Gitnux/Report 2026

B2B Food Industry Statistics

The global foodservice market was valued at $4.45 trillion in 2025, explore the b2b food figures behind growth, companies and 2026 trends.
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B2B Food Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Gitnux editors write the brief first: the topic, the inclusion rules, and the frame for what belongs.

02Source Research

Agents search the published record and log every extracted figure back to the passage it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The b2b food industry at a glance

The global foodservice market was estimated at $4.45 trillion in 2025, while food manufacturing remained a major B2B activity with 1.77 million U.S. jobs in October 2026.

$4.45T[68]
Global foodservice market, 2025
1.77M[69]
U.S. food manufacturing jobs, 2026
41.24%[70]
Asia-Pacific foodservice share, 2025
6.8%[71]
Food ingredients CAGR, 2024–2029
Market size
The global foodservice market was valued at $4.45 trillion in 2025. A separate 2024 GlobalData-based estimate put the market for hamburger quick-service restaurants, pizza quick-service restaurants and Italian full-service restaurants at ¥93.9 trillion worldwide.[68][72]
Forecast & CAGR
The global food ingredients market is forecast to reach $118 billion by 2029 from 2024 levels, implying a 6.8% CAGR over 2024–2029. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects food manufacturing employment to rise from 1.783 million in 2024 to 1.867 million in 2034, a 4.7% increase.[71][69]
Market share & regions
Asia-Pacific accounted for 41.24% of global foodservice revenue in 2025, followed by North America at 27.69% and Europe at 20.76%. A 2023 estimate similarly placed Asia-Pacific at 40.6%, North America at 26.7% and Europe at 19.3%.[70][73]
Segmentation
U.S. food manufacturing employment in October 2026 included 561,900 jobs in animal slaughtering and processing, 348,900 in bakeries and tortilla manufacturing, 171,700 in dairy product manufacturing and 170,600 in fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing.[69]
Key players & concentration
The U.S. food manufacturing sector employed 1.775 million people across approximately 42,972 establishments in 2025, indicating a large and geographically distributed supplier base. The sector represented about 1.1% of U.S. jobs in that dataset.[74]
Pricing
The USDA forecast U.S. food prices to rise 2.8% in 2026, with food-away-from-home prices forecast to increase 3.5%. Beef and veal prices fell 1.3% between August and September 2026, while fresh fruit prices rose 2.0%.[75]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Demand is being shaped by restaurant and hospitality expansion, convenience formats and interest in clean-label, plant-based and ready-to-eat products. Cost pressure remains significant: the USDA forecast 2026 food-away-from-home inflation at 3.5%, while BLS projects food manufacturing to add 83,800 jobs between 2024 and 2034.[75][69][76]
Consumer behavior & competition
Foodservice competition is increasingly divided between independent operators and chains, with chains gaining share in major markets. In the United States, food-away-from-home prices were forecast to rise 3.5% in 2026, increasing the importance of value positioning, menu engineering and procurement efficiency.[75][77]
M&A
Recent transactions show continued consolidation across branded food and distribution. Unilever and McCormick announced a combination involving a food business with approximately $20 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue, while Smithfield agreed in January 2026 to acquire Nathan’s Famous for approximately $450 million in enterprise value.[78][79]
Regulation
The FDA released the 2026 Food Code in 2026. The code provides a science-based model for state, local, tribal and federal regulation of retail foodservice, including restaurants, grocery stores and institutional food operations.[80]
Latest news
In October 2026, the FDA released its updated Food Code, and the USDA’s October 2026 Food Price Outlook forecast 2.8% inflation for all food and 3.5% inflation for food away from home. BLS data showed 1.771 million U.S. food-manufacturing jobs in October 2026.[80][75][69]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the B2b Food Industry

The leading companies in the b2b food industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 11, 2026 · Next review December 11, 2026

Verdict

Cargill stands out for food ingredients procurement and protein supply because it connects farmers with markets and customers with ingredients, while Mars focuses on confectionery, snacks and pet nutrition since it spans brands across confectionery, snacks and pet categories.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in food ingredients

    Cargill

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Food ingredients

    Why we picked it: Cargill’s food ingredients, commodities and protein segment ties agricultural supply to ingredient and food demand.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cargill.com ↗

  2. Leader in confectionery & snacks

    Mars

    US

    Ranked #2 · 9.2 · Confectionery & snacks

    Why we picked it: Mars operates across confectionery, snacks and pet nutrition, spanning multiple B2B-to-retail food categories.

