• 03/09/2026
  • Article
  • Automation & digitalization

Robots and Cobots in the food industry

Robotics is conquering many areas of production, including the food and feed industry. AI-supported systems are becoming increasingly powerful. At POWTECH TECHNOPHARM, exhibitors are also displaying their integrated solutions that are specifically tailored to the needs of the food and feed industry.

Written by Dr. Ulla Reutner

Many small light brown cakes are placed in rows by a robot arm
A pick-and-place robot places delicate tartlets, here in a line from Syntegon at the Swiss family-owned company HUG.

What do robots do in the food industry? The possible applications are immense. They refine cheese by turning huge cheese wheels and brushing them regularly. They cut up slippery squid. They can even sort vegetables and fruit according to quality characteristics better than humans, ‘evaluating’ aroma, colour, and texture with the aid of sensors and AI. In Japan, they have long been placing pieces of fish on rice balls and rolling maki sushi with impressive precision. Robotic arms knead pasta dough, conjure up latte art on cappuccinos or decorations on desserts and cakes.

Robots have been at the forefront of order picking and palletising for quite some time. They work hard and never tire. Collaborative robots (Cobots) that work alongside humans without protective fencing and without endangering them are on the rise. Another trend is mobile robot cells that are used on different production lines. Thanks to AI and 3D vision systems, palletisers are taking on increasingly complex tasks, such as putting together mixed pallets. And they learn faster than before; programming seems to be intuitive. AI analysis also makes it possible to predict maintenance requirements before a breakdown occurs (predictive maintenance).

Hygienic design specifically for food production

There are specific requirements in the food and feed industry. These industries lag behind the automotive and electronics industries when it comes to the use of robots. But they are catching up. Companies that already have their first robots in use are planning to purchase more (according to DLG Trend Monitor 2023). Models with a hygienic design are used in these industries, often made of stainless steel with particularly smooth surfaces. They are easy to clean and can withstand a lot, such as the jet of a high-pressure cleaner (with IP69K protection) and aggressive cleaning agents and disinfectants. Numerous details such as sealed cable routing and special grippers are part of the hygiene concept. Pressurising the robot arm prevents microorganisms from entering it. The lubricants used must also be harmless to health.

In a blue-lit bar with numerous guests, two white robot arms serve a counter above which spirits bottles hang
Robots have long been used in the beverage industry, for example to palletise heavy beer crates.

Such food-grade robots or washdown robots are no longer used solely in intralogistics. They can be integrated into all phases of food production to increase production efficiency and relieve employees of monotonous tasks. In production, more and more companies are recognising the value of automation with the help of robotics. The primary focus is on the use of articulated arm robots with their wide range of applications and high load capacities. Delta robots are primarily used for pick-and-place applications, while gantry robots are mostly used for palletising.

In the processing sector, robots primarily perform tasks such as positioning, sorting, checking, and dosing. In the next step of packaging, they are used for both primary and secondary packaging. In many cases, they also take care of labelling and sealing.

International robotics manufacturers and their turnkey systems

Many internationally active robotics manufacturers, such as Fanuc, Mitsubishi Electric and Kawasaki Robotics, now offer robots that meet high hygiene requirements. European suppliers such as Stäubli, Universal Robots, ABB (sold to the Japanese SoftBank Group in 2025) and Kuka (part of the Chinese Midea Group since 2022) are characterised by flexible solutions and hygienic robotics designs. In addition, some system providers for the food industry offer integrated systems for automated production using robotics. Syntegon, for example, develops turnkey solutions based on a modular robotic pick-and-place platform (RPP). Among other things, it is used to transfer and position frozen croissants and French toast sticks from the pre-process to the feed of the form-fill-seal machine. In another application, the RPP removes chocolate Santa Clauses, Easter bunnies and bars from moulds and places them on a discharge belt.

POWTECH TECHNOPHARM exhibitor Sacchi also offers fully automated robotic solutions. The company is active in a wide range of food sectors: from the production of milk powder and ice cream to baked goods and coffee production to food additives. Among other things, it integrates robots for depalletizing and emptying bags, robots specialising in the packaging and palletising of granules and powders, and robots that prepare picking orders for packaged products. Other robotic solutions, the SmartPicker and the SmartPowder-Flex system, are suitable to produce microdoses. To do this, a robotic arm collects mini-batches from various dispensers and then sends them to production or feeds them directly into a mixer.

PanPac Engineering offers innovative solutions for robot-assisted palletising of small bags. These complement the bag filling systems from the POWTECH TECHNOPHARM exhibitor, which can be used in a variety of ways in the feed industry. PanPac systems are also used for palletising milk powder bags. Specially manufactured gripping tools ensure precision and safety. The portfolio of exhibitor Greif-Velox also includes palletising robots – in addition to bagging machines and filling systems. This allows complete full-line systems to be implemented.

Robotic palletisers are also part of the Chronos product line for powder filling, which Premier Tech Systems and Automation will present at POWTECH TECHNOPHARM 2026. It is particularly suitable for precise, low-dust filling and can be specially designed for the food and feed industry. High efficiency is particularly important in the production of animal feed. The systems manufactured by Premier Tech feature easy-to-clean stainless steel contact surfaces. The systems for packaging milk powder meet the highest hygiene requirements. In addition to single robot solutions, PT-Systems also offers modular, scalable solutions with multiple robots.

Innovative robotics platforms integrated into the packaging line

When it comes to palletising robots, food and animal feed producers should always ensure that they work perfectly with the upstream production and packaging systems. If necessary, robots can palletise products from several lines simultaneously, even if these lines produce packages of different formats. The grippers can be adapted to these packages as well as to loose bottles, trays, crates, and bags.

3D visualisation of a plant with filling area and packaging line as well as a blue industrial robot
Robots can be integrated into fully automated filling systems for the food industry. POWTECH TECHNOPHARM exhibitors such as PanPac meet high hygiene and safety requirements.
In a blue-lit bar with numerous guests, two white robot arms serve a counter above which spirits bottles hang
Robot bartenders like ‘Toni’ are fascinating and cool. For now, they are primarily used for entertainment purposes.

Robots also enable true process automation, for example in the production of sliced sausage and cheese. Among others, the Icelandic machine manufacturer JBT Marel and the German Baader Group, whose systems use robots to process meat, fish and poultry – from deboning to portioning – have specialised entirely in the food industry. Frontmatec is also one of the leading suppliers in the robot cutting sector. Their robots place salmon in crates and thermoformed bags, portion fillets and arrange them in trays.

Robots are also used at the very end of the ‘food chain.’ Industrial cooking robots from Circus Group, GoodByt, Karakuri and Moley Robotics prepare complete meals in commercial kitchens and industrial food production. Robotic arms and dosing systems are used for this purpose, among other things. And for those who don't care much about enjoyable conversation with the bartender but still want a perfectly mixed cocktail, Makr Shakr from Italy offers a rather silent team: Toni, Compatto and Veloce mix up to 250 drinks per hour with two robotic arms that never get tired.

Author

Ulla Reutner
Dr. Ulla Reutner
Chemist and freelance specialised journalist