Gitnux/Report 2026

Food Product Industry Statistics

The global packaged food market is estimated at $3.9 trillion in 2026, explore the figures behind growth, companies and trends.
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Food Product Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The food product industry at a glance

The global packaged food industry is estimated at $3.9 trillion in 2026, with demand supported by convenience, urbanization, product innovation and expanding food manufacturing employment.

$3.9T[82]
Global market size, 2026 estimate
5.9%[82]
Forecast CAGR, 2026–2033
1.84M[83]
U.S. food manufacturing jobs, 2025
26%[26]
U.S. meat-processing job share, 2024
Market size
The global packaged food market was valued at $3.7 trillion in 2025 and is estimated at $3.9 trillion in 2026. The market includes products such as bakery and confectionery products, dairy products, snacks, beverages and ready-to-eat meals.[82]
Forecast & CAGR
The global packaged food market is projected to reach $5.8 trillion by 2033, implying a 5.9% compound annual growth rate from 2026 to 2033. In the United States, food and beverage manufacturing employment is projected to increase 6.2% from 2024 to 2034, adding about 130,200 jobs.[82][26]
Market share & regions
North America held the largest regional revenue share of the global packaged food market in 2025, while Asia-Pacific is forecast to be the fastest-growing region from 2026 to 2033. The 2025 regional market estimates in one market assessment were $1.23 trillion for Asia-Pacific and $999 billion for North America.[82][84]
Segmentation
The market is segmented by product, distribution channel and region. Dairy products held the largest product share in 2025, while supermarkets and hypermarkets held the largest distribution-channel share; other major product groups include bakery and confectionery, snacks and nutritional bars, beverages and ready-to-eat meals.[82]
Pricing
U.S. food prices are forecast to increase 2.8% in 2026, including a projected 2.3% rise in food-at-home prices and a 3.5% rise in food-away-from-home prices. In October 2026, the U.S. food index rose 0.5% month over month, while food at home increased 0.4%.[53][26]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Convenience and ready-to-eat products are major growth drivers, while demand is also strengthening for snacks, baked goods, protein-oriented foods and nutrition-related beverages. Automation is expected to increase food and beverage manufacturing output by about 22% from 2024 to 2034, but it may moderate employment growth in some processing and packaging activities.[26]
Consumer behavior & competition
More than 90% of U.S. adults report eating at least one snack per day, and nearly half report eating three or more snacks daily. Competition is increasingly focused on convenience, healthier positioning, protein, gut health, ingredient transparency and broad retail distribution.[26]
M&A
Food-sector consolidation remains active: McCormick announced a combination with Unilever’s foods division valued at $29.1 billion in equity plus $15.7 billion in cash, with the companies reporting combined 2025 fiscal-year revenue of $20 billion. The transaction is expected to close by mid-2027, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.[85]
Regulation
The FDA’s 2026 regulatory agenda includes final rules on food standards of identity modernization and pasteurized orange juice, while its food-safety program continues implementing additional traceability-record requirements for certain foods under the Food Safety Modernization Act.[86]
Latest news
The latest major packaged-food transaction is McCormick’s announced combination with Unilever’s foods division, which includes Hellmann’s and Knorr. The companies expect $600 million in annual cost savings and said the deal will expand access to Latin American, Asian and North American markets.[85]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Food Product Industry

The leading companies in the food product 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 integrated food, agriculture and protein operations because it operates across supply chains in 70 countries, while McCain Foods focuses on frozen potato products since one in four fries in the world is a McCain fry.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in agriculture & protein supply chains

    Cargill

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Agriculture & protein supply chains

    Why we picked it: It operates across integrated supply chains for food, agriculture and protein production across 70 countries.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cargill.com ↗

  2. Leader in frozen potato & prepared foods

    McCain Foods

    CA

    Ranked #2 · 9.4 · Frozen potato & prepared foods

    Why we picked it: Its frozen potato and prepared foods footprint aligns with a brand share claim of one in four fries worldwide.

    See in ranking ↓Visit mccain.com ↗

  3. Leader in beef, poultry & pork

    JBS

    NL

    Ranked #3 · 9.0 · Beef, poultry & pork

    Why we picked it: Its scale comes from operating over 250 units spanning beef, poultry, pork and prepared foods.