    See in ranking ↓Visit mars.com ↗

  3. Leader in protein & prepared foods

    JBS

    NL

    Ranked #3 · 9.1 · Protein & prepared foods

    Why we picked it: JBS produces multiple proteins and prepared foods globally, matching demand from foodservice and manufacturing buyers.

    See in ranking ↓Visit jbs.com.br ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the b2b food industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Cargill

Food ingredients · US

9.5
2

Mars

Confectionery & snacks · US

9.2
3

JBS

Protein & prepared foods · NL

9.1
4

McDonald's

Quick-service restaurants · US

8.9
5

Arla Foods

Dairy ingredients & dairy · DK

8.7
6

Nestlé

Global food, beverage and nutrition products · CH

8.7
7

Danone

Dairy, plant-based, waters and nutrition · FR

8.7
8

PepsiCo

Convenient foods and beverages worldwide · US

8.7
9

Barry Callebaut

Industrial chocolate and cocoa products · CH

8.6
10

Tyson Foods

Protein foods and prepared foods · US

8.6

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 11, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 11). Top 10 companies in the b2b food industry. In B2B Food Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/b2b-food-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest b2b food companies

Cargill leads with $154.0B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

Cargill$154.0B
Nestlé$101.1B
PepsiCo$93.9B
JBS$86.2B
Tyson Foods$54.4B
Danone$29.5B
source-verifiedcargill.com · nestle.com · pepsico.com · mediaroom.jbs.com.br · tysonfoods.com · danone.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Technology & Innovation highlights adoption gaps: only 3% of food manufacturing companies reported full deployment of AI tools in a 2026 survey.

AI in the b2b food industry

  • 3% of food manufacturing companies reported full deployment of AI tools in a 2026 industry survey.[1]
  • 40% of food and beverage organizations were already implementing or using artificial intelligence in 2024, according to a global industry survey.[2]
  • 20% of food and beverage companies were investing in AI to improve data analytics and decision-making in 2024.[2]

Automation in the b2b food industry

  • 39% of food and beverage manufacturers planned to expand in-house technical training in 2025, supporting automation-related capability development.[3]
  • 37% of food and beverage manufacturers said worker shortages were critical and affecting production in 2025.[3]
  • 41% of food and beverage plants planned to add maintenance technicians in 2025.[3]
  • 24% of food and beverage manufacturers planned to expand in-house engineering capabilities in 2025.[3]

Digital Transformation in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • 28% of food, beverage, and ingredient professionals reported positive effects from digital transformation technologies on food-safety preventive controls in 2024.[4]
  • 40% of 423 food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their organization’s biggest operational barrier in 2026.[5]
  • 34% of food, beverage, and ingredient professionals said manufacturing process or assembly had been positively affected by digital transformation technologies in 2024.[4]
  • 82% of food and beverage leaders said technology adoption was a strategic priority, while 6% reported fully integrated digital systems, in a 2025 survey.[5]

Technology Adoption in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • 31% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in robotics or robotic process automation in 2025.[4]
  • 22% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in machine-learning software in 2025.[4]
  • 23% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in mobile-app technologies in 2025.[4]
  • 50% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in artificial intelligence as part of their 2025 digital-transformation strategies.[4]

Cloud Computing in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • 30% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in cloud computing or enterprise resource-planning software and systems in 2025.[4]
  • 52% of food processors and manufacturers were considering cloud technology, while 45% reported no cloud use, in a 2023 industry survey.[2]
  • 18% of food manufacturers were already using cloud-based manufacturing-execution systems, while 51% planned implementation, according to a 2025 industry survey.[6]
  • 39.5% of EU enterprises in accommodation and food-service activities used paid cloud-computing services in 2025.[7]

