Gitnux/Report 2026

Industrial Food Industry Statistics

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Industrial Food Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Before any source is gathered, an editor locks the question, what qualifies, and how the piece will be judged.

02Source Research

Search agents collect the source set and pull each data point out with its provenance attached.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The industrial food industry at a glance

Industrial food manufacturing remains a large, employment-intensive industry: U.S. food manufacturing generated $1.05 trillion in shipments and employed 1.70 million people in 2024.

$1.05T[98]
U.S. shipments, 2024
1.70M[98]
U.S. jobs, 2024
€1.1T[1]
EU turnover, 2023
26.2%[99]
Meat share of U.S. sales, 2021
Market size
In the United States, food manufacturing recorded $1,054.3 billion in value of shipments in 2024 and employed 1,702,155 people. In the EU food and beverage industry, turnover was approximately €1.1 trillion and value added was €229 billion in 2023.[98][1]
Forecast & CAGR
A 2025 industry outlook estimated the global food and beverage market at $9.44 trillion in 2025, rising to $11.43 trillion in 2030 at a 3.9% compound annual growth rate. A separate 2025 sector assessment projected global food and beverage processing could reach about $10 trillion by 2030, with the wider agrifood sector growing at around 7% annually from 2025 to 2030.[100][101]
Market share & regions
Asia-Pacific was identified as the largest regional market in 2025 in one global market assessment. Within the EU, food and beverage processing comprised 309,000 enterprises in 2023, equal to 14.3% of all manufacturing enterprises, while the EU food and beverage industry employed 4.8 million people.[102][8]
Segmentation
U.S. food and beverage manufacturing sales were led by meat processing at 26.2% in 2021, followed by dairy at 12.8%, other food products at 12.4%, beverages at 11.3%, and grain and oilseeds at 10.4%. By employment, meat processing represented 30.6% of U.S. food and beverage manufacturing jobs, followed by bakeries and tortilla producers at 14.7%.[99]
Key players & concentration
The industry remains fragmented by establishment count but concentrated in large firms by output and value added. In the EU, micro and small enterprises make up the vast majority of food-processing businesses, while SMEs account for 99% of food and drink firms, 39% of industry turnover, and 57% of employment.[8][103]
Pricing
U.S. finished consumer-food producer prices averaged 284.513 in 2025 on the Bureau of Labor Statistics index, compared with 284.275 in 2024, indicating broadly stable annual producer pricing after the earlier inflation surge. The index reached 287.380 in May 2026 before easing to 283.977 in September 2026.[30]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Growth is being supported by population and income expansion, demand for convenience and health-oriented products, and investment in processing capacity. Major constraints include volatile commodity, energy, logistics, and labor costs; Allianz reported that food prices remained above 2024 levels in 2025 while meat prices were at record highs, and projected global cereal production of 2.925 billion tonnes in 2025.[101][99]
Consumer behavior & competition
Competition is shifting toward low- and no-sugar products, plant-based nutrition, premium ingredients, private-label manufacturing, and omnichannel distribution. A 2025 market assessment identified low- and no-sugar refreshments as a major trend and supermarkets or hypermarkets as a leading distribution channel, alongside growing e-commerce.[102][89]
M&A
M&A activity remained significant in ingredients, branded foods, and contract manufacturing. In March 2026, McCormick and Unilever agreed to combine McCormick with Unilever Foods, creating a business with approximately $20 billion in combined fiscal 2025 revenue; in 2025, Investindustrial agreed to acquire TreeHouse Foods for a total enterprise value of $2.9 billion.[104][105]
Regulation
In the United States, FDA’s Food Traceability Rule requires covered firms handling foods on the Food Traceability List to maintain additional records tied to critical tracking events and key data elements. The original January 20, 2026 compliance date is subject to non-enforcement before July 20, 2028 under 2026 legislation and FDA’s stated implementation approach.[106]
Latest news
The most significant recent strategic announcement located was the March 31, 2026 agreement between McCormick and Unilever to combine McCormick with Unilever Foods. The parties said the combined company would have approximately $20 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue and would operate across retail and food-service channels with an expanded manufacturing and R&D footprint.[104][107]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Industrial Food Industry

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

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Cargill leads Gitnux's 2026 industrial food ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with global sourcing, processing and delivery of food and agricultural products. Mars is the highest-ranked confectionery manufacturer at 9.4, with global confectionery, food and pet nutrition production.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in food ingredients & ag products

    Cargill

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Food ingredients & ag products

    Why we picked it: It operates across global food and agricultural product flows.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cargill.com ↗

  2. Leader in confectionery & sweets

    Mars

    US

    Ranked #2 · 9.4 · Confectionery & sweets

    Why we picked it: It manufactures across confectionery, food and pet nutrition categories.

