3D food printing is an emerging food technology innovation that enables the personalization and on-demand production of edible products. While its academic and industrial relevance has increased over the past decade, the functional value of the technology remains largely unrealized on a commercial scale. This study aimed at updating the business outlook of 3D food printing so as to help entrepreneurs and researchers in the field to channel their research and development (R&D) activities. A three-phase mixed methods approach was utilized to gain perspectives of industrial experts, researchers, and potential consumers. Data were collected from two sets of interviews with experts, a survey with experts, and consumer focus group discussions. The results gave insights into key attributes and use cases for a 3D food printer system, including the techno-economic feasibility and consumer desirability of identified use cases. A business modelling workshop was then organized to translate these results into three refined value propositions for 3D food printing. Both the experts and consumers found personalized nutrition and convenience to be the most desirable aspects of 3D food printing. Accordingly, business models related to 3D printed snacks/meals in semi-public spaces such as fitness centers and hospitals were found to offer the highest business potential. While the technology might be mature enough at component level, the successful realization of such high-reward models however would require risk-taking during the developmental phase.

Honeycomb-core sandwich structures offer excellent strength-to-weight performance, making them well-suited for lightweight and sustainable engineering applications. This study investigates the mechanical behavior of bio-based, three-dimensional printed honeycomb sandwich panels using numerical analysis. A finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate three-point bending tests on hexagonal honeycomb cores fabricated from bioepoxy materials with plywood face sheets. The numerical predictions were validated against experimental data from mechanical testing of the printed specimens. The effects of key geometric parameters, including core height, panel width, cell size, and face sheet thickness, on structural stiffness and load-bearing capacity were systematically assessed. A progressive damage model predicted the peak load within 0.6% and captured the postpeak failure behavior. Increasing the core height from three to four printed layers proportionally improved bending stiffness. Similarly, the 2.3 mm face sheet configuration reached a maximum load of 1526 N, more than twice the 705 N of the 1.0 mm sheet. Smaller 15 mm cells exhibited higher absolute stiffness (75.2 N/mm) than 45 mm cells (63.1 N/mm), though the coarser cells showed 78% higher specific stiffness and were the more mass-efficient design, while increasing panel width from 32 mm to 40 mm enhanced stiffness by around 25%. These findings demonstrate the potential of combining additive manufacturing with bio-based materials to produce sustainable sandwich structures with tunable mechanical properties.