How 3D Printer Technology is Transforming the Way We Eat

3D printing technology is infiltrating almost every industry on the market today. From manufacturing to the healthcare industry, the applicability of 3D printing seems highly relevant, relatively intuitive and definitely the way of the future. The same can’t be said for food.
Despite the ways in which biotech and genetic modification are already blurring the line between food and technology, many consumers remain skeptical of this intersection. Therefore, the notion of 3D printed food is radical in ways that 3D printed end parts or prosthetic limbs were not. However, despite initial skepticism, 3D printed food is taking hold. And it’s entirely plausible that this technology, now entertained mostly for its novelty, could come to represent the future for food.

3D Systems leading the way with 3D printer technology

When 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) opened its culinary innovation center, the 3DS Culinary Lab, in Los Angeles last fall, industry watchers took note. The center cultivates a marriage between food and technology by providing a workshop kitchen for culinary experts and artists to experiment with 3D printed food innovations. The space is equipped with the company’s ChefJet Pro 3D Printer, the world’s first professional, kitchen-ready 3D printer.

This printer can create bespoke confections from sugar, fondant and sweet and sour candy, in addition to creating cake toppers, latticework, and logo-ed candies. Thus far, 3D printed food is seen as a novelty item that has yet to break into the mainstream. However, this is gradually changing, as avant garde chefs and tech enthusiasts begin to experiment with the technology. For example, the Belgian company GoAhead Digital Agency is striving to become the first SmartFood 3D printing company in Europe. So far, the company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise €15,000 to fund production on a new line of customized 3D printed chocolate.

A bigger buzz: the larger picture for 3D printed food

3D printer technology isn’t just able to create food, it can also help nature create more food more easily. AUT University has looked to bees to experiment with this principle. They have created an artificial comb that bees can create honey in. Beekeeper Richard Evatt tells 3News that “it takes a lot of energy for bees to make comb. They have to consume a lot of honey. It’s six to eight times the amount of honey to one times the wax.” With the help of a 3D printed comb, bees “would just have to come along, put nectar in it, fan off the moisture and then, bang, you’ve got honey.”

Therefore, 3D printer technology is affecting the food market in a multitude of ways. Not only can 3D Systems’ printer directly print food, the technology can also help nature produce food more effectively. This is good news for a world where undernourishment is a continual challenge and people are looking to tech the answers. Although perhaps its not as initially intuitive as manufacturing or healthcare, it is entirely possible that 3D printing will make its biggest splash in the area of food production.
Securities Disclosure: I, Morag McGreevey, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.