Open Meals is a company that is on a mission to digitize food and it showed how it is working towards its goals at SXSW by dazzling event attendees with the Pixel Food Printer and 3D-printed sushi rolls.
One could be forgiven for mistaking the sushi rolls for toys, but only because they look so unlike sushi in its most familiar forms. A variety of 8-bit sushi rolls can be made, including vegetarian options with sweet potato, as well as others with various sea creatures.
For the development of more 3D-printed food, Open Meals has created a patent-pending Food Base, which holds information on a food item's flavor, color, shape, texture, nutrients and more. As Open Meals sees it, a person should be able to select a food they want to see printed and have the food-printing machine create an artful, edible pixel recreation before their eyes.
Edible Printed Sushi
Open Meals Shared Pixelated 3D-Printed Sushi Rolls at SXSW
Trend Themes
1. Digitized Food - The trend towards digitizing food will create opportunities for companies like Open Meals to explore 3D printing and printing technology for edible food.
2. 3d-printing Food - The 3D-printing of food is a disruptive innovation opportunity for companies like Open Meals to develop new food products and advance the food industry.
3. Personalized Nutrition - The creation of a patent-pending Food Base that holds information on a food item's flavor, color, shape, texture, nutrients and more will enable personalized nutrition, allowing companies to capture the growing market demand for customized food products.
Industry Implications
1. Food Technology - The food technology industry will see a significant shift towards 3D printing and digitization of food, creating opportunities for companies like Open Meals to lead innovation.
2. Sushi Industry - The sushi industry will see an evolution towards 3D printing and pixelated sushi rolls, creating new opportunities for companies to explore creative sushi designs.
3. Print Technology Industry - The print technology industry will see disruption as 3D-printing technology becomes more prevalent in the food industry, creating opportunities for companies to innovate in print technology for edible products.