    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 food product industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Cargill

Agriculture & protein supply chains · US

9.5
2

McCain Foods

Frozen potato & prepared foods · CA

9.4
3

JBS

Beef, poultry & pork · NL

9.0
4

Ferrero

Chocolate & confectionery · IT

8.9
5

Nestlé

Food & beverage conglomerate · CH

8.7
6

Danone

Dairy, plant-based, water and nutrition · FR

8.7
7

Hormel Foods

Branded meat and prepared foods · US

8.3
8

General Mills

Branded packaged foods and pet food · US

8.3
9

Ajinomoto

Seasonings, food products and amino-acid ingredients · JP

8.2
10

Kraft Heinz

Condiments, meals, cheese and packaged foods · US

7.7

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 food product industry. In Food Product Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/food-product-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest food product companies

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

Cargill$154.0B
Nestlé$101.1B
JBS$86.2B
Danone$29.5B
Kraft Heinz$24.9B
Ferrero$20.8B
source-verifiedcargill.com · nestle.com · mediaroom.jbs.com.br · danone.com · ir.kraftheinzcompany.com · ferrero.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI and automation adoption show consistent take-up signals: 97% of surveyed food and beverage businesses were at least investigating AI in 2024.

AI in the food product industry

  • 10.4% was the predicted 2025 profit growth rate for food and beverage companies already using AI, versus 8.4% for companies with no plans or still investigating AI.[1]
  • 45% of EU agri-food businesses using AI obtained it through external service providers in 2024.[2]
  • 73% of AI-adopting businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem adopted AI within the previous two years in 2024.[2]
  • 97% of surveyed food and beverage businesses were at least investigating AI in 2024, while more than one-third were already using it.[1]
  • 22% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem used artificial intelligence in 2024, up from 11% in 2023.[2]
  • 18% of EU agri-food businesses using AI developed their AI capabilities in-house in 2024.[2]

Automation in the food product industry

  • 60% of North American food and beverage processors, manufacturers and distributors were using technology to automate more tasks in 2023.[1]
  • 53% of North American food and beverage companies were using enterprise asset management or computerized maintenance-management software in 2023.[1]
  • 34% of North American food and beverage processors, manufacturers and distributors planned to increase automation in 2024.[1]
  • 20% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem used robotics in 2024, compared with 11% in 2023.[2]
  • 56% of North American food and beverage companies planned to invest in technology to overcome supply-chain disruption in 2023.[1]
  • 54% of North American food and beverage companies were using manufacturing-execution systems in 2023.[1]

Digital Transformation in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 3.4% had very high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 2.1% in 2021.[2]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 51.2% had very low digital intensity in 2023, down from 55.1% in 2021.[2]
  • In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.[3]
  • Across the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, 20% of companies had a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[2]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 15.4% had high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2021.[2]

Technology Adoption in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU farms, 43% had internet access, 11% used farm-management information systems, and 7% used robotics in 2023.[4]
  • In Czechia, 30% of crop-production farmers used at least one precision-agriculture technology in 2023.[4]
  • In Germany, 85.5% of surveyed farms used at least one digital technology in 2024–2025.[4]
  • Across EU farms with utilised agricultural area, about 18% used some form of precision-farming technology or practice in 2023.[4]
  • In Canada, 84% of field-crop operations used GPS equipment in 2021.[4]
  • In Chile, 12% of agricultural production units reported using a technological tool such as mobile applications, drones, or sensors in 2021.[4]

Cloud Computing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among EU large businesses, 78% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 44% of SMEs.[5]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023.[5]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 26% used cloud computing in 2023.[2]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 37% used cloud computing in 2024, up from 26% in 2023.[2]

Big Data in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 17% used big-data technologies in 2023.[2]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 13% used big-data technologies in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.[2]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 307 startups focused on artificial intelligence and big data were formed between 2015 and 2023.[2]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data quality limits practical AI outcomes: 44% of manufacturers reported AI projects failed due to poor data quality in 2025.

Business intelligence in the food product industry

  • 8.1% was the 2021–2022 revenue growth reported by North American food and beverage companies implementing or using AI.[6]
  • 29% of North American food and beverage organizations were investing in artificial intelligence in the 2024 survey.[6]
  • 6.1% was the 2021–2022 profit growth reported by North American food and beverage companies investing in AI.[6]
  • 33% of North American food and beverage organizations had no plans to leverage artificial intelligence in the 2024 survey.[6]
  • 39% of North American food and beverage organizations were implementing or using artificial intelligence in the 2024 survey.[6]
  • 7.6% was the 2021–2022 profit growth reported by North American food and beverage companies implementing or using AI.[6]

Data analytics in the food product industry

  • 33% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said data analytics provided the most value for identifying production bottlenecks in 2025.[7]
  • 21% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said data analytics provided the most value for equipment-failure prediction and prevention in 2025.[7]
  • 27% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said data analytics provided the most value for product-yield-loss tracking and alerts in 2025.[7]
  • 25% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said data analytics provided the most value for automated inventory reorder-point calculation in 2025.[7]
  • 19% of food-manufacturing survey respondents said data analytics provided the most value for batch-quality deviation analysis in 2025.[7]
  • 94% of food suppliers used data analytics in 2023.[8]