Big Data in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • 13% of food manufacturers were already using advanced-analytics or big-data platforms, while 44% planned implementation, in a 2025 industry survey.[6]
  • 24% of food-manufacturing respondents were very familiar with advanced analytics, while 34% were moderately familiar, in CRB’s 2025 survey.[8]
  • 47% of food, beverage, and ingredient professionals identified gathering, analyzing, and leveraging data for data-driven decisions as a digital-transformation investment driver in 2024.[4]
  • 35% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in big data and real-time analytics in 2025.[4]

IoT in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • 33% of UK manufacturing companies had adopted IoT technologies in a 2024 national survey, with manufacturing among the sectors reporting comparatively high adoption.[9]
  • 16% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in Internet-of-Things devices or sensors in 2025.[4]
  • 31% of food-manufacturing respondents were very familiar with the Internet of Things, while 35% were moderately familiar, in CRB’s 2025 survey.[8]
  • 26% of food manufacturers were already using IoT sensors or equipment monitoring, while 37% planned implementation, in a 2025 industry survey.[6]

Innovation in the b2b food industry

  • 38.5% of Canadian food-processing businesses reported process innovation during fiscal years 2021–2023.[10]
  • 33.1% of Canadian food-processing businesses reported product innovation during fiscal years 2021–2023.[10]
  • U.S. food-industry companies performed $7.129 billion of worldwide research and development in 2023.[11]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data & Analytics centers on value and data friction: 79% of organizations used visualization dashboards, while 7.0 out of 10 rated data completeness as important in 2018.

Business intelligence in the b2b food industry

  • 79% of food and beverage manufacturing organizations used visualization dashboards as their most regularly utilized technology in a recent global survey.[12]
  • 38% of food and beverage organizations planned to invest in data-analysis technology in 2024.[13]
  • 50% of food and beverage organizations had invested in technology to improve data analysis by 2023, according to a global survey.[13]
  • 37% of food and beverage manufacturers identified themselves as Industry 4.0 early adopters with integrated predictive and real-time analytics in 2024.[14]

Data analytics in the b2b food industry

  • 27% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said data analytics provided the greatest value in product-yield-loss tracking and alerts in 2025.[6]
  • 33% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said data analytics provided the greatest value in identifying production bottlenecks in 2025.[6]
  • 23% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said their companies did not currently use data analytics in 2025.[6]
  • 31% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said data analytics provided the greatest value in real-time production-line performance tracking in 2025.[6]

Data Quality in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • 7.0 out of 10: Food, beverage and agriculture respondents rated data completeness as important in 2018.[15]
  • 6.4 out of 10: Food, beverage and agriculture respondents rated data timeliness as important in 2018.[15]
  • 77% of retail and consumer-products companies identified improving data quality as a priority in 2023.[16]
  • 6.4 out of 10: Food, beverage and agriculture respondents rated data accuracy as important in 2018.[15]
  • 6.6 out of 10: Food, beverage and agriculture respondents rated data consistency as important in 2018.[15]
  • 22% of consumer-products companies reported that businesses lacked trust in data quality and validity in 2024.[17]

Data Governance in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • 61% of supply-management organizations had a dedicated data-governance function in 2024.[18]
  • 47% of supply-management data-governance functions were housed in a center of excellence in 2024.[18]
  • 22% of consumer-products companies planned to increase investment in data infrastructure and governance over the following 12 months in 2024.[17]
  • 81% of supply-management organizations found their data-governance program useful in 2024.[18]
  • 43% of consumer-products companies reported struggling to establish the right level of data governance in 2024.[17]
  • 90% of supply-management organizations agreed or strongly agreed that data governance was necessary in 2024.[18]

KPIs in the b2b food industry

  • 23% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said analytics provided greatest value through quality-defect detection and root-cause analysis in 2025.[6]
  • 25% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said analytics provided greatest value through automated inventory-reorder-point calculation in 2025.[6]
  • Over 50% of food and beverage manufacturers reported using concrete KPIs to implement ESG policies in 2024.[14]
  • More than 50% of food and beverage manufacturers had grounded ESG policies in concrete KPIs in 2024, according to a global survey of more than 300 manufacturers.[8]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Strategy & Growth emphasizes deal activity and regional M&A flow, with 1,062 global food and beverage M&A deals recorded in 2025.

