FHA2026 & Beyond: From Smart Machines to a Sustainable Coffee Ecosystem - Franzen Leung
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Following Food & Hotel Asia (FHA) 2026, ML Alliance spoke with Franzen Leung, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of Innoroma, on the company’s evolution from a smart coffee machine innovator into a full coffee ecosystem planner driven by automation, data, AI, and sustainability.
"We are no longer just building machines. We’ve become an ecosystem planner for the future of coffee."
1) FHA 2026 marked a major milestone for Innoroma. What was your biggest takeaway from this year’s event?
Four years ago, we joined FHA under the Singapore Coffee Association brand to better communicate our concept to the market. Back then, we were still a small team mainly focused on the machine itself.
This year was very different. We came with our own team and had conversations with CEOs, equipment companies, investors, hospitality players, and end users from different countries and market segments.
What impressed many people wasn’t just the coffee or the machine — it was the ecosystem and business model behind it. We received strong feedback about the sustainability aspect of what we’re building, and many multinational executives described the concept as highly innovative and meaningful.
The biggest shift happened during COVID. We paused and rethought everything. Instead of focusing only on equipment, we began building a complete ecosystem around automation, data, and synchronisation. That changed our business model, our mindset, and our team structure entirely.
2) How has FHA 2026 shaped Innoroma’s growth strategy moving forward?
The machine remains the key entry point into our ecosystem. It allows us to collect real-time production and user data, which supports the entire platform.
Following FHA, we are finalising plans to produce our first 50 units, targeted for deployment around August 2026. These units will go to key users across the APEC region, including specialty cafés and hospitality partners who have been waiting to test our ecosystem concept.
The goal now is to let users experience not just the machine, but the entire workflow and operational model behind it. Based on those results, we’ll scale production gradually while expanding our AI, R&D, and smart manufacturing capabilities with support from investors and strategic partners.
3) AI is becoming a major part of your ecosystem. How does Innoroma use AI across the business?
Our company focuses on three pillars: automation, data, and AI.
Automation allows the business to scale efficiently. Once operations become automated, we can capture and digitise data across roasting, blending, production, quality control, and coffee management.
AI then helps us connect everything together. Every coffee drinker has different preferences, and AI enables us to analyse those individual profiles and personalise the coffee experience accordingly. It helps us transform complex data into meaningful user experiences at every level.
4) How do you see Innoroma developing over the next one to two years?
Our first phase is focused on Asia and Southeast Asia, where specialty coffee culture is growing rapidly and consumers are highly receptive to quality and freshness.
We are introducing a concept we call “nano roasting” — focusing on small-batch, high-quality coffee experiences tailored to Asian consumer preferences. In many ways, Asian coffee culture is evolving differently from the West, influenced by our own traditions, taste sensitivities, and tea culture.
Over the next two years, we will focus on launching the machine, expanding production, growing the sales and technical teams, and strengthening the ecosystem across the region. Longer term, we plan to expand into Europe and the United States.
5) Beyond business growth, you also spoke about supporting the broader coffee ecosystem. Why is that important to Innoroma?
What we’re building is meaningful because it helps people across the entire ecosystem — from workers and producers to cafés and consumers.
We want to improve coffee quality at every stage and support the industry with better tools, better systems, and better opportunities. Of course, business growth matters, but what motivates us is building something sustainable that genuinely benefits people.
I believe Asia will play a major role in shaping the future coffee industry. We are not just consumers anymore — we are producers, innovators, and ecosystem builders too. In the future, I believe Asia will develop its own coffee standards and influence the global market in a very significant way.
6) Finally, in three or four words, how would you describe your feelings after FHA 2026?
“Just go for it.”
There were many moments when we wanted to give up, but we kept believing in the vision. After FHA, seeing the feedback and seeing people smile gave us confidence that this is real.
We started with a machine. Today, we are building a complete ecosystem for the future of coffee.
