Letter from Publisher
Dear Readers,
Let me wish you A Very Happy and Prosperous New Year. The beginning of the new year is an opportunity to look ahead and visualise how the new year will shape up. What can we expect to happen in the next 12 months in the sector in which we are working? Trend expectations are an important factor in our business plan for the year.
The food and beverage (F&B) industry is expected to undergo a significant transformation in 2024 that will centre on sustainable practices, the growing popularity of plant-based alternatives, and cutting-edge technologies like precision fermentation and food automation. This is a time of unmatched innovation and intense rivalry as businesses adjust to shifting customer tastes and moral sourcing standards.
Our content team has looked at the trends in organic foods, nutraceuticals, local sourcing, sustainable packaging, and plastic neutrality for 2024 in the food processing sector. The team also touched on how the government is supporting this industry which has a share of 12.22 per cent in the employment generated in all registered factory sectors engaging approximately 20.3 lakh people. The unregistered food processing sector employed about 51 lakh workers as per the NSSO 73rd Round report 2015-16 and constituted 14.18 per cent of employment in the unregistered manufacturing sector.
As we are all aware, we had celebrated 2023 as the International Year of Millet, which was observed due to the initiative taken by India. Awareness about millet and its benefits for health is increasing. One recent good development on the millet front is India's proposal for the development of global standards for millet which has been endorsed by members of a leading international food safety and quality standards-setting organisation. Millet consumption is growing and various new recipes and food items using millet are being developed. The question is, ‘can it replace animal-origin meat'? An expert has explored this very question in an in depth article ‘Can Millet Replace Meat?'
In addition to the cover story and an expert article, we have interviews with women entrepreneurs and a Nextgen leader who are taking their businesses to the next level. We have also taken note of the budget expectations of different organisations representing the food industry and a few prominent individuals from the sector.
I am sure that you will find the first edition of 2024 just as engrossing and informative as the preceding ones.
Thanks & Regards,