    See in ranking ↓Visit mars.com ↗

  3. Leader in meat & prepared foods

    JBS

    BR

    Ranked #3 · 8.9 · Meat & prepared foods

    Why we picked it: It spans multiple animal-protein streams 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 industrial food industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Cargill

Food ingredients & ag products · US

9.5
2

Mars

Confectionery & sweets · US

9.4
3

JBS

Meat & prepared foods · BR

8.9
4

Nestlé

Packaged food & beverages · CH

8.7
5

Ferrero

Confectionery & sweets · IT

8.7
6

PepsiCo

Global snacks, beverages and convenient foods · US

8.7
7

Tyson Foods

Global poultry, meat and prepared foods · US

8.5
8

Fonterra

Dairy ingredients, foodservice and consumer products · NZ

8.5
9

The Kraft Heinz Company

Packaged meals, sauces, cheese and grocery foods · US

7.7
10

Conagra Brands

Frozen, grocery and prepared foods · US

7.4

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 10, 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 10). Top 10 companies in the industrial food industry. In Industrial Food Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/industrial-food-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest industrial 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
Mars$65.0B
Tyson Foods$54.0B
source-verifiedcargill.com · nestle.com · pepsico.com · apnews.com · mars.com · ir.tyson.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI and robotics adoption remain uneven across the EU agri-food ecosystem, with 11% using artificial intelligence in 2023 and 20% using robotics in 2024.

AI in the industrial food industry

  • 11% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem used artificial intelligence in 2023.[1]
  • 28% of EU agri-food businesses using externally supplied AI used providers from the United States in 2024.[1]
  • 2.1% of Polish food-processing businesses used AI technology in 2021.[2]
  • 50% of food, beverage and ingredient industry professionals planned to invest in AI as part of their 2025 digital-transformation strategies.[3]
  • 3.6% of Polish food-processing businesses used AI technology in 2024.[2]
  • 45% of EU agri-food businesses used AI systems supplied by external service providers in 2024.[1]

Automation in the industrial food industry

  • 20% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem used robotics in 2024.[1]
  • 1.6 robots per million hours worked was the estimated robot density in UK food and drink manufacturing in 2020.[4]
  • 49% of German food and beverage companies surveyed did not know whether they would acquire robots in the future in 2023.[5]
  • 34.1 robots per million hours worked was the estimated robot density in UK food and drink manufacturing for 2030.[4]
  • 11% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem used robotics in 2023.[1]
  • 6.9 robots per million hours worked was the estimated robot density in UK food and drink manufacturing for 2025.[4]

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

  • Across the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, 20% of companies had a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[1]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 3.4% had very high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 2.1% in 2021.[1]
  • In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.[6]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 51.2% had very low digital intensity in 2023, down from 55.1% in 2021.[1]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 15.4% had high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2021.[1]

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

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

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

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 26% used cloud computing in 2023.[1]
  • Among EU large businesses, 78% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 44% of SMEs.[8]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 37% used cloud computing in 2024, up from 26% in 2023.[1]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023.[8]

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

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 307 startups focused on artificial intelligence and big data were formed between 2015 and 2023.[1]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 13% used big-data technologies in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.[1]
  • In Germany, 5.0% of surveyed farms used artificial-intelligence or big-data technologies in 2024–2025.[7]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data governance gaps show up as execution risk: 49% of manufacturing respondents rated operational data as low AI readiness in 2024.

Business intelligence in the industrial food industry

  • 66% higher revenue growth was reported by food and beverage companies using an industry-specific BI solution than by companies without BI software, based on 2021–2022 results.[9]
  • 54% of surveyed food and beverage companies were already using manufacturing-execution systems in 2023.[10]
  • 54% of surveyed food and beverage companies were already using enterprise-resource-planning systems in 2023.[10]
  • 5.2% was the actual 2021–2022 revenue growth for food and beverage companies using horizontal BI software in North America.[9]
  • 6.8% was the actual 2021–2022 revenue growth for food and beverage companies using homegrown BI software in North America.[9]
  • 4.7% was the actual 2021–2022 revenue growth for North American food and beverage companies not using or not planning to use BI software.[9]

