One-third of the world's food is lost or wasted, representing a primary challenge for the industry. Artificial intelligence is being deployed to address this, with the AI in food and beverage market projected to quadruple to $9.0 billion by 2032.
Key Takeaways
- 33% of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, per FAO
- 14% of global food is lost between harvest and retail, according to FAO estimates
- 17% of food is lost at the post-harvest stage, per FAO
- The global AI in food and beverage market is projected to reach $9.0 billion by 2032, per Fortune Business Insights
- The global AI in food and beverage market is forecast to grow from $2.0 billion in 2023 to $9.0 billion by 2032, per Fortune Business Insights
- $2.0 billion is the 2023 market value for AI in food and beverage, per Fortune Business Insights
- AI/ML is the most common advanced analytics capability used by supply chain organizations, at 66% adoption, per Gartner (surveyed)
- 61% of enterprises say they are using AI/ML in supply chain planning and/or execution, per Gartner (surveyed)
- 36% of supply chain organizations are using machine learning for demand forecasting, per Gartner (surveyed)
- US food manufacturing shipments reached $957.8 billion in 2022, per US Census Bureau; provides scale for AI adoption in food manufacturing
- US food manufacturing shipments increased from $761.4 billion in 2017 to $957.8 billion in 2022, per US Census Bureau
- Food and beverage stores had 121,000 establishments in 2022 in the US, per US Census/NAICS
- In 2022, 174 million Americans were exposed to foodborne illness burden is estimated; CDC estimates 48 million illnesses yearly in the US (foodborne disease)
- 48 million cases of foodborne illness occur in the US each year, per CDC
- 128,000 hospitalizations from foodborne illness per year in the US, per CDC
One third of food is lost or wasted, while AI and analytics markets are booming fast.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends9 stats
01
33% of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, per FAO
02
14% of global food is lost between harvest and retail, according to FAO estimates
03
17% of food is lost at the post-harvest stage, per FAO
04
9% of food is lost at the retail stage, per FAO
05
1.3 billion tonnes of food are lost or wasted globally each year, per FAO
06
2030 is the target year used in SDG 12.3 for reducing food loss and waste by 50%, per UN
07
SDG 12.3 aims for a 50% reduction in food loss and waste by 2030
08
Globally, 10% of food is lost during the production stage, estimated by the OECD
09
Food loss and waste are responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, per FAO
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
With 1.3 billion tonnes of food lost or wasted every year and only 9% lost at retail while 14% is lost between harvest and retail, the biggest opportunity is cutting loss upstream to help SDG 12.3 reach its 50% reduction target by 2030.
02 · Category
Market Size30 stats
01
The global AI in food and beverage market is projected to reach $9.0 billion by 2032, per Fortune Business Insights
02
The global AI in food and beverage market is forecast to grow from $2.0 billion in 2023 to $9.0 billion by 2032, per Fortune Business Insights
03
$2.0 billion is the 2023 market value for AI in food and beverage, per Fortune Business Insights
04
AI in food and beverage is forecast at a 17.3% CAGR from 2024 to 2032, per Fortune Business Insights
05
The global food analytics market is projected to reach $5.3 billion by 2030, per MarketsandMarkets
06
The food analytics market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 20.6% from 2023 to 2030, per MarketsandMarkets
07
The food analytics market was valued at $1.3 billion in 2022, per MarketsandMarkets
08
The global smart food packaging market is projected to reach $20.3 billion by 2030, per Fortune Business Insights
09
The smart food packaging market is forecast to grow at a 7.2% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, per Fortune Business Insights
10
The smart food packaging market is valued at $10.5 billion in 2022, per Fortune Business Insights
11
The global food safety testing market is projected to reach $20.1 billion by 2030, per Fortune Business Insights
12
The global food safety testing market is forecast to grow at a 9.1% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, per Fortune Business Insights
13
The global food safety testing market was valued at $8.7 billion in 2022, per Fortune Business Insights
14
The global retail AI market is projected to reach $26.8 billion by 2030, per MarketsandMarkets
15
Retail AI market growth is forecast at a CAGR of 33.6% from 2023 to 2030, per MarketsandMarkets
16
The retail AI market was valued at $5.1 billion in 2022, per MarketsandMarkets
17
The global AI in agriculture market is projected to reach $22.6 billion by 2028, per Fortune Business Insights
18
The AI in agriculture market is forecast to grow at a 25.7% CAGR from 2021 to 2028, per Fortune Business Insights
19
The AI in agriculture market value is $2.2 billion in 2020, per Fortune Business Insights
20
The global smart agriculture market is projected to reach $25.0 billion by 2027, per MarketsandMarkets
21
The smart agriculture market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 14.1% from 2022 to 2027, per MarketsandMarkets
22
The smart agriculture market was valued at $10.1 billion in 2021, per MarketsandMarkets
23
The global computer vision market is projected to reach $48.2 billion by 2030, per MarketsandMarkets
24
The computer vision market is forecast to grow at a 19.7% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, per MarketsandMarkets
25
The computer vision market was valued at $11.1 billion in 2022, per MarketsandMarkets
26
The global industrial AI market is projected to reach $36.4 billion by 2030, per MarketsandMarkets
27
The industrial AI market is forecast to grow at a 27.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, per MarketsandMarkets
28
The industrial AI market was valued at $7.9 billion in 2022, per MarketsandMarkets
29
AI software market is projected to reach $307.6 billion by 2026, per Grand View Research
30
AI software market is forecast to grow at a 37.8% CAGR from 2019 to 2026, per Grand View Research
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The AI and data-driven transformation of the food industry is accelerating fast, with the global AI in food and beverage market expected to rise from $2.0 billion in 2023 to $9.0 billion by 2032 at a 17.3% CAGR.
