4차 산업혁명 시대의 차음식 활용 방안

Plans for Using Tea Foods in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Era

Tea is one of the most popular drinks all over the world and is being consumed by people of different ages, since it is receiving attention from the food market for its bio-active ingredients that are effective in enhancing health. The consumption of processed foods is increasing due to a rise in double-income couples, single households and the emergence of COVID-19, and there is an increasing interest in health at the same time. For this reason, processed foods are becoming more elaborate and competitive, and this is leading to a big interest in development of diverse kinds of tea products and tea foods. With the technological development brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, quantified and manualized tea processed foods with consistent tastes and stability can be supplied through combination with ICT in the existing food industry. However, it was thought that it would be hard to get data regarding tea foods from food companies, restaurants, SNS, etc. because of low sales. Once different kinds of tea suitable for characteristics of main materials and products using main materials and medicinal herbs are developed, they can be helpful in developing consumer-customized recipes and doses for households, sanatoriums and school meal services. When analyzing freshness, the content of sugar and off-flavor components using a near-infrared analyzer for evaluating the quality of tea, it can be applied to quality standardization grade classification of tea foods by improving reliability and objectivity. Moreover, it is possible to provide information about the lowest price and robot serving service using blockchain. As shown above, there is a need to establish competitive prices and reinforce stability by producing products that suit tastes of consumers and reducing production costs. In addition, it is required to provide against changes in methods of communicating with consumers and sales channels caused by the emergence of COVID-19 and convert into a paradigm reflecting the change of the market. It is anticipated that if differentiated tea food images with consistent tastes and stability are created by manufacturing tea processed foods that consider needs of customers seeking healthy lifestyles and something new through combination with ICT in the manufacturing industry, it will make a contribution to the formation of Korea’s own unique tea food culture.