Data analytics in the industrial food industry

  • 16% of food and beverage companies reported advanced analytics or big-data platforms delivered the highest operational ROI during 2025.[11]
  • 23% of food and beverage companies reported that they were not currently using data analytics in 2025.[11]
  • 33% of food and beverage companies said data analytics provided the most value in identifying production bottlenecks in 2025.[11]
  • 27% of food and beverage companies said data analytics provided the most value in product-yield-loss tracking and alerts in 2025.[11]
  • 37% of food and beverage companies reported their automated warehouse-management system delivered the highest operational ROI during 2025.[11]
  • 25% of food and beverage companies said data analytics provided the most value in automated inventory-reorder-point calculation in 2025.[11]

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

  • 49% of manufacturing respondents rated their operational data as having low AI readiness in 2024, meaning it was insufficiently labeled, contextualized, governed or accessible.[12]
  • 44% of manufacturers reported that AI projects had failed because of poor data quality in 2025, according to a survey of manufacturing organizations.[13]
  • 41% of manufacturers said they distrusted the data used for supply-chain operations in 2025, reflecting persistent data-quality concerns in production and procurement.[13]
  • 42% of manufacturers reported having a process to verify operational data accuracy or quality in 2025, indicating that most lacked a formal validation process.[12]
  • 30% of manufacturing respondents identified poor-quality data as one of their top three challenges when working with AI-related data in 2024.[12]

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

  • 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.[12]
  • 6% of food and beverage leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025, despite 82% saying technology adoption was a strategic priority.[14]
  • 40% of food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their biggest barrier to moving faster in 2026.[14]
  • 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.[12]
  • 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024, while 90% agreed that data governance was necessary.[15]
  • 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.[14]

KPIs in the industrial food industry

  • 43% of food and beverage companies measured digital-technology implementation success through labor-cost savings in 2025.[11]
  • 15% of food and beverage companies measured digital-technology implementation success through first-pass yield or quality metrics in 2025.[11]
  • 34% of food and beverage companies measured digital-technology implementation success through equipment uptime in 2025.[11]
  • 30% of food and beverage companies measured digital-technology implementation success through energy efficiency in 2025.[11]
  • 49% of food and beverage companies measured digital-technology implementation success through return on investment in 2025.[11]
  • 21% of food and beverage companies measured digital-technology implementation success through on-time delivery rates in 2025.[11]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Private label and deal flow both stay active, with 20.8% U.S. private-label dollar share for the year ended March 2024 and 674 North American transactions recorded in 2024.

Growth in the industrial food industry

  • 4.7 million people were employed by the EU food and drink industry in 2021.[16]
  • 65% of EU food and drink exports were destined for the Single Market in 2023.[16]
  • €249 billion was the value added generated by the EU food and drink industry in 2021.[16]
  • 6% was the food supply chain’s share of EU gross value added in 2021.[16]
  • 10.5% was the food supply chain’s share of EU employment in 2021.[16]
  • 304,000 companies operated in the EU food and drink industry in 2021.[16]

Differentiation in the industrial food industry

  • 55% of U.S. shoppers reported buying more private-brand products during the year covered by FMI’s 2024 survey.[17]
  • 77% of U.S. consumers rated private-label quality as equal to or better than branded products in McKinsey’s 2025 survey.[6]
  • More than 90% of food retailers and manufacturers planned to increase private-brand investment over the following two years.[17]
  • 88% of Saudi Arabian consumers rated private-label value as equal to or better than branded products in McKinsey’s 2025 survey.[6]
  • 3,500 private-label products were offered by Singapore retailer FairPrice across more than 70 categories.[6]
  • 20.8% was the U.S. private-label dollar share for the year ended March 2024.[18]

Mergers and acquisitions in the industrial food industry

  • $24.8 billion was the value of food and beverage deals closed in North America during Q4 2024.[19]
  • 351 food and beverage deals closed in North America during Q4 2024.[19]
  • 674 North American food and beverage M&A transactions were recorded in 2024.[20]
  • 83.3% of North American food and beverage Q4 2024 transactions were strategic acquisitions.[20]
  • 764 North American food and beverage M&A transactions were recorded in 2020.[20]
  • 795 North American food and beverage M&A transactions were recorded in 2022.[20]

Strategic partnerships in the industrial food industry

  • 2 million pounds of yogurt per day represented the production scale connected with Danone’s U.S. campus alliance.[21]
  • 2 million pounds of yogurt were produced daily at Danone’s Minster, Ohio facility during its Big Ten partnership.[21]
  • $8 billion was Ingredion’s approximate annual net sales in 2023 when it announced its Lantmännen collaboration.[22]
  • €100 million or more was the planned investment by Lantmännen in a Swedish plant-protein factory under its 2024 Ingredion partnership.[22]
  • 80,000 square feet was the size of the new facility acquired by Flagship Food Group for its 505 Southwestern brand.[23]
  • $800 million was Uncrustables’ approximate annual net sales in the fiscal year before J.M. Smucker’s 2024 facility partnership announcement.[24]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce constraints remain measurable: 44% of operators found attracting talent difficult in 2025, while U.S. food manufacturing had 1,839.9 thousand jobs in 2025.

