The latest food and beverage industry news and trend analysis

KitchenAid is diversifying its at-home coffee portfolio with a new line of Fully Automatic Espresso Machines featuring dedicated "over-ice" settings. The range, comprising the KF2, KF3, and KF4 models, integrates Quiet Mark-certified operation and a 25% smaller footprint to capture the high-growth "at-home barista" and cold coffee demographics.

Kemin Industries is advancing livestock biosecurity with the debut of EDIE Generation 2, an automated water disinfection system that integrates real-time monitoring and mobile connectivity to optimise chlorine dioxide application in poultry and livestock operations.

Lidl is set to transform its telecommunications offering by becoming a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in partnership with 1GLOBAL, supported by a 9.9% equity stake from the Schwarz Group and a five-year exclusive technology agreement.

Kitchen appliance leader Dash is entering the high-growth frozen dessert category with a new three-piece collection designed to bring commercial-quality soft serve, slushies, and shaved ice to the domestic kitchen.

Tesco has initiated a beta trial of an in-app AI assistant for its 280,000 employees, leveraging partnerships with Tomoro AI and Mistral to deliver personalised, natural-dialogue meal planning and automated basket-building ahead of a nationwide consumer launch.

ezCater has transitioned from a catering marketplace to an enterprise-grade workplace food platform, launching a new brand identity developed with Koto and integrating deep-tier features like Slack connectivity and centralised reporting to serve multi-location organisations.

Prince Castle has unveiled Toast EZ, a next-generation commercial toaster featuring dual independent lanes and 32 programmable icons, designed to reduce kitchen bottlenecks and energy consumption by up to 25% in high-volume QSR environments.

Federal Industries has unveiled the Vision Series Salad Case, a refrigerated merchandiser featuring proprietary stainless steel lettuce guards designed to maintain air curtain integrity and optimise high-speed salad assembly.