As billions worth of food moves through the global food value chains, assessments and traceability of the food remain subjective or non-existent leading to losses in procurement, trade, storage, production and consumption.

Digitization of such value chains towards making food safe, trackable and of desired consumer quality, needs to be accelerated and implemented at a much faster pace than ever.

SourceTrace is a globally leading name in traceability and has already implemented solutions across diverse sectors such as fruits and vegetables, organic cotton, vanilla, aquaculture, flavors and fragrances, spices, honey and more. Working across 28 countries since 2013, SourceTrace’s DATAGREEN platform helps companies track their produce from global locations across all stages while maintaining complete transparency and assurance of quality.

AgNext solves the problem of quality, bringing the best of the technology world for agribusinesses. Using state of art technologies in computer vision, spectroscopy and IoT, AgNext has created the singular platform QUALIX, through which trade quality and safety parameters for multiple commodities could be assessed in a minute, enabling agribusinesses to leapfrog their procurement and operations processes, optimise costs, provide traceability, sharpen and smoothen blockchains and most importantly produce excellent products of highest quality for consumers and ensure fair-trade practices with farmers.

Helping businesses ensure the quality of food right from the Farm Gates to the consumers, AgNext has partnered with key nodal institutions in multiple commodities and has also been working with leading corporates in each of the segments.

By combining their solutions and signing an MoU, AgNext and SourceTrace have created a technology platform, TraceNext, that for the first time in history, can provide complete value chain traceability with an assurance of quality from the Farm Gates to the consumer.

The benefits for such a platform as TraceNext, brings immense value to multiple commodity value chains, ensuring various aspects like

1. Trace food origin and chain of custody
2. Monitor ethical and sustainable practices used in growing the food
3. Complete value chain traceability – from farm to consumer
4. Legal and compliance norms
5. Instant quality testing on trade and safety parameters
6. Instant trade decisions without any delays and dependencies
7. Ensure Blockchain and Fair-Trade practices in commodity supply chains

As per FAO, the value of trade in food is US$ 1.6 trillion per year. The estimated cost of food safety incidents for the economy of the United States is around $7 billion per year. Similarly, food fraud and safety scandals have cost over $8 billion USD every year in APAC alone. The health, sustainability and economic impact of such a solution can not be underestimated.

TraceNext fills that gap, providing a seamless solution catered to agriculture and food businesses that they always desired but never had as a single platform, ensuring complete control over quality and guaranteeing safe food to their consumers.

Venkat Maroju, CEO, SourceTrace said “In the coming years, traceability is going to be the most critical technology to ensure food safety. TraceNext is the only solution that can provide food businesses, regulatory bodies and consumers all the information they need to ensure food safety. It will also change how food businesses and consumers interact and what information is exchanged. We are looking at a complete transformation of the food ecosystem.”

Taranjeet Bhamra, CEO, AgNext said “Leveraging the best of technologies and principles of agriculture practices, we are joining hands to solve the greatest needs of the times, solving issues for farmers, agribusinesses and consumers alike. TraceNext fills the exact gap that is needed for providing a one-stop seamless solution for food origin and quality for effective trade, procurement, production and consumption of food. The potential to transform value chains is limitless.”

India's Food-Tech Industry to Grow at 25% CAGR to $8 Bn by 2022-End: Google-BCG report

Rising internet penetration, increasing ordering frequency and favourable consumer disposition are some of the factors driving growth in the Indian food-tech industry that is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25-30 per cent to USD 8 billion by the end of 2022, a report by Google and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said on Tuesday.

"Riding on the wave of higher consumption in a growing market and maturing dynamics on the supply side, we expect the industry to grow from USD 4 billion to USD 8 billion in the next three years, a massive 25 per cent growth rate," the report titled 'Demystifying the Online Food Consumer' said.

It added that funding in the food-tech space has grown by 35 times in the past five years.

Macro trends such as rising internet penetration, increasing ordering frequency, favourable consumer disposition, expanding reach in smaller tiers and expanding network of restaurants on food-tech platforms pan-India continue to drive momentum in the industry, the report said.

As a consequence, reach of food-tech aggregators has grown six times from 2017 to 2019. At the same time, consumers are spending more than double the time to explore and order online -- from 32 minutes per month in 2017 to 72 minutes per month in 2019.

The study cited peer or network advocacy (52 per cent) plays a critical role in drawing people to try online food ordering for the first time. This was followed by advertisements (19 per cent) that emerged to be a strong driver in metros and among the higher income groups across the country.

"The food tech industry is nascent but one of the fastest growing in the country... Food tech has now made its presence in greater than 500 cities in India and with consumer confidence growing, there are new opportunities for the players to 'win with the consumer' in an evolving market," Google Director (Travel, BFSI, Classifieds, Gaming, Telco and Payments) Roma Datta Chobey said.

Overall, online spending in India is expected to grow at 25 per cent over the next five years to cross USD 130 billion. The report also flagged the impediments that hinder adoption by consumers.

A fifth of the respondents stated a lack of trust in the app as the main barrier to usage -- they believe that the role and control of the aggregators in the actual food preparation is low.

Delivery charges (18 per cent), food quality concerns (13 per cent) and lack of customisation (10 per cent) were other reasons customers cited for not having experimented with online food ordering so far.

Interestingly, while delivery charge was the top reason for not ordering food online in metro cities; in tier-I cities, lack of trust in apps (29 per cent) emerged as the primary roadblock.

