Last month, co-founders of Freshwater Bev Tech and beverage brands, Mrs Toddy’s Tonic, and SUMMi sodas, Sophie and Paul Todd, recently returned from Future Food-Tech 2026 in San Francisco. They wrote this report on the experience for Food & Drink Business.
Sophie and Paul Todd.
Our trip to Future Food-Tech 2026 (FFT) in San Francisco can only be described as a glimpse into the future of food. The trip itself didn’t disappoint. Future Food-Tech is not your typical trade show circus. It’s sharper, more focused, and frankly, a bit more grown up.
A road trip up the California coast, winding through Big Sur with its dramatic cliffs and endless Pacific views, set the tone perfectly. It felt like the calm before stepping into a room where the next decade of food, health, and technology was quietly being engineered.
Compared to Expo West, where noise often outweighs signal, FFT felt like a curated gathering of the people actually shaping what comes next. Founders, scientists, ingredient giants, and global FMCG heavyweights all under one roof. Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo and a long list of serious players weren’t just there to observe, they were on the hunt.
And what are they hunting? The answer is simple: solutions to a rapidly changing consumer and biological landscape.
One of the most dominant themes was the rise of what people are now calling the GLP-1 economy. Appetite is changing. Consumption patterns are shifting. And the big question everyone is trying to answer is: what does food look like in a world where people simply eat less?
This has sparked a wave of innovation aimed at designing foods that work with the body, not against it. Lower glycaemic impact, higher functional value, and more efficient nutrition delivery are no longer “nice to have” features. They are becoming baseline expectations.
Which brings us to the bigger shift that was impossible to ignore: we have officially entered the era of industrial biology and AI-led nutrition.
AI-driven formulation is no longer theoretical. Companies are now leveraging massive microbial genome databases, running simulations at scale, and designing ingredients and formulations with a level of precision that would have been unthinkable even five years ago. The promise here is massive. If done right, this could be the pathway to solving the ultra-processed food dilemma, not by going backwards, but by going forwards with better tools.
Imagine creating foods that are technically processed but biologically aligned. Foods that maintain taste, shelf stability, and affordability, while actually supporting metabolic health rather than undermining it. That’s the direction things are heading.
Another concept gaining serious traction is precision nutrition for the masses. Historically, precision nutrition has been reserved for elite athletes or high-end wellness niches. Now the ambition is to scale it. Whether it’s through bio-traceable dairy systems or functional, low-glycaemic products, the goal is clear: deliver high-tech nutrition at a commodity price point. If that sounds ambitious, it is. But it’s also where the smartest money in the room is pointing.
Of course, innovation isn’t just about concepts. It’s about execution. And this is where some standout companies really caught attention.
From an Australian perspective, it was great to see brands like ours, Freshwater Bev Tech, and Dr Glitter generating genuine interest. Both are tackling a similar problem from different angles: how do you preserve the efficacy of real, active ingredients in a scalable, commercially viable way?
Dr Glitter has developed edible iron crystals that can be sprinkled onto food or drinks, addressing iron deficiency in a way that is both practical and surprisingly elegant.
Freshwater Bev Tech, on the other hand, who created Mrs Toddy’s Tonic and SUMMi sodas, is focused on a non-pasteurised production process that retains the integrity of functional ingredients while delivering long shelf life, while creating functional concentrates for other brands.
It’s a space that sits right at the intersection of science, manufacturing, and consumer demand, and it’s getting noticed.
Internationally, a couple of innovations stood out for their sheer “wait, what?” factor.
Oobli is working with plant evolved sweet proteins derived from rare tropical fruits. These proteins are reportedly up to 1000 times sweeter than sugar, but without the metabolic downsides. If scalable, this could be one of the more meaningful shifts in how we think about sweetness and sugar reduction.
Then there’s Solar Foods, which genuinely sounds like science fiction. They are producing a protein called Solein, made from a natural, non-modified, single cell organism using air as a primary input. Yes, protein from thin air. Even writing that feels slightly ridiculous, but the implications are enormous. A protein source that doesn’t rely on traditional agriculture could fundamentally reshape supply chains, sustainability models, and food security.
Stepping back, the overarching insight from Future Food-Tech 2026 is this: the future of food is not about removing technology, it’s about using it better.
Consumers still want real ingredients, transparency, and trust. But they also want convenience, taste, and affordability. The next generation of successful brands and platforms will be the ones that can bridge that gap. Not by preaching, but by delivering.
And perhaps the most refreshing part of the entire experience was the tone of the conversations. Less hype, more substance. Less posturing, more collaboration. Deals weren’t being shouted across booths, they were being quietly shaped over coffee.
If Expo West is the party, Future Food-Tech is the strategy session the morning after.
And based on what we saw, the strategy is clear. Food is becoming smarter, more personalised, and more biologically aligned. The companies that can harness that shift without losing sight of the consumer will define the next era.
The rest will be playing catch up.