Data Quality in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 30% of manufacturing respondents identified poor-quality data as one of their top three challenges when working with AI-related data in 2024.[9]
  • 41% of manufacturers said they distrusted the data used for supply-chain operations in 2025, reflecting persistent data-quality concerns in production and procurement.[10]
  • 44% of manufacturers reported that AI projects had failed because of poor data quality in 2025, according to a survey of manufacturing organizations.[10]
  • 42% of manufacturers reported having a process to verify operational data accuracy or quality in 2025, indicating that most lacked a formal validation process.[9]
  • 49% of manufacturing respondents rated their operational data as having low AI readiness in 2024, meaning it was insufficiently labeled, contextualized, governed or accessible.[9]

Data Governance in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 6% of food and beverage leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025, despite 82% saying technology adoption was a strategic priority.[11]
  • 61% of manufacturers reported having a corporate-wide governance plan, strategy or formal guidelines for how data is collected, organized, accessed and used in 2024.[9]
  • 15% of manufacturers said their data strategy was entirely aligned with their overall business strategy in 2024, while 31% said it was very closely aligned.[9]
  • 40% of food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their biggest barrier to moving faster in 2026.[11]
  • 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024, while 90% agreed that data governance was necessary.[12]
  • 69% of food and beverage companies still relied on spreadsheets and email for core operations in 2025, limiting standardized access and control of business data.[11]

KPIs in the food product industry

  • 31% of food-manufacturing survey respondents used data analytics for real-time production-line performance tracking in 2025.[7]
  • 25% of food-manufacturing survey respondents used data analytics for energy-consumption patterns and peak-usage alerts in 2025.[7]
  • 27% of food-manufacturing survey respondents used data analytics for product-yield-loss tracking and alerts in 2025.[7]
  • 23% of food-manufacturing survey respondents used data analytics for quality-defect detection and root-cause analysis in 2025.[7]
  • 8% of food-manufacturing survey respondents identified lack of technical expertise as the biggest digital-technology implementation challenge in 2025.[7]
  • 21% of food-manufacturing survey respondents used data analytics for equipment-failure prediction and prevention in 2025.[7]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Competition centers on occasion-based selling and new products. In 2024, 28% of overall store growth came from New Product Pacesetters.

Growth in the food product industry

  • 9.9% was the 2019–2023 CAGR for U.S. staple-food retail sales.[13]
  • US$579.2 billion was U.S. packaged-food retail sales in 2023.[13]
  • 285–315 new restaurants were planned by Chipotle for 2024 as part of its expansion strategy.[14]
  • 8.6% was the 2019–2023 CAGR for U.S. packaged-food retail sales.[13]
  • US$722.8 billion was the forecast value of U.S. packaged-food retail sales in 2028.[13]
  • 4.5% was the forecast 2019–2028 CAGR for U.S. packaged-food retail sales.[13]

Differentiation in the food product industry

  • 3 product attributes highlighted in 2025 food-market differentiation research were taste, texture and sustainability value propositions.[15]
  • 28% of overall store growth came from 2024 New Product Pacesetters across food, beverage and nonfood categories.[16]
  • 25% was the ACV threshold used to qualify 2024 New Product Pacesetters for broad retail distribution.[17]
  • 50% was the premium-price threshold used by Circana to classify U.S. food-and-beverage brands as super-premium in 2024.[18]
  • 85% of surveyed food-and-beverage executives said they were increasingly orienting strategy around occasion-based selling in 2025.[19]
  • 1% of total MULO+ retail dollars were represented by 2024 New Product Pacesetters across food, beverage and nonfood.[17]

Mergers and acquisitions in the food product industry

  • 41% of global mid-market food-and-beverage deal volume came from Asia-Pacific in 2025.[20]
  • 39% of global mid-market food-and-beverage deal value came from Asia-Pacific in 2025.[20]
  • US$149.9 billion was reported food-and-beverage M&A deal value in 2024.[21]
  • 351 food-and-beverage deals closed in the fourth quarter of 2024.[21]
  • 1,062 global food-and-beverage M&A deals closed in 2025.[20]
  • 187 mid-market food-and-beverage deals closed globally in 2025.[20]

Strategic partnerships in the food product industry

  • US$100 million was Chipotle’s total Cultivate Next venture-fund commitment after its 2024 expansion.[14]
  • US$50 million was Chipotle’s additional 2024 commitment to its food-technology and agriculture venture fund.[14]
  • 8 joint business-development plans were signed by Danone’s Partner for Growth program after its first year.[22]
  • US$30 million was Planet A Foods’ Series B financing announced to scale cocoa-free food ingredients internationally.[23]
  • 19 new strategic agreements were signed by Danone’s Partner for Growth program after its first year.[22]
  • US$10 million was the strategic investment in Ever After Foods by Tnuva, Pluri and partners to advance cultivated-food technology.[24]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce constraints remain measurable. Worker shortages affected production for 37% of food and beverage manufacturers in 2025.

