Beverage Makers Embrace Processing Automation to Meet Trends

Automation helps beverage companies increase efficiency, meet consumer demands, and maintain product quality.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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Beverage industry experts say processing automation is becoming increasingly important for beverage formulators to increase efficiency, meet consumer trends like fortification and natural sweeteners, and maintain consistent product quality. Automation is enabling faster changeovers, better traceability, and tighter control of utilities. Trends like the shift to alternative sweeteners and new regulations on organic colorants are also driving the need for more advanced processing equipment and automation.

Why it matters

As consumer demands for healthier, more functional beverages continue to rise, processing automation is helping beverage companies keep up with trends, improve operational efficiency, and ensure product quality and safety. Automation is critical for managing the complexity of modern beverage formulations and production.

The details

Experts say automation has improved beverage process efficiency by minimizing formulation, filling and labeling errors, and increasing production speed. Fortification trends are impacting mixing and blending equipment, requiring higher shear and intensity to properly incorporate ingredients like proteins and vitamins. The shift to alternative sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit, and sugar alcohols is also driving the need for more advanced automation to handle the different dissolution and dispersion properties of these ingredients. Regulations on organic colorants have created new challenges that beverage makers are addressing with specialized mixing equipment and automation.

  • In 2025, Hiperbaric announced record growth with 30 HPP machine installations planned for that year.
  • At PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2025, Hiperbaric partnered with Bay Center Foods, a Chick-fil-A subsidiary, to showcase how HPP automation increased throughput, improved traceability, and enhanced overall equipment effectiveness at their citrus processing facility.

The players

Santino Zingales

Director of sales at Admix Inc., a company that provides mixing and blending equipment for the beverage industry.

Guido Sorgenfrei

Senior director of automation liquid technologies at GEA, a supplier of processing equipment and solutions for the beverage industry.

Morten Hansen

Director of mixing and membrane filtration technologies at GEA.

Madadline Besse

Director of strategy and business development nutrition, plant engineering division at GEA.

Kurt Cahill

Executive director of manufacturing innovation at Chick-fil-A.

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What they’re saying

“Modern process automation enables consistent recipe execution, repeatable quality and safer operation while improving transparency through integration, connectivity and real-time data.”

— Guido Sorgenfrei, Senior director of automation liquid technologies at GEA (bevindustry.com)

“Different sweeteners behave very differently under heat, shear and storage — and automation is how manufacturers keep quality and throughput stable why they reformulate at speed.”

— Santino Zingales, Director of sales at Admix Inc. (bevindustry.com)

“We value our partnership with Hiperbaric and this relationship has enabled us to create the world's most automated HPP lemon processing facility. The integration of HPP technology with an advanced automation systems platform has transformed our operations, allowing us to significantly reduce unplanned downtown while improving food safety, product quality and operational efficiency.”

— Kurt Cahill, Executive director of manufacturing innovation at Chick-fil-A (bevindustry.com)

What’s next

Beverage makers are expected to continue investing in advanced processing automation technologies to meet evolving consumer demands and maintain product quality and safety.

The takeaway

Processing automation is becoming essential for beverage companies to increase efficiency, adapt to changing consumer trends, and ensure consistent product quality and safety. The ability to handle complex formulations, maintain tight control over ingredients, and enable faster changeovers is critical as the beverage industry becomes more dynamic.