Hiring in the industrial food industry

  • 64% of U.S. food-equipment manufacturers were actively outlining clear career pathways to job candidates in 2025.[25]
  • 1,839.9 thousand jobs were in U.S. food manufacturing in 2025.[26]
  • 11% of food manufacturing, processing, wholesale and distribution operators described hiring as relatively simple in 2025.[27]
  • 44% of food manufacturing, processing, wholesale and distribution operators found attracting talent difficult in 2025.[27]
  • 27% of food-manufacturing respondents identified employee referrals as an effective recruiting method in 2024.[9]

Employee retention in the industrial food industry

  • 32% of manufacturers reported an average skilled-frontline-employee replacement cost of $10,000 or less in 2024.[28]
  • 73% of manufacturers said frontline managers rarely quit in the 2024 survey.[28]
  • 24.5% was the median voluntary-separation rate for U.S. food and kindred-products manufacturers in 2024.[29]
  • 45% of manufacturers said employee turnover had a moderate impact on bottom-line finances in 2024.[28]
  • 11% of manufacturers said employee turnover had a severe impact on bottom-line finances in 2024.[28]

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

  • 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.[30]
  • 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.[30]
  • Across U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024, according to AgCareers’ industry hiring report.[31]
  • 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.[32]

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

  • 84% of Australian agribusiness organisations planned no change to existing flexible or hybrid work arrangements in 2026.[33]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed in 2024, 36% reported having no work-at-home days per week.[3]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed globally in 2024, respondents averaged 2.1 work-at-home days per week.[3]
  • 33% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working in hybrid arrangements in 2024.[34]
  • 21% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working fully remotely in 2024.[34]

Upskilling in the industrial food industry

  • 44% of U.S. food and beverage processors planned to hire additional maintenance technicians in 2025.[35]
  • 436,156 training hours were recorded by Performance Food Group in 2024.[36]
  • 13.8 average hours of technical and vocational training were completed per Nestlé employee in 2024.[37]
  • 9.8 average training hours were recorded per Performance Food Group associate in 2024.[36]
  • 11.7 average hours of technical and vocational training were completed per Nestlé employee in 2025.[37]

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

  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 60.9% on enablement in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[38]
  • Manufacture, distribution and storage organizations recorded an average employee-engagement score of 72.9% in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[38]
  • 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.[38]
  • In the agriculture industry, employees averaged 7.68 out of 10 for engagement and an eNPS of +5 in CultureMonkey’s 2026 benchmark.[39]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 59.3% on leadership in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[38]

DEI in the industrial food industry

  • 48% of Vita Coco’s management workforce identified as women in 2024.[40]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Buyer journey timing is a recurring constraint; 65% of U.S. manufacturing buying journey is complete before buyers first contact sellers.

Customer experience in the industrial food industry

  • 71% of consumers easily associate their preferred foodservice brand with a specific color in the 2026 study.[41]
  • 51% of B2B customers would seek an alternative if they were not connected to the right person for help.[6]
  • 43% of consumers can identify a specific food chain from a distance in the 2026 foodservice study.[41]
  • 52% of U.S. consumers participate in loyalty programs at restaurants, coffee shops, snack places or delis in 2024.[42]
  • 51% of B2B customers say a lack of customer tracking across channels would impede doing business with a supplier.[6]

Customer retention in the industrial food industry

  • 48% of U.S. loyalty-program members are less likely to try a new restaurant because they prefer places where they already belong in 2024.[43]
  • 33% of restaurants reported selling gift cards in the previous year, compared with 48% in 2023, supporting repeat visits and retention.[44]
  • 58% of Gen Z restaurant loyalty-program members are less likely to try a new place because they prefer restaurants where they are members in 2024.[43]
  • 41% of baby-boomer restaurant loyalty-program members are less likely to try a new place because they prefer restaurants where they are members in 2024.[43]
  • 50% of restaurant operators report that customers engage with their loyalty programs regularly in 2023.[44]

Customer acquisition in the industrial food industry

  • 81% of U.S. restaurant customers not enrolled in loyalty programs would join if their favorite restaurant offered one in 2024.[42]
  • 89% of manufacturing buyers set purchase requirements before first contact with a supplier.[45]
  • 91% of manufacturing buyers in EMEA initiate first contact with potential suppliers in the referenced buyer-journey study.[45]
  • 65% of the manufacturing buying journey is complete before buyers first contact sellers.[45]
  • 64.4% of the manufacturing buying journey is complete before first seller contact in EMEA.[45]

