"Foodtech is no longer just a part of the food industry but a new industrial ecosystem that innovates the entire process."
Lee Gi-ung, head of the Food Science Research Institute at Dongwon F&B, said this at the "2025 Foodtech & Trend Conference" held in the Orchid Room of the Westin Josun Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on the 23rd. The event was hosted by ChosunBiz and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and food conglomerates, Start - Up companies, and academic experts participated to share rapidly changing global food trends and directions for technological innovation.
Lee said, "Foodtech is creating industries in every stage from production, processing, distribution, consumption, to post-treatment, and we should pay attention in particular to the fact that robots are involved at every step." Lee added, "Foodtech is no longer a story of the distant future," noting, "In China, food is delivered by drone—deliveries can reach the Great Wall in 10 minutes—and PUDU ROBOTICS is developing robots that make food directly." Lee continued, "In the United States, technologies that dramatically extend the shelf life of fruit and that induce muscle cells to accumulate fat cells are being developed, enhancing the value of food."
Dongwon Group is also actively introducing robot and AI technologies into the food industry. Replacing the past method of using helicopters to detect tuna schools, it has developed the world's first AI-equipped drone dedicated to detecting tuna schools and is operating it commercially. This technology boosts the efficiency of the fisheries industry while contributing to the preservation of the marine ecosystem. Dongwon is also pursuing sustainable food research by developing an AI-based tuna grading system and plant-based tuna "My Plant," responding to the future protein market.
Lee said, "Blue Foodtech, which applies technology to seafood, is a seafood industry that integrates advanced technologies such as smart aquaculture, seaweed-based functional ingredients, alternative foods, and upcycling" and "In the end, Blue Foodtech will be the answer to future food security."
Iceland and Japan were cited as places with advanced technologies. Iceland is pushing the "100% Fish Project" to utilize more than 95% of seafood by using the entire fish. A company called Kerecis in Iceland developed a wound treatment using cod skin. Japanese seafood company Nissui is researching "fast-twitch (速筋) protein" that helps muscle formation in older adults by using protein extracted from pollock white flesh. Fast-twitch muscles are responsible for explosive power, and if they are well developed, falls among older adults can be prevented.
In the same vein, Dongwon Group is also focusing on adding high value to tuna byproducts. Lee said, "Currently, byproducts produced after processing tuna account for about 57% of the fish, and we are studying various functional materials by extracting antioxidant peptides and ingredients that promote growth and muscle strength from the remaining byproducts." Lee explained, "Tuna broth is rich in peptides, and a business model is already in place to use it as a functional food ingredient."
Dongwon is also exporting the pet nutrition brand "Nutri Plan," which uses tuna byproducts. It is a product developed based on the insight that red meat unsuitable for tuna cans is favored by cats. Lee said, "Tuna red meat is rich in ingredients cats need, such as taurine," adding, "Products based on these ingredients are gaining great popularity in the pet cat market."
Lee said, "The era when food companies simply made food is over," emphasizing, "Now we must design sustainable future foods using science and technology, data, and artificial intelligence." Lee added, "The reason Dongwon Group steadily researches Blue Foodtech is because it will determine the future of food companies," and "Foodtech will be an industrial answer that can address humanity's food and environmental problems together."