Among the key topics discussed at the last Business Leaders’ Forum hosted by Food Manufacture and sponsored by AVEVA, was artificial intelligence (AI).
AI within the next five years is going to play a massive role in food. I think it’s going to revolutionise the whole industry.
Ricky Flax, CEO, Delightful Food Group
Delegates noted the significant contribution AI is going to bring to the industry, with the potential to enhance decision-making, suggest NPD, improve communications and training, as well as helping with food safety and efficiency.
Speaking to Food Manufacture, Ricky Flax, CEO at Delightful Food Group said he can see all future F&B production lines having AI-powered imagery, able to detect and check things such as the weight of ingredients, what’s being mixed together, and what’s being packaged up.
With allergen recalls among ones of the bigger food safety issues for today’s sector - with 9 different allergy alerts from the Food Standards Agency posted in June and July 2025 alone, all of which were undeclared (including not displayed in English), the potential for AI checks could be transformative.
We are on the cusp of a sort of mini AI revolution, which is impacting on all aspects of our lives.
Lianne Murphy, technical account manager, Princes Group
Equipped for the board room
Due to the fluidity of the Business Leaders’ Forum agenda, and such a broad spectrum of industry leaders from across the chain, the conversation always sparks new ideas.
For Milan Shah, CEO of Virani Food Products, June’s session reframed his way of thinking, revealing AI as a multi-functional asset rather than a single purpose tool.
“I’m looking at factory automation from the point of view of being efficient, you know capital over labour. It’s something we’re all having to look at in our industry since labour costs have gone up and regulatory burdens of employing labour have gone up,” he explained.
“It was very interesting to get the perspective of the regulation who is looking at factory automation as minimising food safety risks. Which gave me a whole different lens [...] to look at the same investment.”
Understanding the versatility of a product or service can be a particularly useful tool for a senior team member looking to convince stakeholders to invest in a solution. As the saying goings, kill two birds with one stone.
AI relies on good data
Whilst the use cases for AI are continuing to stretch and improve, the sector has also recognised the need for good, solid data.
As Ted Combs, global consumer products industry principal at AVEVA, told Food Manufacture companies will make ambitious claims, but it’s nothing without “reliable data you can trust”.