Hiring in the food product industry

  • 40% of manufacturers cited a low number of applicants as a hiring difficulty in the 2026 North Carolina Employer Needs Survey.[25]
  • Over 400,000 jobs were added in the US food and beverage manufacturing sector between 2014 and 2024.[26]
  • 37% of food and beverage manufacturers said worker shortages were critical and affecting production in 2025.[27]
  • 57% of manufacturers cited a low number of applicants as a hiring difficulty in 2024.[25]

Employee retention in the food product industry

  • 56% of manufacturers said employee turnover had a moderate or severe impact on bottom-line finances in 2024.[28]
  • 68.3% of packaging and manufacturing companies cited better opportunities as a common reason employees left voluntarily in the 2026 PMMI survey.[29]
  • 24.5% was the median voluntary turnover rate reported by six US food and kindred-products manufacturers in 2024.[30]
  • 68% of manufacturers reported hourly employees quitting regularly in 2023, either monthly, weekly or daily.[28]
  • 27.3% was the average voluntary turnover rate reported by six US food and kindred-products manufacturers in 2024.[30]

Remote Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. accommodation and food services, 4.8% of workers worked remotely in 2021, up from 1.9% in 2019 and 5.3% in 2020.[26]
  • Across U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, about 12% of workers worked remotely during October 2023–September 2024, including hybrid and fully remote work.[31]
  • Across U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024, according to AgCareers’ industry hiring report.[32]
  • Across U.S. crop and animal production, 14.4% of workers worked remotely in 2021, compared with 14.7% in 2019 and 15.4% in 2020.[26]

Hybrid Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 35% of U.S. agriculture and food employers offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024.[32]
  • 21% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working fully remotely in 2024.[33]
  • 84% of Australian agribusiness organisations planned no change to existing flexible or hybrid work arrangements in 2026.[34]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed globally in 2024, respondents averaged 2.1 work-at-home days per week.[35]
  • 44% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals preferred part-time remote work in 2024.[33]

Upskilling in the food product industry

  • 58% of food manufacturing companies said they addressed digital skills gaps through internal training programs in 2025.[7]
  • 28% of UK and Irish food and beverage manufacturing employees said they would leave because of poor training and skills development in 2023.[36]
  • 45% of EU agri-food businesses using AI obtained the technology through external service providers in 2024, indicating reliance on external capability development.[2]
  • Nearly 70% of food and beverage industry respondents said their employees were eager to learn new skills in 2024.[37]

Employee Engagement in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • In the agriculture industry, employees averaged 7.68 out of 10 for engagement and an eNPS of +5 in CultureMonkey’s 2026 benchmark.[38]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 60.9% on enablement in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[39]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 59.3% on leadership in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[39]
  • Manufacture, distribution and storage organizations recorded an average employee-engagement score of 72.9% in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[39]
  • At Europe Snacks, a multinational food manufacturer, employee engagement reached 79% across its international workforce and 88% in its UK business after a structured listening program.[39]

DEI in the food product industry

  • 96,313 female permanent employees worked at Nestlé in 2024.[40]
  • 147,187 male permanent employees worked at Nestlé in 2024.[40]
  • 10.8% of US manufacturing employment was Black or African American in 2022, according to NIST’s manufacturing workforce profile.[41]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer experience in the food product industry

  • 83 points was the 2024 U.S. fast-food score for restaurant layout and cleanliness on the ACSI 0–100 customer-experience scale.[42]
  • 86 points was the 2024 U.S. fast-food score for mobile-app quality on the ACSI 0–100 customer-experience scale.[42]
  • 84 points was the 2024 U.S. fast-food score for beverage quality on the ACSI 0–100 customer-experience scale.[42]
  • 90% of U.S. consumers said they would order a greater variety of delivered restaurant items if food maintained its on-premises quality in 2025.[43]
  • 84 points was the 2024 U.S. fast-food score for staff courtesy and helpfulness on the ACSI 0–100 customer-experience scale.[42]

Customer retention in the food product industry

  • 50% of customers joining a grocery loyalty program churned within 12 months, according to transaction research covering March 2022 to February 2025.[44]
  • More than 1 in 10 global customer experiences were negative in the 2024 Qualtrics consumer study, spanning 20 industries including fast food.[45]
  • 52% of U.S. restaurants reported having a customer loyalty or rewards program in 2024.[46]
  • 80% of U.S. coffee and snack operators with loyalty programs said those programs boosted customer traffic in 2024.[46]
  • 66% was the highest reported share of consumers cutting spending after a poor experience, recorded for fast-food customers in the 2024 global study.[45]