Growth in the b2b food industry

  • $91.854 billion was PepsiCo’s consolidated net revenue in 2024, compared with $91.471 billion in 2023.[19]
  • $93.925 billion was PepsiCo’s consolidated net revenue in 2025, compared with $91.854 billion in 2024.[19]
  • 2% was the increase in General Mills’ international net sales in fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024.[19]

Differentiation in the b2b food industry

  • 34% of French consumers cited regionality as one of the most important food-purchasing criteria in surveys conducted from July 2023 to June 2024.[20]
  • 32% of Italian consumers cited regionality as one of the most important food-purchasing criteria in surveys conducted from July 2023 to June 2024.[20]
  • 38% of German consumers cited regionality as one of the most important food-purchasing criteria in surveys conducted from July 2023 to June 2024.[20]
  • 45% of consumers in Switzerland and Austria cited regionality as one of the most important food-purchasing criteria in surveys conducted from July 2023 to June 2024.[20]

Mergers and acquisitions in the b2b food industry

  • 1,062 global food and beverage M&A deals were recorded in 2025, compared with 1,080 in 2024.[21]
  • $24.8 billion was the value of food and beverage M&A deals closed globally in the fourth quarter of 2024.[22]
  • 41% of global mid-market food and beverage M&A deal volume came from Asia Pacific in 2025.[21]
  • $110.9 billion was the value of global food and beverage M&A in 2025, up from $102.1 billion in 2024.[21]
  • $149.9 billion was the value of global food and beverage M&A deals in 2024, compared with $83.1 billion in 2023.[22]
  • 351 food and beverage M&A deals closed globally in the fourth quarter of 2024.[22]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

People & Workforce connects staffing to output risk, with 37% of manufacturers saying worker shortages were critical and affecting production in 2025.

Hiring in the b2b food industry

  • 65% of manufacturers agreed that retaining managers has become more difficult, according to a 2024 manufacturing workforce survey.[23]
  • 13.5% of food-manufacturing survey respondents identified hiring as a difficult employment-process task.[24]
  • 26% of food-manufacturing survey respondents identified recruiting as a difficult employment-process task, based on an industry survey.[24]

Employee retention in the b2b food industry

  • 80% was the approximate annual employee turnover rate in the restaurant industry as of January 2024.[25]
  • 135% was the hourly-employee turnover rate at limited-service restaurants in the third quarter of 2024.[25]
  • 29% of food-industry respondents prioritized higher wages and benefits to address workforce retention challenges in 2024.[2]
  • 36% of food-industry respondents prioritized training and development to address workforce retention challenges in 2024.[2]

Remote Work in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • U.S. accommodation and food-services firms averaged 0.1 work-from-home days per week from November 2024 through January 2025.[26]
  • Among food-sector career starters globally, 36% were fully site-based during their first two years of work, according to a 2024 survey.[27]
  • In U.S. accommodation and food services, 1.7% of employees were able to work fully remotely in 2024.[28]
  • Across U.S. food and beverage businesses, 26% let employees choose to work in-person or remotely in 2025, while 73% require in-person work.[29]

Hybrid Work in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. food and beverage businesses, 26% offered employees the option to work in-person or remotely in 2025.[29]
  • In U.S. restaurant and bar businesses, 12% offered employees a choice between in-person and remote work in 2025.[29]
  • Among food-sector career starters globally, 27% worked in a hybrid arrangement during their first two years, according to a 2024 survey.[27]
  • In 2025, 80% of hospitality and food-services employers said they were still struggling to get the balance right with hybrid working.[30]

Upskilling in the b2b food industry

  • 39% of food and beverage manufacturers planned to expand in-house technical training in 2025.[3]
  • 18.4% of food-manufacturing respondents reported that new-employee training typically lasted two to three weeks.[24]
  • 52% of food-manufacturing facilities reported that employee training was ongoing, according to an industry survey.[24]
  • 23% of food and beverage manufacturers planned to work with schools to develop electromechanical curricula in 2025.[3]