Customer loyalty in the industrial food industry

  • 69% of U.S. CPG shoppers demonstrate loyalty by recommending brands to friends and family in 2024.[46]
  • 52% of U.S. CPG shoppers expect loyalty points or cashback in exchange for loyalty in 2024.[46]
  • 57% of U.S. consumers trust widely known food-and-beverage brands more than unfamiliar brands in the cited survey.[47]
  • 44% of U.S. consumers say maintaining quality helps food-and-beverage brands keep their business.[47]
  • 43% of U.S. consumers are loyal to at least one food-and-beverage brand in the cited consumer survey.[47]

Lead generation in the industrial food industry

  • 68.2% of manufacturing buyers in APAC reach the first seller contact only after completing most of their buying journey.[45]
  • 91.4% of manufacturing buyers in EMEA initiate contact with prospective suppliers.[45]
  • 91.8% of manufacturing buyers in EMEA define purchase requirements before first supplier contact.[45]
  • 84.5% of manufacturing buyers in APAC initiate contact with prospective suppliers.[45]
  • 89% of manufacturing buyers define purchase requirements before first contact with a supplier, emphasizing the importance of pre-contact content.[45]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Store-brand share stays high in tracked categories, and digital spend is large enough to shape product visibility across channels in 2024.

Marketing in the industrial food industry

  • 28% of U.S. consumers agreed in 2024 that food brands could be more risqué or funny online.[48]
  • 29% of U.S. consumers said in 2024 that they would visit a pop-up restaurant or shop from their favorite food brands.[48]
  • 6%–15% of revenue was spent on advertising and promotion by big food and beverage companies in 2025, according to BCG.[49]
  • $212.47 million was spent on U.S. confectionery advertising by Hershey in 2023, the highest amount among companies listed.[50]
  • 21% of U.S. consumers had purchased a limited-edition product from a food brand in 2024, such as a collaboration or one-day online release.[48]

Digital marketing in the industrial food industry

  • 31.2% of U.S. CPG digital advertising spending was projected to go to social networks in 2024.[51]
  • $33.94 billion was projected for U.S. CPG mobile advertising spending in 2024.[51]
  • $19.53 billion was projected for U.S. CPG search advertising spending in 2024.[51]
  • $14.86 billion was projected for U.S. CPG nonmobile advertising spending in 2024.[51]
  • 72% of surveyed CPG and FMCG marketing professionals planned to increase digital display or video spending in 2024.[52]

Branding in the industrial food industry

  • 98% of U.S. food categories tracked by Circana had store-brand sales in 2023.[53]
  • 61.9% was the store-brand dollar share of U.S. fresh-egg sales in 2023.[53]
  • 65.1% was the store-brand dollar share of U.S. refrigerated-meat sales in 2023.[53]
  • 23.6% was the increase in U.S. store-brand dollar sales from 2021 to 2024.[53]
  • 56.2% was the store-brand dollar share of U.S. dairy-milk sales in 2023.[53]

Social media in the industrial food industry

  • 76% of U.S. Gen Z adults trusted food or nutrition content on social media in 2024.[54]
  • More than $2.8 billion was spent annually by the U.S. food industry on social-media advertising during the study period ending in 2021.[55]
  • 42% of U.S. adults reported seeing food or nutrition content on social media in 2023.[54]
  • 335 billion food and beverage advertisements were viewed by U.S. adult social-media users from April 2020 through August 2021.[55]
  • 68% of U.S. adults who saw food or nutrition content on social media in 2024 trusted it at least a little.[54]

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

  • Food and drink influencer content involved 78,800 profiles globally in 2023, based on Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[56]
  • 11.5 million influencer posts covered food and drink globally in 2023, according to Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[56]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.[56]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 392 billion impressions globally in 2023.[56]
  • Food and drink influencer content produced an estimated $122 billion in earned media value globally in 2023.[56]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Automation targets throughput and traceability: 80% of respondents measured efficiency using throughput such as volume or cases per man-hour.

