Two Key Factors Driving the Adoption of Tech-Enabled Foods

Individuals' views on technology and food are always changing, and recent studies show growing acceptance of food technology.

At Ladder 17, we monitor consumer perceptions of food, agriculture, and technology - seeking to understand how to better connect emerging technology with innovative, new foods.

Two key drivers of growing acceptance of tech-enabled foods are:

• Younger adults are more open to tech-enabled foods. Studies have shown that Gen Z is more open to food technology, with 77% of Gen Z adults agreeing that they are “likely to try food grown with technology” (Ketchum, 2019). Similarly, data from Pairwise (2023) showed a similar youthful skew, with 63% of Gen Z and Millennial adults (aged 18-42) agreeing or strongly agreeing that “using technology to create new fruits and vegetables is a great sign of progress.”

• Growing consensus around the importance of new approaches to tackling global challenges. Consumer sentiment also is changing around the connection between the broader agricultural system and its role in helping society to adapt to climate. According to recent research from The Hartman Group,  67% of consumers who identify as early adopters of new foods agreed that "we need to find ways to meet society’s nutritional needs with fewer resources like energy, water, or carbon." This supports the idea that food, technology, and sustainability are connected in consumers' minds in a meaningful way.

These evolving attitudes signal an important shift for tech-enabled foods, and the companies that deliver innovative products that also meet consumers' functional and emotional needs can build off this larger trend.

Some consumers are even emerging as early adopters of new types of foodtech foods. How are these FoodTech Foodies different from other food consumers? What unique features and benefits are they most likely to be seeking from food brands? Sign up to be the one of the first to receive our Who is the FoodTech Foodie? white paper when it is published later this spring.