Employee Engagement in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • Globally, 21% of employees were engaged in 2025, providing an economy-wide benchmark relevant where food-and-beverage-specific engagement data are limited.[31]
  • Food-and-beverage organizations scored 7.91 out of 10 for employee engagement in the latest 2026 benchmark dataset.[32]
  • Food-service employees recorded 72.6% engagement in 2026, up 9.1 percentage points from the prior measurement.[33]
  • Among U.S. and Canadian frontline employees surveyed in 2024, 52% worked in foodservice, in a sample of 46,250 employees used to assess workplace engagement.[34]

Change Management in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among foodservice organizations surveyed in 2024, 46% identified siloed data and inaccessible specialists as barriers to systematic menu optimization.[35]
  • In the 2024–2025 HR Systems Survey, 28% of organizations used adaptive or agile change management, while 24% used a project-based approach.[36]
  • Among foodservice organizations surveyed in 2024, 44% cited a lack of internal expertise to execute analyses as a menu-optimization barrier.[35]
  • Among CPG executives, 5% said their companies decreased resources devoted to change-management initiatives during the prior 12 months.[37]
  • In a 2024 survey of foodservice organizations, 49% ranked resistance to change as a top barrier to evolving menu strategy.[35]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer & Sales points to procurement diversification: restaurant operators averaged 3.1 foodservice distributors in 2025, up from 2.8 pre-pandemic.

Customer experience in the b2b food industry

  • Restaurant operators purchased from an average of 3.1 foodservice distributors in 2025, compared with 2.8 before the pandemic.[38]
  • Specialty items were one of the leading factors driving restaurant operators to use multiple foodservice distributors in 2025.[38]
  • Product availability was one of the leading factors influencing restaurant operators’ foodservice-distributor relationships in a 2025 survey of 500 U.S. operators.[38]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Marketing & Brand shows a knowledge trust gap: in 2025, 21% of U.S. consumers trusted food manufacturers most for food-safety information.

Marketing in the b2b food industry

  • 64% of food-and-nutrition B2B marketers identified brand awareness and differentiation as their top challenge in 2025.[39]
  • Food and beverage companies in a 2024 regional survey planned to focus on improving marketing and sales alongside productivity and process streamlining.[40]
  • 12.2% of surveyed food and beverage company respondents worked in marketing and sales in 2025.[6]
  • 62% of food-and-nutrition B2B marketers reported difficulty balancing long-term brand health with short-term ROI in 2025.[39]

Digital marketing in the b2b food industry

  • 4.1% of surveyed food and beverage company respondents worked in information technology in 2025.[6]
  • 44% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors listed digital technology adoption and staff reskilling as a productivity initiative in 2024.[41]
  • 46% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors identified technology and software as an investment area for productivity improvement in 2024.[41]
  • 30% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors planned to significantly extend digital investment in 2024.[41]

Branding in the b2b food industry

  • 64% of food-and-nutrition B2B marketers cited brand awareness and differentiation as their top challenge in 2025.[39]
  • 15% of U.S. food-industry consumers surveyed in 2025 trusted food manufacturers most for food-production-technology information.[6]
  • 21% of U.S. consumers surveyed in 2025 trusted food manufacturers very much or completely for food-safety information.[6]
  • 12% of Gen Z consumers surveyed in 2025 trusted food manufacturers very much or completely for food-safety information.[6]

Social media in the b2b food industry

  • 48% of U.S. consumers surveyed in 2025 considered social-media influencers unreliable for food-safety information.[6]
  • 67% of consumers aged 60 and over surveyed in 2025 did not trust social-media influencers at all for food-safety information.[6]
  • 5% of U.S. consumers surveyed in 2025 trusted social media most for information about food-production technology.[6]
  • 11% of Gen Z consumers surveyed in 2025 trusted social media most for information about food-production technology.[6]

