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3D printing now provides enormous freedom to design, manufacture and innovate in a whole number of sector spaces, including medical and food sectors. Here, we analyze the applications developed on the back of these methods, targeting the impact these methods have on the design and production-line sustainability of the biobased products per se and on consumer acceptability of these 3D-printed products. We also look at 3D-printed functional foods targeting different sectors of the population, and the development prospects for 3D-printed biobased products in the coming decade. 3D printing is a technology with a bright future. Providing custom-tailored turnkey nutritional solutions to populations that have thus far been excluded from certain markets due to their health conditions, deprived of regular access to food resources, or simply too short of buying power, represents a series of issues that can be overcome. The major challenge for the coming years will be to develop, using 3D printing, meat products or products blending alternative protein sources that remain perfectly structured without having to use additives. The final step will be to garner consumer acceptance for these 3D-printed foods.
