Industrial robots in food market expected to reach $745 million

The global food robotics market was valued at USD 402.2 million in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 745 million by the end of 2026, growing at a CAGR of 9.1% during 2021-2026. The growth rate of the adoption of industrial robots in the food and beverage industry has outpaced traditional industries such as automotive and electronics.

Food robots perform complex manufacturing processes such as dispensing, infeed placement, packing and boxing, picking and placing products into containers, sorting raw materials, and labeling packages. They help perform repetitive and tedious production tasks at high speeds under extreme conditions such as high temperatures. They also save space and time, reduce production costs, and improve the cleanliness, safety, and efficiency of manufacturing processes. As a result, leading players in the global food and beverage (F&B) industry are using food robotics to automate the food production process to mass-produce products with high precision and high volume.

Growing demand for packaged food is expected to drive the growth of the food robotics market size. To maximize shelf life and meet the demand for ready-to-eat and ready-to-eat products, the demand for packaged foods is increasing. The mass production of packaged food has propelled the food robot market, especially in countries such as the United States, Japan, France, and Italy. Processes in most large food processing plants are being automated to ensure stock keeping unit (SKU) quality and consistency.

The capabilities and use of robots have historically been limited to transporting heavy payloads in equipment. However, with the increasing versatility of robots, more and more industries are embracing automation with low-load robots, such as the food processing industry. In order to comply with the requirements of health authorities, parts of the food and beverage industry such as dairy and bakeries have reduced human intervention in the manufacturing process. Hence, the food robot market size is expected to increase with increasing robot capabilities.