Future trends in casing business

Imagine having a crystal ball you could gaze into and predict the future – all the possibilities to make the right decision in the right time. How easy could it be? We’d probably welcome it in our social life and our business life. Occasionally, however, we forget to look at the future trends. It’s tempting to ignore the latest research about what is coming even though the implications are clear to see. Please take part of some interesting trends ViskoTeepak follows closely.

Research and knowledge
Large-scale research and surveys are performed in all of the world’s population centers in order to grasp the emergence of new trends. Who hasn’t heard the warnings about global warming and the impact it will have on human existence? This is only one way of studying and looking into the future. In the same way, surveys and research studies are held in the meat industry. What impact does it have on the human body? How and what will the increasing population eat? What will the next generations eat and who will produce the food for them? Questions that no one might answer for 100%, but based on questionnaires and research reports the trends are quite clear – both in terms of possibilities and challenges. At ViskoTeepak, we eagerly follow those research studies in an effort to ensure that future demands will be met. Even though we do not own a crystal ball we list some of the trends that will play a role in the future meat industry.

Increasing meat production
In the coming 10 years, we will probably see the meat consumption increase by approximately 4% to 7% per year. The motivating factors are a growing world population and, particularly, a growing middle-class population that can afford to eat meat. The drivers in the fight against increased meat consumption are mainly health and sustainable aspects but also the increasingly popular vegetable-based brands and other replacement products.

Automation
Processes and products are becoming digitalized and automated. Artificial intelligence and robotics are increasing production output, and in turn the production costs are dropping. More and more software solutions are required in order to manage the overall process, but of course we should expect to see fewer people running the production lines. At the same time, there will be an increase in the numbers of personnel who maintain the machinery and software.

Getting close to the consumer
People are becoming more and more aware of their eating habits and spending more time evaluating food products. The trend is that the end consumer is putting value and money into quality and regional products. Moreover, the consumer spends less time preparing food. As a result, ready meals are becoming more popular and catering in a clever way is the future melody.

Sustainability
“Here we go again,” you might think. Once again, we’re promoting sustainability as a future trend. The fact is, this trend has continued for a while but will soon accelerate. In some societies, the public sector is compelling the food industry to achieve sustainable production. It might be the case that schools or hospitals are buying food only from sustainable production sources. This trend spreads to other organizations in the private and public sectors.

Finding the right person
The avenues of potential business growth are innumerable, but the resources are limited. Moreover, the shortage of skilled labor is a challenge indicated by almost all segments in the meat area. This means that employer branding and HR will play a crucial role in attracting and keeping the best talents in the organization. Companies put more focus than ever on finding and recruiting people. Also, in conservative sectors--particularly the meat industry--we see more activity in social-media channels aiming to promote companies as worthy employers.