Influencer Marketing in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • 49% of U.S. millennial food and beverage shoppers said they purchased from an influencer-founded or influencer-led brand in the previous year, according to a 2025 survey.[42]
  • 63% of U.S. food and beverage shoppers said they purchased a prepackaged product based on an online influencer’s recommendation in the previous year, according to a June 2025 survey.[42]
  • 33% of U.S. food and beverage shoppers said they purchased a product from an influencer-founded or influencer-led brand such as Prime or Feastables in the previous year, in 2025.[42]
  • 82% of U.S. Gen Z food and beverage shoppers said they purchased a prepackaged product based on an online influencer’s recommendation in the previous year, according to a June 2025 survey.[42]
  • 69.3% of TikTok videos featuring branded food or beverage products had no brand-relationship disclosure, based on an analysis of 648 videos published in 2025.[43]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operations & Execution ties process controls to adoption: 76% of Canadian food and beverage processors implemented traceability systems in 2024.

Process optimization in the b2b food industry

  • 37% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors cited ineffective operating systems as a productivity challenge in 2024.[41]
  • 39% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors planned to review production KPIs to boost productivity in 2024.[41]
  • 31% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors cited outdated plant and equipment as a productivity challenge in 2024.[41]
  • 34% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors planned closer management of hours worked to boost productivity in 2024.[41]

Operational efficiency in the b2b food industry

  • 40% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors operated at 75%–84% capacity in 2024.[41]
  • 43% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors operated at 85%–94% capacity in 2024.[41]
  • 62.1% of surveyed food and beverage companies reported measurable improvement in energy use over the two years to 2025.[6]
  • 48.3% of surveyed food and beverage companies reported measurable improvement in waste output over the two years to 2025.[6]

Quality management in the b2b food industry

  • 32% of food manufacturing professionals surveyed in 2024 said supply-chain consistency was their most difficult preventative control to manage.[44]
  • 78% of Canadian food and beverage processors had implemented food-safety communication or messaging programs in 2024.[45]
  • 76% of Canadian food and beverage processors had implemented traceability systems in 2024.[45]
  • 46% of Canadian food and beverage processors had implemented assurance systems such as organic, kosher or sustainably sourced certification in 2024.[45]

Supply chain in the b2b food industry

  • 58% of food and beverage brands had built up inventory during 2023 to improve supply-chain resilience.[13]
  • 54% of UK food and drink companies used inventory buffering to mitigate supply-chain risks in 2025.[46]
  • 35% of food and beverage brands planned to carry more inventory in 2024.[13]
  • 61% of food and beverage brands had invested in improving demand-forecasting capabilities by 2023.[13]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the food and beverage sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among United States and European food-services and facility-management buyers, 91% expected outsourcing budgets to increase over the five years following 2024.[47]
  • Across food and beverage CPG companies globally, 52% planned to expand their international footprint in 2023, including North America, EMEA and APAC expansion.[48]
  • Across food and beverage CPG companies globally, 75% used at least some co-manufacturing resources in 2023.[49]
  • Among food and beverage CPG companies globally, 36% used co-manufacturers for finished-product manufacturing in 2023.[49]
  • Among food and beverage CPG companies globally, 47% worked with up to 10 co-manufacturers in 2023.[49]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Finance & Pricing frames 2026 cost pressure: the USDA forecast U.S. food prices to rise 2.8% in 2026 and food-away-from-home to increase 3.5%.

Pricing strategy in the b2b food industry

  • 5.7% was the decrease in U.S. wholesale food prices from the beginning to the end of 2023.[50]
  • 1.7% was the increase in Canadian food and beverage manufacturing sales in 2025, while inflation-adjusted volumes fell 2.6%.[13]
  • 7.1% of Canadian food and beverage manufacturers’ revenue went to wages in 2025, compared with 6.9% in 2024.[13]
  • 25% was the approximate increase in U.S. wholesale food prices above pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2023.[50]

Cost reduction in the b2b food industry

  • 2.0% was the increase in Canadian food and beverage manufacturers’ production costs in 2025.[13]
  • 17.2% of surveyed food and beverage companies reported no progress on sustainability initiatives such as energy, waste or water reduction by 2025.[6]
  • 27.6% of sustainability budgets at surveyed food manufacturers was allocated to energy-efficiency initiatives in 2025.[2]
  • 3.7% was the forecast decline in Canadian food and beverage manufacturers’ production costs for 2026.[13]