03 · Category
User Adoption16 stats
01
AI/ML is the most common advanced analytics capability used by supply chain organizations, at 66% adoption, per Gartner (surveyed)
02
61% of enterprises say they are using AI/ML in supply chain planning and/or execution, per Gartner (surveyed)
03
36% of supply chain organizations are using machine learning for demand forecasting, per Gartner (surveyed)
04
58% of organizations report they use real-time analytics for logistics and transportation, per IDC
05
42% of organizations use predictive analytics for inventory management, per IDC
06
AI in supply chain: 43% of respondents plan to deploy AI/ML within 12 months, per Gartner
07
In manufacturing, 77% of organizations have already adopted AI or plan to adopt within 2 years, per McKinsey Global Survey
08
In the US, 70% of consumers expect personalization from brands, per Salesforce (consumer survey)
09
52% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with brands that offer personalized experiences, per Salesforce
10
61% of consumers have made a purchase from a business that offers personalized recommendations, per Salesforce
11
In agriculture, 31% of farmers in surveyed countries use ‘precision agriculture’ technologies, per FAO (survey results compiled in report)
12
In agriculture, 23% of farmers use GPS guidance, per FAO (report on digital agriculture)
13
In agriculture, 14% of farmers use variable rate technology, per FAO (digital agriculture report)
14
In food systems, 29% of organizations have implemented digital traceability solutions, per GS1
15
39% of organizations plan to implement digital traceability solutions within 2 years, per GS1
16
46% of food and beverage companies use digital traceability data in some form, per GS1
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
AI is rapidly moving from experimentation to real deployment in food and supply chains, with 43% of respondents planning to deploy AI or ML within 12 months and 29% of food systems already using digital traceability solutions.
More related reading
04 · Category
Cost Analysis9 stats
01
US food manufacturing shipments reached $957.8 billion in 2022, per US Census Bureau; provides scale for AI adoption in food manufacturing
02
US food manufacturing shipments increased from $761.4 billion in 2017 to $957.8 billion in 2022, per US Census Bureau
03
Food and beverage stores had 121,000 establishments in 2022 in the US, per US Census/NAICS
04
Food services and drinking places employed 13.8 million people in 2023 in the US, per BLS
05
Global food safety testing market costs are increasing; food safety testing market was $8.7B in 2022 (spend baseline), per Fortune Business Insights
06
Global smart food packaging market spend is expected to reach $20.3B by 2030, per Fortune Business Insights
07
The global IoT in food & beverages market spend is forecast to reach $12.3B by 2027, per MarketsandMarkets
08
Improving forecasting accuracy by 10% can reduce safety stock levels by 20% (used in supply chain cost models, per Gartner research summary)
09
Food manufacturing spending on digital transformation is part of large capex categories; manufacturing AI investments are projected to reach $1.0 trillion globally by 2025 (OECD estimate on Industry 4.0 capex)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
With US food manufacturing shipments rising from $761.4 billion in 2017 to $957.8 billion in 2022 and global AI and digital transformation investments projected to reach $1.0 trillion by 2025, the industry is clearly scaling up alongside surging complementary markets like smart food packaging to $20.3 billion by 2030 and IoT in food and beverages to $12.3 billion by 2027.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics17 stats
01
In 2022, 174 million Americans were exposed to foodborne illness burden is estimated; CDC estimates 48 million illnesses yearly in the US (foodborne disease)
02
48 million cases of foodborne illness occur in the US each year, per CDC
03
128,000 hospitalizations from foodborne illness per year in the US, per CDC
04
3,000 deaths per year from foodborne illness in the US, per CDC
05
$15.6 billion annual medical costs of foodborne illness in the US, per CDC
06
$44 billion total cost of foodborne illness annually in the US (medical + other), per CDC
07
In supply chain visibility, IBM found 1.8x faster response times with AI/ML-based predictive logistics optimization (IBM case study)
08
Temperature monitoring in cold chain can detect deviations within minutes, reducing product loss (industry benchmark from IoT cold chain vendors)
09
Cold chain monitoring can reduce spoilage losses by up to 50% in certain studies/case examples (Sensitech case examples)
10
In US CDC estimates, foodborne illness accounts for 19.0% of population getting sick yearly (48 million illnesses / 330 million population)
11
In the US, 1 in 6 Americans fall ill from foodborne diseases each year, per CDC
12
AI can reduce energy consumption in manufacturing by 10–20% (energy optimization analytics benchmark)
13
AI in energy can cut energy use by 10% with optimization scenarios (IEA)
14
Global food loss and waste cause 8% of greenhouse gas emissions (performance pressure metric for decarbonization outcomes)
15
8% of global greenhouse gas emissions is attributed to food loss and waste per FAO
16
CO2 emissions from food loss and waste are estimated at 3.3 gigatonnes annually (FAO)
17
3.3 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions annually come from food loss and waste (FAO)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
With the CDC estimating 48 million US foodborne illnesses annually and total annual costs of $44 billion, AI and connected cold-chain monitoring are becoming a high-impact lever because even reducing spoilage losses by up to 50% and improving logistics response by 1.8x can directly cut health, economic, and related environmental pressures, especially given that food loss and waste drive about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Marie Larsen. (2026, February 13). AI Food Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/ai-food-industry-statistics
MLA
Marie Larsen. "AI Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/ai-food-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Marie Larsen. 2026. "AI Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/ai-food-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
32 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+14 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)