3D FOOD ROBOTICS LTD

What 3D FOOD ROBOTICS LTD does

3D Food Robotics Ltd (3DFRL) is a privately-held UK engineering company founded on 11 January 2022 and headquartered at 4 Lidgett Lane, Garforth, Leeds. The company designs and builds AI-based robotic systems for the food production industry, targeting packhouse, food processing, and industrial bakery operators. It positions its offering against labour shortages, rising manual labour costs, food waste, and quality inconsistency for volume producers of fresh produce, baked goods, and seafood.

The technology stack combines 3D machine vision with 6-axis robots and water jet cutting, allowing the system to identify, manipulate, and cut non-uniform food items without bruising regardless of orientation. Core products include The Vegetable Trimmer, The Product Inspector, The 3D Product Labeller, The Biscuit & Cake Icer, and The Carrot Baton Machine Feeder, supplemented by process modules for sprout, leek, and swede trimming. Each cell is engineered as a bespoke configuration, with AI analysing each piece of produce in real time and adjusting robot motion per cycle to emulate the variability handling of a human operator.

The company operates a direct, sales-led go-to-market: enterprise customers submit problems via a website contact form and receive quote-based custom solutions. Revenue is generated through one-time custom system sales (labelled one-time license) and professional services for deployment. The company is founder-led, with mechanical engineer Bob Hinchcliffe at the helm and a management team claiming 115 years of combined food-sector automation experience. As of the available data, 3D Food Robotics is UK-only, has no disclosed external funding, no patents, no certifications, no partnerships, and no published revenue figures.

Name

3D FOOD ROBOTICS LTD

Legal name

3D Food Robotics Ltd

Website

https://3dfoodbots.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Short description

3D Food Robotics Ltd designs and builds AI-based robotic systems combining 3D machine vision, 6-axis robots, and water jet cutting for the UK food production industry, serving packhouse, food processing, and industrial bakery customers with bespoke automation cells.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Processing Robotics

NAICS

Food Product Machinery Manufacturing (333241)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Agricultural Robotics Integration, Retrofit & Automation Services (Kit installs, integration, maintenance) (AFAAAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Autonomous Field Robots & Tractors (Driverless tractors, robotic carriers) (AFAAAGAA)

Keywords

• Food processing robotics
• AI vision systems
• Automated produce trimming
• Robotic food handling
• Industrial bakery automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Automation Systems: The company designs and builds custom machines to process food stuffs using automation and robotics. Systems are deployed for specific customer needs including trimming stems, topping and tailing, inspecting produce, labelling, icing cakes and biscuits, and feeding processing machines.
2. Robotic Processing Services: Deployment of robotic systems to supplement manual work teams in food processing facilities. Systems address labour shortages while improving quality control and handling more volume.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

3D Food Robotics Ltd designs, builds and deploys AI-based robotic systems for the food production industry, combining 3D machine vision with 6-axis robotics and water jet cutting to automate packhouse, food processing and industrial bakery tasks such as vegetable trimming, produce inspection, labelling, and cake/biscuit icing. Systems are bespoke-engineered to each enterprise customer's specific automation problem.

