Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the food industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked lean manufacturing solutions impacting the food sector.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Lean Manufacturing Startups out of 503
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2.093.000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 503 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 food startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 498 lean manufacturing solutions for the food sector, get in touch.
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SWEETHEART KITCHEN applies Lean Six Sigma Methodology to Food Production
While lean principles originated in the automobile manufacturing industry, food companies are also adopting these systems to improve production efficiency and reduce waste. The food industry’s most useful lean tools — value stream mapping, 5S methodology, and lean six sigma — offer effective control over operations from shift scheduling to demand planning. Applying the lean six sigma methodology, food manufacturers are able to cut costs in production lines as well as offer better value to their customers.
SWEETHEART KITCHEN is a UAE-based startup that owns and operates over 30 delivery-only brands. The startup uses technology-backed manufacturing processes along with a lean six sigma data-driven approach to measure and monitor each aspect of its food value chain. Hence, the startup is able to achieve consistent food quality favorable for the consumer, thereby improving brand reputation.
ThinkIQ develops Traceability and Manufacturing Software
Supply chain management is an integral part of food production as it lowers the shelf life of raw ingredients. Improper inventory management and demand planning direct to unwanted production cycles as well as overproduction. This is where supply chain management solutions help food companies identify sources of waste in the production line. Lean tools like value stream mapping (VSM) both identifies wastages and calculates carbon dioxide emissions throughout the supply chain. In effect, lean tools provide extensive analysis over food manufacturing to enable data-driven process optimization.
US-based startup ThinkIQ provides a traceability and manufacturing software platform for the food and beverage (F&B) industry. The ThinkIQ platform integrates analytics, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and manufacturing execution system (MES) to offer extended visibility into floor operations. This enables root cause analysis and continuous improvement (kaizen), among other lean principles in food production operations. ThinkIQ’s solution reduces the risk of product recalls, increases food safety and compliance, as well as advances profits.
Anamind provides Demand Forecasting
Accurate demand planning reduces manufacturing wastes such as inventory loss, overproduction, and transportation waste. That is why demand planning solutions have an integral role in lean production. Startups build customized ERP solutions with demand planning or solutions that offer predictive analytics for demand forecasting. This enables food brands to tailor their production based on data-driven models and avoid manufacturing wastes and free up employee time.
Anamind is an Indian startup that offers demand planning for F&B, automotive, and pharma industries. The startup’s demand forecast services are available through proprietary tools Forecast Pro, Streamline, and Vanguard. The Forecast Pro solution offers demand and supply planning tools whereas Streamline additionally features material planning tools. Vanguard, alternatively, is a comprehensive solution with tools included in Streamline as well as capacity and financial planning. This allows food manufacturers to sync production with demand and capacity, thereby reducing wastages and improving profits.
Production Support 56 offers Lean Process Improvement
Lean process improvement minimizes production waste and inventory as well as encourages continuous improvement. That is why startups use lean tools to improve the production efficiency of food manufacturing companies. For example, digital visualization tools for process mapping and shop floor navigation improve employee communication. Similarly, other lean tools standardize production operations, thereby facilitating best practices leading to performance improvement.
Production Support 56 is a British startup that provides lean process improvement as a service for the food, manufacturing, and chemical industries. The startup uses lean tools such as root cause analysis, workplace organization (5S), kaizen, and kanban to reduce inventory, operational costs, and lead times. In effect, Production Support 56’s solution enables problem-solving, waste reduction, and inefficiency identification. The startup also offers manufacturing simulation, material management, and other manufacturing services.
Streamline Manufacturing provides On-Demand Manufacturing
In addition to waste reduction and performance improvement, lean management of production operations offers food brands a competitive advantage in the food market. Both small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as corporates integrate lean principles for extra output and reduce costs. Therefore, startups either develop standalone lean solutions for food companies or provide full-cycle production services.
Based in the US, Streamline Manufacturing is a startup that offers on-demand lean manufacturing for food and cosmetics brands. The startup offers end-to-end production runs from sourcing and labeling to fulfillment and equipment maintenance. This allows food companies to kick start new products or production runs without disrupting existing manufacturing operations.
Discover more Food Tech Startups
Food startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on sustainable processing, waste reduction, as well as transparency. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing the food tech sector, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more food technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free Food Tech Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