Process optimization in the industrial food industry

  • 40% is the maximum efficiency increase reported by North American food and beverage companies using automation, according to a 2023 survey.[57]
  • 34% of food, beverage and ingredient professionals said digital transformation most positively affected manufacturing process or assembly.[3]
  • 27% of surveyed North American food companies identified increasing flexibility as an automation driver.[57]
  • 26% of surveyed North American food companies identified increasing traceability as an automation driver.[57]
  • 26% of surveyed North American food companies identified improving product quality, accuracy and consistency as an automation driver.[57]

Operational efficiency in the industrial food industry

  • 16.2% was the mean company-wide manufacturing cycle-time improvement reported by food manufacturers in a best-practices survey.[25]
  • 48 thousand euros per person was labour productivity in the EU fish-products sector in 2023.[16]
  • 80% of food-manufacturing survey respondents measured efficiency using throughput such as volume or cases per man-hour.[25]
  • 41% was the increase in EU food-and-drink labour productivity between 2008 and 2022.[16]
  • 62 thousand euros per person was labour productivity in the EU food and drink industry in 2023.[16]

Quality management in the industrial food industry

  • 28% of food, beverage and ingredient professionals said digital transformation most positively affected food-safety preventive controls.[3]
  • 64% of food-manufacturing professionals used lot-level traceability in 2025.[25]
  • 72% of food-manufacturing professionals used comprehensive staff training as a food-safety method in 2025.[25]
  • 24% of food-manufacturing professionals planned to purchase a food-safety management system in 2025.[25]
  • 53% of food-manufacturing professionals relied on microbiological or chemical testing of raw materials and ingredients in 2025.[25]

Supply chain in the industrial food industry

  • 55% of UK food-and-drink manufacturers were willing to pay more for local supplies in 2025.[58]
  • 46% of surveyed North American food companies wanted better inventory-level management through automation.[57]
  • 36% of surveyed North American food companies identified supply-chain visibility as a priority technology goal.[57]
  • 54% of UK food-and-drink companies used inventory buffering to mitigate supply-chain risks in 2025.[58]
  • 53% of UK food-and-drink companies sought supplier diversification in 2025.[58]

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.[59]
  • 2% of Canadian food and beverage companies outsourced production entirely to third-party manufacturers in 2020.[60]
  • 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.[61]
  • 66% of Queensland food-processing businesses engaged in contract manufacturing to some extent in 2010, including contracting work in or out.[59]
  • 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.[62]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Producer pricing has been broadly stable, with the BLS index averaging 284.513 in 2025 versus 284.275 in 2024.

Pricing strategy in the industrial food industry

  • 1.5% was Nestlé’s group pricing contribution to organic growth in 2024.[37]
  • 54% of New York and New Jersey food manufacturers increased product prices in response to inflation in 2023.[63]
  • 9% of consumer packaged-goods manufacturers said they would share retailer price-investment costs in 2024.[64]
  • 9% of New York and New Jersey food manufacturers decreased distribution channels in response to inflation in 2023.[63]
  • 47% of New York and New Jersey food manufacturers increased distribution channels in response to inflation in 2023.[63]

Cost reduction in the industrial food industry

  • $120 million in annualized operating-expense savings was achieved by US Foods through administrative streamlining in 2024.[65]
  • 57% of food manufacturers measured digital-technology success through cost reduction in 2025.[11]
  • 3% of food-manufacturing survey respondents reported no reduction in manufacturing costs over the five years preceding 2025.[25]
  • 40% of food manufacturers measured digital-technology success through waste reduction in 2025.[11]
  • 7.4% of food-manufacturing survey respondents reduced plant costs by 31% to 40% over the five years preceding 2025.[25]

Profitability in the industrial food industry

  • 60.5% was Colgate-Palmolive’s gross profit margin in 2024 across its food and consumer-products operations.[66]
  • 6% was the 2024 year-over-year increase in Campbell Soup’s segment operating earnings.[67]
  • 21.2% was Colgate-Palmolive’s operating profit margin in 2024 across its food and consumer-products operations.[66]
  • 8.4% was Pilgrim’s Pride’s consolidated GAAP operating-income margin in 2024.[68]
  • 17.0% or higher is Nestlé’s medium-term target for underlying trading operating profit margin.[37]

Financial planning in the industrial food industry

  • 2.8 times was US Foods’ year-end net leverage in 2024, within its 2-to-3-times target range.[65]
  • $270 million was Performance Food Group’s fiscal-2023 capital expenditure, equal to 0.5% of net sales.[69]
  • $216 million was Performance Food Group’s fiscal-2022 capital expenditure, equal to 0.4% of net sales.[69]
  • $189 million was Performance Food Group’s fiscal-2021 capital expenditure, equal to 0.6% of net sales.[69]
  • $139 million was Performance Food Group’s fiscal-2019 capital expenditure, equal to 0.7% of net sales.[69]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Product development digitization is still constrained, with 82% of new-product-development teams relying on spreadsheets, email or paper-based systems in 2025.