Product overview

3D Food Robotics Ltd provides a portfolio of AI-based robotic systems for the food production industry, specializing in packhouse, food processing, and industrial bakery operations. The product line includes The Vegetable Trimmer (for trimming stems and topping/tailing), The Product Inspector (real-time post-harvest quality inspection), The 3D Product Labeller (robotic labelling for odd-shaped packages), The Biscuit & Cake Icer (robotic icing with AI for artisan appearance), and The Carrot Baton Machine Feeder (automated feeding system). These systems are built on core technology pillars of 3D Vision with AI, 6-axis robots, and water jet cutting, addressing labour shortages while reducing food waste and improving quality. Process-specific modules cover sprout trimming, leek processing, and swede trimming operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Vegetable Trimmer Automated system for trimming stems and topping and tailing vegetables, reducing food waste while improving yield through precision cutting with 3D vision and AI. Designed for fresh produce packhouse operators.
• The Product Inspector Real-time post-harvest produce inspection system using 3D vision with AI to identify quality issues, blemishes and ensure consistent product standards across fresh produce lines.
• The 3D Product Labeller Robotic labelling system that applies labels to oddly shaped packages using advanced robotics and 3D product mapping.
• The Biscuit & Cake Icer Robotic icing system with AI for cakes and biscuits that removes the human element while retaining an artisan look by mapping biscuit surfaces and applying icing at precise points. Built for industrial bakery operators.
• The Carrot Baton Machine Feeder Automated feeding system that accurately places carrots crown-first into a Francis Overall carrot baton machine, requiring zero labour.
• Sprout Trimming System Automated sprout processing system for butt end trimming, refreshing and peeling of sprouts using 6-axis robots with precision water jet cutting.
• Leek Processing System Precision root trimming, extended shelf life processing, and top leaf trimming for leeks using AI-powered 3D vision and robotics.
• Swede Trimming System Automated swede topping and tailing with integrated product inspection and blemish removal using water jet cutting technology.

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased productivity through AI-enabled adjustment for each unique product
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ellips (Ellips B.V.): Dutch developer of optical sorting and grading technology for fresh produce. Directly comparable to 3D Food Robotics' vision-led inspection product, serving the same fresh-produce packhouse customers with AI-driven grading and quality control.
• Key Technology: US-based manufacturer of digital sorting, inspection, and conveying equipment for food processing. Directly comparable to 3D Food Robotics' Product Inspector and Vegetable Trimmer product lines, serving overlapping fresh-produce and food-processing customers with vision-enabled automation.

Broad incumbents

• FANUC Corporation: Global leader in industrial robots and factory automation including 6-axis robots that are a core component of 3D Food Robotics' systems. Comparable as an incumbent 6-axis robotics supplier competing for the same automation budgets in food processing, with vastly greater scale and R&D resources.
• Marel: Icelandic global leader in food processing equipment, machinery and systems for meat, fish and poultry. Comparable as a broad incumbent selling automation and robotics into food processing customers, though at much larger scale and across protein categories where 3D Food Robotics is not active.
• JBT Corporation: US-listed provider of processing equipment and automation for food and beverage producers. Comparable to 3D Food Robotics as a supplier of integrated robotic and vision-based systems to industrial food producers, but operating at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Tomra: Norwegian multinational supplying sensor-based sorting and grading systems for food processing. Comparable to 3D Food Robotics as an established provider of vision-driven automation in packhouse and food production environments, though Tomra's footprint and product breadth are far larger and it focuses on bulk sorting rather than per-piece manipulation.
• ABB Robotics: Major supplier of industrial robots and automation solutions including 6-axis robots and vision systems for food and beverage processing. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering overlapping vision + robotics capabilities into the same end markets, with an established food-and-beverage go-to-market motion.

Emerging players

• RootWave: UK-based agricultural robotics company using AI and computer vision for weed control and crop management. Comparable as a UK-headquartered agricultural-robotics peer in the broader fresh-produce automation theme, though focused on in-field weed elimination rather than packhouse processing.

Regional players

• Saga Robotics: Norwegian agricultural robotics company building autonomous field robots for soft fruit and crops. Comparable to 3D Food Robotics as a fellow agricultural-robotics specialist using AI and vision, but operating in the field/crop domain rather than packhouse processing, and primarily serving Scandinavian markets.
• Small Robot Company: UK-based agricultural robotics startup developing autonomous field robots for arable farming. Comparable as a UK-headquartered agricultural-robotics peer with overlapping talent, customer base, and investor ecosystem, though focused on in-field robotics rather than packhouse processing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/3dfoodbots
• YouTubevimeo.com/3dfoodbots
• Facebookfacebook.com/3dfoodbots
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3d-food-robotics
• Instagraminstagram.com/3dfoodbots

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 3D FOOD ROBOTICS LTD