Customer acquisition in the food product industry

  • 31% was the 2025 U.S. food-brand conversion rate from awareness to consideration in YouGov BrandIndex data.[47]
  • 48% awareness and 26% purchase-intent conversion were recorded for Tillamook in U.S. food-brand tracking from March 2024 to February 2025.[47]
  • 25% consideration-to-purchase-intent conversion was recorded for Fairlife in U.S. food-brand tracking from March 2024 to February 2025.[47]
  • 47% awareness-to-consideration conversion was recorded for Campbell’s in U.S. food-brand tracking from March 2024 to February 2025.[47]
  • 14% was the 2025 U.S. food-brand conversion rate from consideration to purchase intent in YouGov BrandIndex data.[47]

Customer loyalty in the food product industry

  • 80% of U.S. fine-dining operators with loyalty programs said the programs boosted customer traffic in 2024.[46]
  • 74% of consumers belonged to a grocery loyalty program in transaction research covering March 2022 to February 2025.[44]
  • 76% of U.S. limited-service operators with loyalty programs said the programs boosted customer traffic in 2024.[46]
  • 78% of U.S. coffee-and-snack operators with loyalty programs said the programs boosted customer traffic in 2024.[46]
  • 75% of U.S. quick-service operators with loyalty programs said the programs boosted customer traffic in 2024.[46]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Digital marketing spend and transparency measures stay central to consumer trust. In 2025, 53.2% of consumers said ingredient and production transparency contributes to trust.

Marketing in the food product industry

  • $833 million was spent promoting the 10 most-advertised food-and-beverage brands on Facebook in the United States between April 2020 and August 2021.[48]
  • $2.8 billion or more was spent on U.S. food-and-beverage social-media advertising between April 2020 and August 2021.[48]
  • 182% was the increase in food-and-beverage social-media advertising expenditures during the U.S. study period from April 2020 to August 2021.[48]
  • 47% of U.S. restaurant operators planned to add new discounts, deals or value promotions in 2025.[46]
  • $259 million was spent promoting the 10 most-advertised food-and-beverage brands on Twitter/X in the United States between April 2020 and August 2021.[48]

Digital marketing in the food product industry

  • 65% of U.S. drive-thru customers said technology options influenced restaurant selection in 2026.[43]
  • 63.9% of restaurant operators cited increased sales as a reason to invest in technology in 2026.[43]
  • 66% of U.S. takeout customers said technology options influenced restaurant selection in 2026.[43]
  • 64.4% of restaurant operators said technology improved the customer experience in 2026.[43]
  • 90% of restaurants said social media was very or extremely important to their overall digital-marketing approach in 2024.[49]

Branding in the food product industry

  • 53.2% of consumers said transparency about ingredients and production contributed to their trust in a food brand in 2025.[7]
  • 28.2% of consumers said recommendations from friends or family contributed to their trust in a food brand in 2025.[7]
  • 57.2% of consumers said personal experience with a food brand contributed to their trust in 2025.[7]
  • 15.2% of consumers said third-party certifications contributed to their trust in a food brand in 2025.[7]
  • 15.4% of consumers said sustainability practices contributed to their trust in a food brand in 2025.[7]

Social media in the food product industry

  • 397,000 food-and-drink influencer posts appeared on YouTube in 2023, with a 1.55% engagement rate.[50]
  • 628,000 food-and-drink influencer posts appeared on X in 2023, with a 0.19% engagement rate.[50]
  • 1.43 million food-and-drink influencer posts appeared on Facebook in 2023, with a 0.09% engagement rate.[50]
  • 30% of surveyed consumers preferred food-and-drink content in influencer marketing research conducted in the United States and United Kingdom in 2024.[51]
  • 11.5 million food-and-drink influencer posts were published in 2023, with an average engagement rate of 1.19%.[50]

Influencer Marketing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Food and drink influencer posts achieved a 1.19% average engagement rate globally in 2023.[50]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 392 billion impressions globally in 2023.[50]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.[50]
  • Food and drink influencer content produced an estimated $122 billion in earned media value globally in 2023.[50]
  • 11.5 million influencer posts covered food and drink globally in 2023, according to Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[50]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Automation adoption varies by process stage. In 2025, 13% of companies reported fully automated food-safety monitoring, versus 48% using partial automation.