Product development in the industrial food industry

  • 82% of food-and-beverage new-product-development teams still relied on spreadsheets, email or paper-based systems in 2025.[14]
  • 38.5% of Canadian food-manufacturing businesses introduced process innovation during fiscal years 2021–2023.[70]
  • 71% of shoppers cited price as a reason for buying more private-brand food products in 2024.[17]
  • 26.2% of U.S. food companies reported process innovation during 2020–2022, covering 17,974 businesses, in 2022.[71]
  • 80% of food-industry respondents said private brands were performing well in driving customer-purchase growth through value delivery in 2024.[17]

Product lifecycle in the industrial food industry

  • $42.7 billion was the estimated value of surplus food generated by U.S. food manufacturing in 2024.[72]
  • 7% of U.S. food-manufacturing sales were represented by surplus food value in 2024.[72]
  • 6.67 million tons of U.S. food-manufacturing surplus became food waste in 2024.[72]
  • 615,000 tons of dry goods were generated as surplus food by U.S. food manufacturing in 2024.[72]
  • 13.2 million tons of surplus food were generated by U.S. food manufacturing in 2024.[72]

After-sales in the industrial food industry

  • 25% was the increase in Tiger Brands’ customer complaints during the first quarter of 2024 compared with the prior-year quarter.[73]
  • 7% was Tiger Brands’ decrease in consumer complaints in 2024 compared with 2023.[73]
  • 4.8% was organic service-revenue growth in ITW’s Food Equipment segment in 2024.[74]
  • 92.90% was Thai Vegetable Oil’s customer-satisfaction result in 2025.[75]
  • 4% was Tiger Brands’ decrease in complaints per million units sold in 2024 compared with 2023.[73]

Value proposition in the industrial food industry

  • 53% of consumers willing to pay more for sustainable packaged food and drinks would pay up to 10% extra, across 17 international markets in 2024.[76]
  • 15% of Americans selected the most expensive, most eco-friendly food option in a 2022 purchase-choice experiment.[54]
  • 54% of U.S. consumers said rising prices had significantly changed their food-and-beverage purchasing approach in an October 2025 Mintel survey.[3]
  • 68% of Americans said price was a more significant food-and-beverage purchase driver than environmental sustainability in 2022.[54]
  • 39% of Americans selected the lowest-priced, least-eco-friendly food option in a 2022 purchase-choice experiment.[54]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Operational emissions and food waste are quantified at large scale, with 6.5 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent from pre- and post-agricultural production activities in 2024.

Sustainability in the industrial food industry

  • 70% of agrifood-system energy use occurs after the farm gate, including transport, processing, packaging, shipping, storage and marketing.[77]
  • 6.5 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent came from pre- and post-agricultural production activities in 2024, including manufacturing, transport, packaging and retail worldwide.[77]
  • 21.3% of Nestlé’s key ingredients were sourced from farmers adopting regenerative-agriculture practices in 2024.[37]
  • 526 million tonnes of food are lost or wasted annually because of inadequate refrigeration in developing countries.[77]
  • 361 million tonnes of meat were produced globally in 2022, with chicken becoming the largest meat category by production volume.[77]

ESG in the industrial food industry

  • 2.59 million tonnes of location-based Scope 2 greenhouse-gas emissions were reported by Nestlé in 2024.[37]
  • More than 8 million metric tons of PepsiCo convenient foods were sold in 2024.[78]
  • 54% of PepsiCo company-owned manufacturing facilities were certified to ISO 45001 at the end of 2024.[78]
  • 67% of PepsiCo beverage volume in its top 26 markets contained no more than 100 calories from added sugars per 12-ounce serving in 2024.[78]
  • 0.49 lost-time incidents occurred per 200,000 hours worked at PepsiCo in 2024.[78]

Ethics in the industrial food industry

  • 33% of EU consumers named microplastics in food as a leading food concern in 2025.[79]
  • 71% of farms in Nestlé’s cocoa program had shade trees in 2024.[37]
  • 86.8% of Nestlé green-coffee volume was covered by child-labor-risk due-diligence systems in the latest reported KPI dataset.[37]
  • 88% of children in Nestlé’s cocoa program were enrolled in school in 2024.[37]
  • 36% of EU consumers named antibiotic, hormone or steroid residues in meat as a leading food concern in 2025.[79]

CSR in the industrial food industry

  • 56.7% of EU food and drink industry employees worked for SMEs in 2023.[16]
  • 99.2% of EU food and drink companies were small or medium-sized enterprises in 2023.[16]
  • 36.7% of EU food and drink industry employees worked in micro-enterprises in 2023.[16]
  • 1,677,068 Fairtrade farmers were represented across monitored certified supply chains in 2024.[80]
  • 194,204 Fairtrade workers were represented across monitored certified supply chains in 2024.[80]

