Robots delivering meals to your door – inhaling vaporised food instead of chewing it – and a restaurant that suggests a menu based on your mood aren't the future of food – they are happening now, says KPMG global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot.

'The Door Dash robotic delivery system in San Francisco uses a robot to deliver meals to your door and a group of Harvard University students have found a way to vaporise food and inhale it.

'They claim they get all of the nutritional benefits without the hassle of chewing,” he told those who attended the Zespri Momentum Conference at Mount Maunganui in March.

KFC has opened a 'tech-enabled” restaurant in Beijing, says Ian. 'When you visit for the first time it takes your photo and you touch an ‘Emogo' to indicate your mood. You are then given a menu onscreen to choose the food to suit your mood.”

Ian says these are just a few examples of how quickly the world is changing and they are trends New Zealand's primary producers, including kiwifruit growers, have to take note of.

'Bigger cities mean commuters are spending between three to four hours on their daily commute, which means breakfast and dinner are eaten on the train, in the bus or car – so there's opportunity to provide a product which is easy to eat when travelling. A kiwifruit is not easy to eat on the go but a kiwifruit with an edible skin would be.”

Protecting position

Ian says Zespri and the NZ kiwifruit industry has done an excellent job in making its kiwifruit stand out in the market and rewarding its growers.

'Zespri returns around 23 per cent of value of its gold kiwifruit to the orchard gate and that stands out as among best in New Zealand. By comparison, an unbranded grape grower receives about two per cent of the value of wine his grapes go into.

'It is not easy to protect your position and it will get a lot harder in the next 20 years, but I believe you are on right track.”

However, Ian says the kiwifruit industry, along with other primary producers, must be aware of consumer concerns, especially around the environment and food waste.

'Food wasters risk losing their licence to operate. We do not get enough food to feed the world. We are part of a food system that does not work because 795 million people are malnourished or under-nourished every single day.

'The horticultural sector is seen as one of the major wasters of food and wasting food puts the licence to operate under threat.”

Farmers Market

Ian believes New Zealand could become 'the farmers market for the world” producing artisan foods, thanks to the passion of its growers.

'We produce enough food to feed 40 million people but we don't want to feed 40 million. We want to provide a small part of the diet of maybe 800 million people who want to buy, on an occasional basis, food that gives them a health shot, or food to celebrate with. They want to know the story behind the food and brands like Zespri tick those boxes.”