Profitability in the b2b food industry

  • 4.3% was the forecast increase in the gross-margin-rate index for Canadian food and beverage manufacturers in 2026.[13]
  • 65% of U.S. food businesses surveyed said rising food costs affected their net income in 2023.[50]
  • 28%–35% was the average food cost margin reported for U.S. food businesses in 2023.[50]
  • 84% of food and beverage manufacturers surveyed in New Jersey and New York expected revenue and profit to increase in 2024.[40]

Financial planning in the b2b food industry

  • 56% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors identified supply chain as an investment area for productivity improvement in 2024.[41]
  • 49% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors identified operating systems as an investment area for productivity improvement in 2024.[41]
  • 46% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors planned tighter inventory-management systems as a productivity initiative in 2024.[41]
  • Nearly 90% of Australian food and beverage manufacturers and distributors planned to increase technology investment in 2024.[41]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Product & Service links development and waste: 83% of food and beverage brands planned to increase new-product-development spending in 2024, while 13.2 million tons of surplus food were generated by U.S. food manufacturers in 2024.

Product development in the b2b food industry

  • 83% of food and beverage brands planned to increase new-product-development spending in 2024, based on TraceGains research.[5]
  • 58.2% of Canadian food-manufacturing businesses spent up to 5% of total expenditures on innovation activities during 2021–2023, Canada.[10]
  • 67.7% of Canadian food-processing businesses introduced at least one innovation during fiscal years 2021–2023, Canada.[10]
  • Nearly 50% of food and beverage manufacturers identified reducing ingredient or production costs as a leading product-development driver, based on a 2024 survey.[5]

Product lifecycle in the b2b food industry

  • 482,000 tons of U.S. food-manufacturing waste went to landfill in 2024, equal to 7.2% of manufacturing food waste.[51]
  • 21.1 billion meals were unsold or uneaten because of U.S. manufacturing-stage surplus food in 2024.[51]
  • 6.67 million tons of U.S. food-manufacturing surplus became food waste in 2024.[51]
  • 13.2 million tons of surplus food were generated by U.S. food manufacturers in 2024, representing 18.6% of total food-system surplus.[51]

Value proposition in the b2b food industry

  • 80.6% of U.S. consumers identified price or value as a top food-and-beverage purchase factor in 2025.[6]
  • 73% of U.S. consumers said knowing where ingredients were sourced increases a food product’s value, based on the 2025 Consumer Trends survey.[52]
  • 29.6% of U.S. consumers identified safety and quality as a top food-and-beverage purchase factor in 2025.[6]
  • 80.6% of U.S. consumers identified taste or flavor as a top food-and-beverage purchase factor in 2025.[6]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability & Ethics connects surplus scale to emissions: 38.6 million metric tons of CO₂e were associated annually with surplus food from U.S. manufacturing in 2024.

Sustainability in the b2b food industry

  • 17.2% of food manufacturers reported making no measurable sustainability progress in the 2025 benchmarking survey.[6]
  • 75% of food and beverage manufacturers reported leveraging tax credits to enable ESG implementation in 2024.[8]
  • 60% of the 50 largest North American food companies analyzed by Ceres reported progress on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.[53]
  • More than half of food and beverage manufacturers anticipated achieving carbon-neutral or net-zero manufacturing within fewer than five years in 2024.[8]

ESG in the b2b food industry

  • 75% of food and beverage manufacturers reported using tax credits to support ESG implementation in 2024.[8]
  • 60% of major North American food companies analyzed by Ceres reported progress on direct operational emissions in 2024.[53]
  • 83% of food and beverage manufacturers had an ESG policy in place in 2024, based on a global survey of more than 300 manufacturers.[8]
  • 50% of food and beverage organizations had invested in data-analysis technology by 2023, supporting ESG and operational decision-making.[13]