Process optimization in the food product industry

  • 19% of food manufacturing waste in the EU occurred during manufacture of food products and beverages, equal to 24 kilograms per inhabitant in 2023.[52]
  • 14% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated recipe and batch management in 2025, while 55% used partial automation globally.[7]
  • 20% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated warehouse management in 2025, and 51% reported partial automation globally.[7]
  • 21% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated production scheduling in 2025, while 48% used partial automation globally.[7]
  • 28% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated production-line control in 2025, while 37% used a mix of digital and manual processes globally.[7]

Operational efficiency in the food product industry

  • 4.8 million people were employed by EU food and beverage processing enterprises in 2023, representing 15.8% of manufacturing employment.[5]
  • 37% of food and beverage companies reported mostly manual, digitally recorded maintenance scheduling in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 13% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated food-safety monitoring in 2025, while 48% used partial automation globally.[7]
  • 16% of food and beverage companies reported completely manual or paper-based maintenance scheduling in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 11% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated quality testing and documentation in 2025, while 39% used partial automation globally.[7]

Quality management in the food product industry

  • 11% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated quality testing and documentation in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 39% of food and beverage companies reported mostly manual quality testing and documentation with digital record-keeping in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 30% of food and beverage companies reported mostly manual food-safety monitoring with digital record-keeping in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 39% of food and beverage companies reported partially automated quality testing and documentation in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 13% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated food-safety monitoring in 2025, globally.[7]

Supply chain in the food product industry

  • 44.5% was the increase in U.S. farm-level wheat prices in 2021, while retail cereal and bakery prices increased 2.3%.[53]
  • 19% of EU food waste occurred during food and beverage manufacturing in 2023, equal to 24 kilograms per inhabitant.[52]
  • 11% of EU food waste occurred in restaurants and food services in 2023, equal to 14 kilograms per inhabitant.[52]
  • 16.4% was the historical average share of U.S. food-at-home production costs attributable to agribusiness and farm production before 2021.[53]
  • 15.7% of U.S. food-at-home production costs came from agribusiness and farm production in 2021.[53]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 19% of surveyed Queensland food-processing businesses contracted work out in 2010, while 28% contracted work in and 15% did both.[54]
  • About 12% of firms in the 11-country World Bank Firm-level Adoption of Technology sample outsourced at least one food-processing function, compared with about 18% in apparel.[55]
  • 66% of Queensland food-processing businesses engaged in contract manufacturing to some extent in 2010, including contracting work in or out.[54]
  • 85% of Canadian food and beverage companies processed or manufactured products internally in 2020, while 13% both produced internally and outsourced production.[56]
  • 49% of U.S. growers surveyed outsourced at least some farm work to third-party service providers in 2022, with spraying services the most commonly outsourced activity.[57]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Margins and input costs diverge across segments. U.S. food-and-beverage retail operating margin was 4.4% in 2023, while U.S. food-manufacturing operating margin was 6.8% in 2023.

Pricing strategy in the food product industry

  • 65% of surveyed U.S. food businesses said rising food costs affected their net income in 2023.[58]
  • U.S. farm-level wheat prices rose 44.5% in 2021, while retail cereal and bakery prices rose 2.3%.[53]
  • U.S. wholesale food prices remained approximately 25% above pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2023.[58]
  • 31% of surveyed U.S. food businesses expected their food costs to remain flat in 2024.[58]
  • U.S. grocery prices increased by 25% from 2019 to 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s analysis of food-sector firms.[59]

Cost reduction in the food product industry

  • 20% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated warehouse management in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 14% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated recipe and batch management in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 9% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated maintenance scheduling in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 22% of food and beverage companies reported fully automated inventory management in 2025, globally.[7]
  • 37% of food and beverage companies reported partially automated production-line control in 2025, globally.[7]

Profitability in the food product industry

  • More than 40% of surveyed U.S. food businesses expected profit margins of 5%–10% in 2024.[58]
  • 79% was the increase in operating profits of surveyed U.S. food-and-beverage retail stores from 2019 to 2023.[59]
  • 4.4% was the U.S. food-and-beverage retail operating margin in 2023, compared with 2.9% in 2019.[59]
  • 6.8% was the U.S. food-manufacturing operating margin in 2023, compared with 6.9% in 2019.[59]
  • 28%–35% was the average food-cost margin reported by surveyed U.S. food businesses in 2023.[58]

Financial planning in the food product industry

  • Less than 3% of surveyed U.S. food businesses expected food costs to decline in 2024.[58]
  • 31% of surveyed U.S. food businesses expected food costs to remain flat in 2024.[58]
  • 65% of surveyed U.S. food businesses reported that rising food costs affected net income in 2023.[58]
  • €298.6 billion was the value added generated by EU food and beverage processing enterprises in 2023, a key aggregate for sector financial planning.[5]
  • More than 40% of surveyed U.S. food businesses forecast profit margins of 5%–10% for 2024.[58]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Innovation activity connects to efficiency and labor challenges. In 2020–2022, 26.2% of U.S. food companies reported business-process innovation.