"Food tech start-ups have revolutionised the way Indians eat. There is now a greater demand for healthy, home-cooked meals leading to emergence of new business models like cloud kitchen and meal subscriptions. Ordering food online is now a habit," BCG Senior Partner and Managing Director Abheek Singhi said.

There is large headroom to increase reach, engagement and usage frequency for food-tech apps, he added. PTI SR

What Does the Food Industry in India 2018 Look Like?

In the last few decades, your taste buds, your brain, your hormones, and your kitchen has been hijacked by the food industry in India. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT) analysed the consumption patterns of Indians over a period of 50 years, from 1961 to 2011, and found that the average daily calorie consumption in 1961 was 2,010. This grew to 2,458 in 2011.

This report is a clear indication that the food industry in India has changed the way people used to eat, spend, and think about food. The industry which was valued at USD 39.71 billion in 2017 is set for a huge growth and by the end of 2018, at a CAGR of 11%, will touch USD 65.4 billion.

Let’s find out how it has been doing and what are the factors that will lead the industry to reach the estimated figure.

Market Size in India

The Indian food industry, the food and grocery market, is the 6^th largest market in the world and it contributes to 70% of the total sales. Talking about the contribution within the country, the food processing industry has a share of 32% in the nation’s total market. In terms of production, consumption, and exports, it is ranked as the 5^th largest industry in India. The Indian gourmet food market is valued at USD 1.3 billion and is growing at CAGR of 20%.

The food industry in the last few years has seen a drastic transformation with the invention of the “Online Food Ordering” business. Still in the earlier stages, companies like FoodPanda, Zomato, Swiggy, and many such are ready to take the Indian online food ordering business to new heights. The online food delivery sector is growing at 150% year-on-year and the GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) is estimated at USD 300 million.

Investments from across the globe

The food industry in India has, in the last few years, seen a lot of foreign investment. The Department of Industrial Policies and Promotion (DIPP) states that India received around USD 7.54 billion FDI from April 2000 to March 2017. The CII has predicted that the food processing sector has the potential to attract around USD 33 billion FDI in the next ten years and also generate nine million person-days of employment.

To name a few giant investments in the industry:

1. Amazon, the global e-commerce giant, has plans to diversify its business by entering the Indian food retailing market and invest around USD 515 million in the next five years.


2. Parle Agro Pvt Ltd has kept its target to achieve an annual target of Rs. 5,000 crore by 2018, and to do so have launched new products like Frooti Fizz.


3. US-based Cargill Inc aims to grow its branded consumer business in India by two times by 2020.


4. Uber Technologies Inc has entered the food delivery service with its brand UberEATS.

Steps by Government

The Indian government has taken steps to boost the food industry by allowing the Indian food manufacturers to sell its products manufactured in India through wholesale and/or retail, including through e-commerce without the government’s prior approval. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has plans to invest USD 72.3 million to strengthen the food testing infrastructure in India. It has plans to upgrade its existing 59 food testing laboratories and set up 62 new mobile testing labs. These are just a few steps by the Indian government which will boost the food industry in India by 2018 to reach the desired value of USD 65.4 billion.

Additional Factors

Cultivation

India is ranked at 15^th in the list of top 20 exporters of agricultural products, worldwide. The agricultural exports grew at CAGR of 16.45% and reached from USD 11.3 billion in FY 2010 to USD 38.21 billion in FY 2018.

The agricultural ministry has been allocated USD 8.9 billion in the Union Budget 2018-19. In FY 2018, it is expected that the Gross Value Added (GVA) by the agriculture, forestry, and fishing will grow to USD 274.23 billion.

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Agri-logistics

The Indian warehousing market is growing at a CAGR of 9% and is estimated to touch USD 1.5 Billion. A significant part of it, around 85%, is being used for food grains. In addition to it, due to the Indian government’s emphasis on the “Make in India”, the domestic production has sped up and is creating opportunities for the logistics industry in the country.

Distribution

The Indian market has 68% rural population, which is being fed by a strong and deep distribution network by companies like Parle. Parle, the biscuits giant of India has one of the largest distribution networks which comprises of 4.5 million outlets across India.

Important Changing Trends in the Indian market

According to the above facts and figures, the food industry in India promises an encouraging 2018 and the following decisive changing trends in the Indian market confirms the same.

A. Customer’s changing consumption trends

A fast-paced lifestyle, hectic working environment, drastically changing work-life balance, and occurrence of lifestyle diseases like diabetes has changed the scenario of the “Consumer Health market”. Technology has enhanced consumer awareness and people are looking for healthier alternatives when it comes to food so as to include nutrition in their daily consumption. The estimated current worth of the Indian consumer health market is USD 4.8 billion and has numerous new categories like- dietary supplements, weight management, Probiotics, Sports energy, and many more.

Moreover, they prefer items which are convenient, on the go consumption packs like- sachets, ready to drink items, food delivered in disposables, and ready to eat items. They prefer staying “digitally active”, which means their digital presence has enhanced the “online grocery and packaged food shopping industry” as a result of increased options such as online food ordering formats and online payment gateways. The trend of staying "live and active" on social platforms, blogging, and discussion forums has also helped the food industry in India grow at a rapid pace.

Takeaway

With improving supply chain models, the Make in India initiative, organizing the food industry in India, and implementation of encouraging government policies like, SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters), and FSSAI regulations will certainly impact the Indian food industry in a positive way to strengthen it.