Circular economy in the b2b food industry

  • 38.6 million metric tons of CO₂e were associated annually with surplus food from U.S. manufacturing in 2024.[51]
  • 3.86 trillion gallons of water were embedded in food lost at the U.S. manufacturing stage in 2024.[51]
  • 7.2% of U.S. food-manufacturing food waste was sent to landfill in 2024, indicating the scale of circularity and diversion challenges.[51]
  • $42.7 billion was the estimated value of surplus food generated by U.S. manufacturing in 2024, equal to 7% of manufacturing sales.[51]

Carbon footprint in the b2b food industry

  • 6.5 billion tonnes of CO₂e came from pre- and post-agricultural production activities in 2024, equal to 35% of agrifood-system emissions.[54]
  • 18.5 billion tonnes of CO₂e were emitted by global agrifood systems in 2024, equal to 35% of total global emissions.[54]
  • 2.0 billion tonnes of CO₂e came from global agrifood-waste disposal in 2024, according to FAO estimates.[54]
  • 38.6 million metric tons of CO₂e were attributed to surplus food from U.S. manufacturing in 2024.[51]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Globalization & Expansion highlights concentration in commodities: 85% of global soybean and palm-oil exports came from the top two exporting countries for each commodity in 2024.

Globalization in the b2b food industry

  • 86% of trade in crop and livestock products consisted of food commodities in 2024.[54]
  • €235.4 billion was the value of EU agri-food exports in 2024, a record level for the sector.[63]
  • 85% of global soybean and palm-oil exports came from the top two exporting countries for each commodity in 2024.[54]

Cultural adaptation in the b2b food industry

  • 63% of EU consumers said they were generally willing to pay extra for locally produced food in 2024.[64]
  • 54% of Dutch consumers said they were generally willing to pay extra for locally produced food in 2024.[64]
  • 45% of consumers in Switzerland and Austria cited regionality as an important food-purchasing criterion in surveys conducted from July 2023 to June 2024.[20]
  • 66% of global consumers said they were generally willing to pay extra for locally produced food in 2024.[64]

Supplier management in the b2b food industry

  • 16% of food and beverage sites reported having no climate-related targets in Sedex supply-chain data for 2025.[65]
  • 14% higher sustainability risk was recorded at agricultural, horticultural and fishing sites than at food and beverage manufacturing sites in Sedex audit data for 2025.[65]

Distribution channels in the b2b food industry

  • 18% was Sysco’s estimated share of the approximately $377 billion U.S. foodservice market in calendar year 2025.[19]
  • $371 billion was the estimated size of the U.S. foodservice distribution market in 2024.[66]
  • $235 billion was the combined sales volume of the 50 largest U.S. broadline foodservice distributors in 2024, up 5% year over year.[67]
  • 17% was Sysco’s estimated share of the $371 billion U.S. foodservice distribution market in 2024.[66]

Key questions about the b2b food industry

How large is the global foodservice market in 2025?
The global foodservice market was valued at $4.45 trillion in 2025.
What growth rates matter for the food ingredients market through 2029?
The global food ingredients market is forecast to reach $118 billion by 2029 from 2024 levels, implying a 6.8% CAGR over 2024–2029.
Which companies lead the b2b food industry?
Cargill stands out for food ingredients procurement and protein supply because it connects farmers with markets and customers with ingredients, while Mars focuses on confectionery, snacks and pet nutrition since it spans brands across confectionery, snacks and pet categories.
What technology shifts are showing up in food manufacturing and food & beverage organizations?
In 2026, 40% of 423 food and beverage professionals worldwide cited disconnected systems and data as the biggest operational barrier. In 2025, 31% of companies anticipated investing in robotics or robotic process automation and 22% anticipated investing in machine-learning software.
How is market structure reflected in distributor usage and foodservice procurement?
In the United States, restaurant operators purchased from an average of 3.1 foodservice distributors in 2025, up from 2.8 before the pandemic, with product availability as a leading relationship driver.
What compliance and traceability signals are most relevant for 2026 planning?
The FDA released the 2026 Food Code in 2026, providing a science-based model for retail foodservice regulation. Foodservice compliance is described as becoming more standardized in the latest trends, and traceability requirements reshape data exchange.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 11). B2B Food Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/b2b-food-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "B2B Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 11 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/b2b-food-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "B2B Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/b2b-food-industry-statistics.

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