LAS VEGAS – CES show organizers have the daunting task each year of living up to the event’s reputation as the only trade show that attempts to showcase the entire tech landscape at a single event. But the Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES each January, pulled off the impossible yet again in 2025.
This year’s event welcomed 141,000-plus attendees from across the world to Las Vegas, plus more than 4,500 exhibitors, including 1,400 organizations classified as startups.
With so much to see, The Food Institute team focused primarily on organizations innovating and iterating around F&B tech, as well as AgTech.
Below is a sample of compelling CES exhibitors we encountered in Las Vegas:
ColdSnap: a confectionary treats maker using high quality ingredients – from fresh milk to real fruit and nutraceuticals – packaged in single-serve pods reminiscent of the Keurig coffee brewing machine.
We spoke with company president Dr. Matthew Fonte and he gave credit for the initial product idea to his daughter. She loved ice cream as a young child and wanted to make it at home, but the options on the market for doing so never lived up to ice cream shop quality. ColdSnap’s rapid-freezing system transforms its premium liquid product pod mixes into frozen treats in approximately two minutes.
CHEF iQ: seeking to redefine the home cooking experience, CHEF iQ’s array of tools for aspiring chefs ranges from the brand new (‘coming soon’) iQ MiniOven that sleekly sits on your home countertop.
The MiniOven interfaces with CHEF iQ’s user-friendly app featuring step-by-step, shoppable recipes. Their iQ Sense wireless probe cooking thermometer helps prevent overcooking disasters.
Brisk It: a WiFi enabled, smart AI powered wood pellet grill was a crowd pleaser at CES. The company’s proprietary Vera app provides step-by-step recipes and automation, becoming your personal BBQ chef. With Brisk It, a grill will detect and act on its own, even if the consumer isn’t home to complete all the required steps. Vera can take full control of the cooking process. The advanced AI adjusts to individual cooking styles in real-time.
Plantaform: this Canadian company developed a first-of-its-kind smart indoor garden powered by fog technology, also known as fogponics. Fogponics is a water-efficient system originally developed by NASA, consuming 30-50% less water than hydroponic systems and 10% ess than aeroponic systems. Plantaform’s gardens only need water refills every 2-3 weeks.
Home enthusiasts (no green thumb required) can grow fresh herbs, nutritious vegetables, and edible flowers, ideal for cocktail recipes.
Plantaform CEO Alberto Aguilar said: “Our CES Best of Innovation award reaffirms our mission to revolutionize the way we grow food indoors by providing simple, elegant, and easy-to-use technology.”
About the author: Rob Rinderman has been a trusted advisor and consultant to senior executives at public and private organizations for 3-plus decades. As founder and president of SMC Consulting, he advises companies and entrepreneurs on business development, strategic communications, marketing/social media, capital sourcing preparedness and more.
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