Food Safety Tech has launched Food Safety Tech Research (FSTR), a standalone research and advisory practice designed to produce independent benchmarking data on technology adoption across the food and beverage manufacturing sector. The venture, structured as a joint operation with industry research veteran David Hatch, fills a notable gap: no third-party organisation has previously published longitudinal performance data measuring how food producers translate digital investment into food safety and operational outcomes.
The Inaugural Benchmark
FSTR's debut product is the Food Safety Digital Maturity Benchmark, billed as the first comprehensive study of digital technology adoption among food and beverage manufacturers. The study is designed to assess where companies succeed with software, automation, analytics, traceability, and artificial intelligence, as well as where adoption stalls and how varying levels of maturity correlate with food safety performance and business resilience. Qualified professionals at food and beverage manufacturers can participate confidentially and anonymously; participants receive the full findings report and a personalised maturity scorecard at no cost. Results are set to debut publicly at the 15th Anniversary Food Safety Consortium, scheduled for October 21–23 in Washington, D.C.
Why the Gap Existed
The absence of independent benchmarking data in food safety technology has long skewed operator decision-making. Vendors have relied on self-published case studies; buy-side analysts have offered opinion-based market sizing; and manufacturers have evaluated their own progress against internal baselines with no external reference point. The result, as FSTR positions it, is a market where technology promises routinely outrun measurable evidence. "Digital transformation is no longer optional, but organisations still lack independent evidence to separate technology promises from measurable business outcomes," said David Hatch, Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer of FSTR. The practice intends to publish primary research and longitudinal benchmarks that give manufacturers actionable investment intelligence and provide technology providers, insurers, and investors credible market insight.
Rick Biros, Founder and President of Innovative Publishing and FSTR Co-Founder, framed the launch as an extension of Food Safety Tech's existing editorial mission. Food Safety Tech, a subsidiary of Innovative Publishing, has operated as a media, education, and events platform for the global food safety community for more than 15 years. FSTR functions as its dedicated research division. Food & Beverage Magazine has previously covered the growing demand for third-party data services in food manufacturing as AI and traceability spending accelerates across the sector.
Market Significance
The launch arrives as capital spending on food safety technology is climbing. Traceability mandates under the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act, combined with mounting pressure from retail buyers and insurers, have pushed food and beverage manufacturers to accelerate software deployment faster than internal benchmarking can evaluate it. Independent research organisations that can quantify return on those investments stand to attract attention from both operators seeking justification for further spending and investors assessing category growth. For the broader food technology and supply-chain ecosystem, a credible maturity index could eventually function as a standard reference — similar to what capability maturity models have done in other regulated manufacturing sectors.
FSTR's longitudinal design is a differentiator worth watching. Single-point surveys are common in B2B research; multi-year tracking that captures how maturity scores shift as regulation and technology evolve would represent a more durable data asset for the food safety and compliance community.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