Circular economy in the industrial food industry

  • 19% of food available to consumers was wasted worldwide in 2022 at retail, food-service and household levels.[81]
  • 60% of global food waste came from households in 2022.[82]
  • 131 million tonnes of food waste came from retail globally in 2022.[82]
  • 8–10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions were generated by food loss and waste in the latest UNEP assessment.[77]
  • 290 million tonnes of food waste came from food service globally in 2022.[82]

Carbon footprint in the industrial food industry

  • 1.60 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent removals from farm projects were included in Nestlé’s 2024 calculations.[37]
  • 73% of EU food and drink industry Scope 3 emissions came from primary production of agricultural raw materials in the latest pathway assessment.[16]
  • 5.74 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent were attributed to waste-management Scope 3 emissions for the EU food and drink sector.[16]
  • 4.4 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent came from livestock emissions in 2024.[77]
  • 3.8 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent came from deforestation associated with agrifood systems in 2024.[77]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Cross-border demand shows up in e-commerce growth, with 15.1% global FMCG e-commerce value growth in the latest period reported by NIQ’s 2026 outlook.

Globalization in the industrial food industry

  • Food imports in Africa declined in volume during 2024 after remaining broadly unchanged following 2020.[77]
  • Global imports of unprocessed foods grew faster than imports of processed and ultra-processed foods between 1996 and 2024.[90]
  • Dairy products represented approximately $0.07 trillion of 2024 world imports, excluding intra-EU trade.[91]
  • 85% of global soybean and palm-oil exports were supplied by the top two exporting countries in 2024.[77]
  • Beverages and tobacco represented approximately $0.16 trillion of 2024 world imports, excluding intra-EU trade.[91]

Cultural adaptation in the industrial food industry

  • 66% of global consumers were willing to pay extra for locally produced food in Ipsos research; the figure was 63% in the EU.[92]
  • 89% of U.S. consumers had eaten at a restaurant serving cuisine from another culture, according to Datassential’s 2025 global-food research.[93]
  • 95% of surveyed consumers had tried Mexican cuisine, according to Cargill’s cited U.S. consumer research.[94]
  • 53% of U.S. consumers ordered globally inspired restaurant dishes at least monthly, according to Datassential.[93]
  • 77% of U.S. consumers had cooked globally inspired dishes at home, according to Datassential’s 2025 research.[93]

Distribution channels in the industrial food industry

  • 15.1% was global FMCG e-commerce value growth in the latest period reported by NIQ’s 2026 consumer outlook.[95]
  • 77% of U.S. digital grocery shoppers who used third-party platforms rated Instacart as their preferred platform in 2024.[96]
  • 2.1% was the 2024 year-over-year volume growth rate for perimeter food-and-beverage categories in U.S. Circana data.[97]
  • 10.4% was the 2024 year-over-year volume growth rate for U.S. food-and-beverage e-commerce sales in Circana data.[97]
  • 67% of U.S. shoppers spent more with their preferred digital grocer in 2024 than in 2023.[96]

Key questions about the industrial food industry

What is the U.S. industrial food manufacturing market size?
U.S. food manufacturing recorded $1,054.3 billion in value of shipments in 2024 and employed 1,702,155 people.
How fast is the global food and beverage market expected to grow?
A 2025 outlook estimated $9.44 trillion in 2025, rising to $11.43 trillion in 2030 at a 3.9% compound annual growth rate.
Which companies lead the industrial food industry?
Cargill leads Gitnux's 2026 industrial food ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with global sourcing, processing and delivery of food and agricultural products. Mars is the highest-ranked confectionery manufacturer at 9.4, with global confectionery, food and pet nutrition production.
What technology shifts are showing up in industrial food operations?
Manufacturers reported low AI readiness, with 49% rating operational data as low AI readiness in 2024. Digital traceability spending is accelerating, while only 6% of leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025.
How is the market structured between enterprises and large firms?
The industry remains fragmented by establishment count but concentrated in large firms by output and value added. In the EU, SMEs account for 99% of food and drink firms and 57% of employment.
What compliance change affects data and records for industrial food supply chains in the U.S.?
FDA’s Food Traceability Rule requires covered firms handling foods on the Food Traceability List to maintain additional records tied to critical tracking events and key data elements. The original January 20, 2026 compliance date is subject to non-enforcement before July 20, 2028.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Industrial Food Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/industrial-food-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Industrial Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/industrial-food-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Industrial Food Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/industrial-food-industry-statistics.

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