Overview

For my Once a Semester activity, I have decided to explore the various 3D food printing machines and applications already in existence. Food printers, over time have progressed to create very intricate designs by combining several different nozzles with lasers and other technology. There are many different companies that have tried to enter into this competitive landscape so in this post I will discuss a few companies and the machines they designed. I will then talk about the various applications for 3D food printing and finally a look into the future and how this can and will impact future markets.

Natural Machines- Foodini

This printer is capable of making both savory and sweet foods with fresh ingredients loaded into the cartridges depending on what the user wishes to create. The main purpose Natural Machines had in mind for this machine was to make food preparation more manageable and promote cooking with fresh ingredients. Like many of the new machines in the 3D printed food industry, these machines are manufactured in small batches and cost $4000 USD. There are two main target audiences for this product, the first of which professional kitchens with emphasis on the art of food and the aesthetic appeal of a gourmet meal. Their other target group is home users. Natural Machines believes that this may become a common kitchen appliance similar to a microwave or toaster oven in the future. This can be used to make fresh foods fast and by hand thus controlling each of the ingredients. Their goal is to help replace packaged foods and candies thus controlling the unidentifiable ingredients in food and reducing packaging waste.

BeeHex- Chef 3D

This company was based off of the 3D food system that was developed for deep space missions for Nasa. The current CEO of BeeHex headed the Nasa food printing initiative and therefore expanded and improved upon the initial design to create the Chef 3D. The idea for this food system is to make home creations more commonplace. Like the Foodini, this printer is designed to create desserts as well as savory foods. It has a specific attachment for toppings in order to distribute evenly for items like pizzas and pies. This is targeted mainly at commercial users in order to provide a unique food creation experience within a restaurant. It can also be utilized to optimize diatary needs based on personal body and lifestyle if purchased for in home, personal use. Currently, this printer is not on the market, however the company has received funding to expand their “personalized” pizza business so that soon customers will be able to order a custom made/ shaped pizza through an app and have the machine manufacture and send it to them. This company has a lot of potential and I look forward to keeping up with what they do!

 ByFlow- Focus

This printer is optimized for desserts and to experiment with various textures and shapes of food. This printer allows users to create new food designs that would be near impossible to create by hand. This is appealing mainly for specialty shops rather than everyday customers. It utilizes syringes for the ingredients and thus they must be available in liquid form. Out of the box, the Focus printer comes with 10 refillable cartrages, 4 nozzles in 2 different sizes (to create various different designs) and 5 prepared food designs. This machine costs 3,300 € and is much less versatile than the Foodini.

3D System- ChefJet Pro

This printer is primarily focused on dessert creations similar to the ByFlow Focus printer in that it appeals to a niche market. This machine is different in the fact that it works by crystallizing thin layers of fine-grain sugar layer by layer to create different shaped candies. Interestingly, there are 2 versions, the ChefJet monochrome printer that can be purchased by anyone for $1000 and the ChefJet Pro for $5000. This is primarily aimed at pastry chefs and professional kitchens looking to create unique desserts that are easily duplicable

Machine Overviews:

I have mentioned several of the major players in the food printing industry currently. 3D printing with food is a very new idea and therefore there are several startups focused on similar ideas. With the research that I have done, I believe that BeeHex will be one of the most successful companies since they have over a million dollar in seed funding and several potential business routes to pursue.

3D Printing Food Applications

As mentioned above with the various machines, there are several purposes for 3D printing food. Several of the machines currently in use are for gourmet professional kitchens to set them apart from others with their unique and perfectly designed creations. These applications mainly are used for cakes, chocolates and desserts but can also be expanded into main entrees. There is currently a restaurant in Spain that uses the Foodini to print seafood purée into intricate coral shapes and decorate the plates with.

Other than gourmet applications, 3D food printer systems are being utilized by NASA currently to print vital nutrient rich food in space that can keep for up to 30 years (unprinted in the canisters) for longer missions. Additionally, food printing systems are being utilized in the nutrition sector to assist people who have very particular dietary restrictions. Being able to easily print all of their food opens up many opportunities. Finally, there are companies such as Modern Meadow that are exploring printing bio-materials such as meat in order to eventually replace the meat that we eat today. Currently all of these applications are being developed and still incredibly expensive.

Future Implications and Opportunities

Being able to 3D print food may provide an opportunity to solve many of the hunger and food waste issues currently around the world. Some companies are using “ugly” foods to put into cartridges and create new life for fruits and vegetables that otherwise would be undesirable. Other researchers are looking into algae and other nutritional substances that could be used as a base or glue for printed food. Finally, if 3D printing food becomes more prevalent, we may see a shift in grocery stores. I imagine this shift would be similar to bulk food sections in some grocery stores although would have printer cartridge filling stations will all sorts of different ingredients already prepped for the machines. Overall, I see this as a fascinating industry with potential in many areas and look forward to watching it grow!