A new question in food competition: Can we understand what consumers will need tomorrow?

I believe the competition among the world's largest food companies will no longer be decided only by factories, production lines or product variety.

Because a quiet but very important transformation is under way in the global food industry.

A new question joins the old ones

Think about it… For years, the most important questions in the food industry were:

• What will we produce?
• How much will we produce?
• Which market will we sell to?

Today a new question is being added to them: Can we understand in advance what consumers will need in the future?

So what is happening around the world?

USA: Consumer behavior is shaping production decisions. Retail giant Walmart uses a data platform called Scintilla to analyze shopping behavior, product performance and consumer trends. With this system, suppliers do not just review past sales; they can also use the data for product development, inventory management and understanding consumer needs. Using artificial intelligence more effectively in these analyses creates new opportunities.

United Kingdom: Shopping habits are turning into economic value. The loyalty programs that the retail sector has used for many years are an important source of data for understanding consumer preferences. It is no longer only which product sold, but also which products are chosen together and how purchasing behavior changes.

Japan: Demographic change is shaping the future of food. An aging population and shrinking households bring significant changes to food consumption. In assessments of the country's agriculture and food policy, it is noted that demand for ready meals may be affected by changing household structures.

The direction of competition is changing

All of these developments show us the same thing: the direction of competition in the food industry is changing. Thanks to artificial intelligence, big data analytics and advancing food technologies, companies can now pursue far broader questions. For example:

• How will the nutritional needs of aging societies change?
• Which products will younger generations prefer more?
• How will healthy-living trends affect new product development?
• In which regions do which food categories have growth potential?
• What are consumers' needs that are not yet met?

The answers to these questions may influence not only marketing strategies but also future production investments. I think that in global competition, high-quality and economical production alone may not be enough.

One development I noticed in my research: companies that focus on understanding consumer needs earlier and building their strategies accordingly can gain significant advantages in competition.

Making a product well versus seeing the need in advance

Making a product well is a great achievement for all of us. But understanding why consumers will need that product, and even how that need will change in the future, is an entirely different achievement.

In food competition, what matters more now is not only what we produce, but how well we understand people.

This article is adapted from Ümit Sevdi's LinkedIn post: read it on LinkedIn.

Related pages: all articles, the plate of the future and data-driven personal nutrition, AI in production and the human factor.