Product development in the food product industry

  • 26.2% of U.S. food companies reported business-process innovation during 2020–2022.[60]
  • 16.5% of U.S. food companies reported product innovation during 2020–2022.[60]
  • 31.7% of Canadian food-manufacturing businesses tracked quantities of unusable food parts and unmarketable food products during 2021–2023.[61]
  • 69.8% of Canadian food-manufacturing businesses cited improving efficiencies as a main motivation for planned innovation.[61]
  • 40.1% of Canadian food-manufacturing businesses cited addressing labour challenges as a main motivation for planned innovation.[61]

Product lifecycle in the food product industry

  • 34.9% of unusable food parts and unmarketable food products tracked by Canadian food manufacturers were sent to animal feed or pet food during 2021–2023.[61]
  • 6.5% was the food-industry out-of-stock rate reported for 2023, down from 10.7% in the previous year.[8]
  • 15.1% of unusable food parts and unmarketable food products tracked by Canadian food manufacturers were sent to landfills during 2021–2023.[61]

Value proposition in the food product industry

  • 15.0% of U.S. consumers identified brand reputation as an important food and beverage purchase factor in 2025.[7]
  • 61% of Americans were more likely to choose a food product priced $2 lower than a socially sustainable alternative in 2022.[62]
  • 80.6% of U.S. consumers identified price or value as an important food and beverage purchase factor in 2025.[7]
  • 45% of Americans said fair and equitable treatment of food workers was important in food and beverage purchasing decisions in 2022.[62]
  • 29.6% of U.S. consumers identified safety and quality as an important food and beverage purchase factor in 2025.[7]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Green-transition actions show cost trade-offs. In 2024, 50% of surveyed agri-food companies reported increased production costs.

Sustainability in the food product industry

  • 28% of surveyed agri-food companies reported decreased production costs after implementing green-transition actions in 2024.[2]
  • 50% of surveyed agri-food companies reported increased production costs after implementing green-transition actions in 2024.[2]
  • 41% of surveyed agri-food companies designed products to be easier to maintain, repair or reuse in 2024.[2]
  • 27% of surveyed agri-food companies used predominantly renewable energy in 2024.[2]
  • 6.5 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent came from pre- and post-production activities in global agrifood systems in 2024.[63]

ESG in the food product industry

  • 33% of global market capitalisation was represented by companies reporting a formal human-rights grievance mechanism in 2024.[4]
  • 26% of global market capitalisation was represented by companies disclosing salient human-rights issues in 2024.[4]
  • 39% of companies in the OECD responsible-business dataset committed to environmental standards in their supply chains in 2026.[4]
  • 50% of global market capitalisation was represented by companies reporting supply-chain health-and-safety training in 2024.[4]
  • 43% of companies in the OECD responsible-business dataset committed to social standards in their supply chains in 2026.[4]

Ethics in the food product industry

  • 5/100 was the average food-and-beverage-company score for remedy and remediation processes in response to forced-labour risks in 2026.[64]
  • 47% of food-and-beverage companies scored below 10/100 in the 2026 forced-labour benchmark.[64]
  • 15/100 was the average score of major food-and-beverage companies for addressing forced-labour risks in the 2026 KnowTheChain benchmark.[64]
  • 6/100 was the average food-and-beverage-company score for enabling supply-chain workers’ freedom of association in 2026.[64]
  • 3/100 was the average food-and-beverage-company score for responsible purchasing practices in 2026.[64]

CSR in the food product industry

  • 39 of 51 global food-system organizations had gender-equality policies in 2023.[65]
  • 1 of 5 leading U.S. grocery retailers examined by USDA had a CSR website or report in the study year.[53]
  • 27% of 49 global food-system organizations published board policies with specific measures to advance gender equality in 2023.[65]
  • 56% of global food-system organizations with diversity-and-inclusion policies included a range of gender identities in 2023.[65]
  • 2 of 5 leading U.S. foodservice companies examined by USDA published a dedicated CSR report in the study year.[53]

Circular economy in the food product industry

  • 20.1% of surveyed agri-food companies used predominantly renewable energy in 2024, according to the comparative enterprise table.[2]
  • 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste were generated at global retail, foodservice and household levels in 2022.[66]
  • 17 kilograms per capita of food waste were generated annually in global retail in 2022.[66]
  • 35.8% of surveyed agri-food companies reused materials or waste within their own company in 2024.[2]
  • 44% of surveyed agri-food companies sold residues or waste to another company in 2024.[2]

Carbon footprint in the food product industry

  • 2.3 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per capita was the global agrifood-system emissions level in 2024.[63]
  • 7.9 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent were emitted by Asian agrifood systems in 2024.[63]
  • 2.0 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent were emitted by agrifood-waste disposal globally in 2024.[63]
  • 1.9 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent were emitted by European agrifood systems in 2024.[63]
  • 35% of global agrifood-system emissions came from pre- and post-production activities in 2024.[63]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Cross-border trade continues to matter for packaged foods. In 2024, the EU food and drink trade surplus was 81 billion euros.

