Lessons From The Rise and Fall of Smart Oven Innovator Brava
Brava, the smart oven that cooked with high‑intensity light, shut down after nine years, ending a bold experiment in kitchen technology. The company pioneered multi‑zone cooking and even built accessibility features for blind users, but struggled to educate consumers about a brand‑new appliance category. After an 2019 acquisition by commercial‑kitchen maker Middleby, the mismatch between residential focus and corporate strategy accelerated its decline. Founder Travis Rea reflects on the venture’s highs, its missteps, and the lessons for future innovators.
Cargill Is Using AI to Divert Thousand of Pounds of Meat Back on the Table
Cargill has rolled out CarVe, an AI‑driven computer‑vision platform that guides meat‑cutting operators in real time, aiming to pull thousands of pounds of edible beef back from rendering. Deployed at three beef facilities in Texas, Colorado and Canada, the system...
As Coffee Prices Rise, Prefer Bets on a Hybrid Future
Prefer, a Singapore‑based food‑tech startup founded in 2022, uses fermentation to turn rice and chickpeas into coffee and cocoa extenders that can replace up to 40% of traditional beans without altering flavor. The company aims to keep everyday coffee affordable...
Creator Is Making a Comeback, Only This Time as a Platform Player and Not ‘Robot Theater’
Creator, the San Francisco‑based robotic burger startup that raised about $60 million and shuttered its flagship store during the pandemic, is re‑emerging as a technology platform rather than a consumer‑facing restaurant. The company now offers its redesigned robot to existing restaurant brands,...
Is The Next Wave of Wellness a Fitbit for Your Brain?
The quantified‑self movement is expanding from steps and sleep to brain health, and U The Mind is positioning itself at the forefront with a non‑invasive neuromodulation platform. CEO Mo Abouelsoud describes a device that both records neural activity and delivers...
AI Is Breaking the Recipe Blog Model. AllSpice Thinks It Can Also Save It
Recipe blogs, once thriving on SEO-driven traffic and ad revenue, are being upended by AI chatbots that now serve as the primary discovery tool for home cooks. Google’s shift to AI-generated snippets and the rise of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude...
Afresh Expands Platform Across Full Store as Grocery Tech Matures Into the AI Era
Afresh, a grocery‑AI startup, announced it is extending its platform beyond fresh produce to manage inventory, ordering, and replenishment across an entire supermarket. The expanded solution now handles demand forecasting, inventory control, and distribution‑center operations for produce, meat, center‑store items,...
Join Us Today For a Food AI Co-Lab With FAO’s David Laborde
The Food AI Co‑Lab, hosted by the Future Food Institute and The Spoon, featured a live discussion with David Laborde, director of the FAO’s Agrifood Economics Division, on March 23, 2026. The conversation examined how artificial intelligence can address the world’s hunger...
Humanoid Robots Are Coming, Just Not to Cook Your Dinner (At Least Not Yet)
Humanoid robots are generating buzz at IFA and CES, but the near‑term kitchen solution appears to be countertop cooking devices rather than bipedal machines. Startups such as Posha and Nosh are building appliances that combine multi‑step cooking intelligence with automated...
Remembering Food Tech Pioneer and Friend Rob Trice
Rob Trice, a seminal figure in food‑tech, passed away last month after a brief illness while traveling in Europe. Over the past decade he became known for hosting the Mixing Bowl gatherings and for his ubiquitous presence at global food...
Why the Future of Highway Food Might Look More Like a Food Court
Danish entrepreneur Daniel Baven’s Noahs platform turns convenience stores and service stations into on‑site food hubs using modular kitchens and a digital ordering stack. The system lets retailers host rotating food brands—pizza, tacos, sandwiches—without major capital outlay, essentially acting as...