Globalization in the food product industry

  • 9% of world food-and-beverage export value was contributed by each of China, Germany and the United States in 2022.[75]
  • 6% of value added in world food-and-beverage exports came collectively from India, Indonesia and Viet Nam in 2022.[75]
  • 81 billion euros was the EU food and drink trade surplus in 2024.[76]
  • 33% of EU food and drink exports were sold to non-EU markets during 2024.[76]
  • 5% was the average annual growth rate of extra-EU food and drink exports from 2015 to 2024.[76]

Cultural adaptation in the food product industry

  • 66 countries sold CJ CheilJedang’s food products in 2024, combining Korean flavors with locally adapted offerings.[77]
  • 51% of CJ CheilJedang’s 2024 sales came from South Korea, compared with 42% from the United States.[77]
  • 7.6% was the Americas’ year-over-year food-business revenue growth for CJ CheilJedang in 2024.[77]
  • 44.0% was Europe’s year-over-year food-business revenue growth for CJ CheilJedang in 2024.[77]
  • 32.5% was Oceania’s year-over-year food-business revenue growth for CJ CheilJedang in 2024.[77]

Supplier management in the food product industry

  • 19% of surveyed specialty food manufacturers used farmer cooperatives as a key supplier type.[78]
  • 83% of procurement leaders said difficulty sourcing sustainable suppliers prevented them from achieving ESG goals in Amazon Business research reported in 2025.[79]
  • 47% of surveyed specialty food manufacturers used direct farm purchases for at least one key ingredient category.[78]
  • 23% of surveyed specialty food manufacturers used ingredient manufacturers as a key supplier type.[78]
  • 47% of surveyed specialty food manufacturers used distributors for at least one key ingredient category.[78]

Stakeholder management in the food product industry

  • 5 AA1000SES principles were used by Shannung Foods to identify stakeholder groups in 2024.[80]
  • 2,187 valid questionnaires were collected in Shannung Foods’ 2024 stakeholder-concern survey.[80]
  • 14 stakeholder-engagement activities were conducted by Shannung Foods in 2024.[80]
  • More than 4,300 valid stakeholder opinions were collected by Shannung Foods in 2024.[80]
  • 3 stakeholder priorities ranked highest in Shannung Foods’ 2024 survey: food safety and quality, climate change and carbon management, and supply-chain sustainability.[80]

Distribution channels in the food product industry

  • 6.6% was e-commerce’s share of global chain-retail food-and-beverage sales in 2023.[81]
  • 9.0% was the projected 2023–2028 CAGR for global food-and-beverage e-commerce sales.[81]
  • 3.5% was the 2024 food-and-beverage volume decline through convenience stores in the United States.[18]
  • 8.2% was e-commerce’s projected share of global chain-retail food-and-beverage sales in 2028.[81]
  • 10.4% was 2024 food-and-beverage volume growth through e-commerce in the United States.[18]

Key questions about the food product industry

How big is the global packaged food market in 2026?
The global packaged food industry is estimated at $3.9 trillion in 2026.
What growth rate should we use for packaged food through 2033?
The market is projected to reach $5.8 trillion by 2033, implying a 5.9% compound annual growth rate from 2026 to 2033.
Which companies lead the food product industry?
Cargill stands out for integrated food, agriculture and protein operations because it operates across supply chains in 70 countries, while McCain Foods focuses on frozen potato products since one in four fries in the world is a McCain fry.
Where is technology adoption showing up fastest in food production?
Automation is expected to increase food and beverage manufacturing output by about 22% from 2024 to 2034. In parallel, 60% of North American processors, manufacturers and distributors were automating more tasks in 2023.
How is the packaged food market typically structured for analysis?
The market is segmented by product, distribution channel and region. Dairy products held the largest product share in 2025, and supermarkets and hypermarkets held the largest distribution-channel share.
What does U.S. food price inflation look like in 2026?
U.S. food prices are forecast to increase 2.8% in 2026, including a 2.3% rise in food-at-home prices and a 3.5% rise in food-away-from-home prices.
Reference

Cite This Report

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

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