Gitnux/Report 2026

Food and Beverage Industry Statistics

Food and beverage is still growing steadily, with global real GDP in food services averaging 4.1% annually, yet U.S. consumers are paying more attention to price pressure as food-away-from-home inflation runs at 3.2% year over year and food at home carries an 0.8% CPI weight in 2024. Get the full picture from a $1.0 trillion global meat, poultry, and seafood processing market and $9.9 trillion in global retail food sales to where emissions, food loss, and packaging costs concentrate across the chain.
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November 10, 2026Updated
Food and Beverage Industry Statistics
Catherine WuWritten by Catherine Wu·Edited by Olivia Thornton·Fact-checked by Jonathan Hale
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

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

02Source Research

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

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The food and beverage industry at a glance

Global retail food and beverage sales exceeded $5 trillion in 2025, while U.S. food manufacturing generated $1.05 trillion in shipments and employed 1.70 million people in 2024.

$5T+[104]
Global retail sales, 2025
$1.05T[105]
U.S. food manufacturing shipments, 2024
1.70M[105]
U.S. food manufacturing jobs, 2024
3.5%[72]
U.S. food-away-from-home inflation forecast, 2026
Market size
Global retail sales of food and beverages exceeded $5 trillion in 2025. In the United States, food manufacturing recorded an estimated $1.054 trillion in value of shipments in 2024, while food and beverage stores generated $982.2 billion in revenue.[104][105]
Forecast & CAGR
Allianz Research expects food and beverage processing to reach approximately $10 trillion by 2030, with the broader agriculture and food system growing at about 7% annually from 2025 to 2030. Separately, one market estimate projects the wider food and beverage market to grow from $9.44 trillion in 2025 to $11.43 trillion in 2030, equivalent to a 3.9% CAGR.[106][107]
Market share & regions
The EU food and beverage industry employed 4.6 million people and generated €1.1 trillion in turnover in 2023. Within the EU food chain, sales of food and beverage serving activities increased 4.8% in 2024, following growth of 11.7% in 2023.[108][8]
Segmentation
U.S. food and beverage manufacturing is divided into 10 industries. In 2024, animal slaughtering and processing represented 26% of sector employment, followed by bakeries and tortilla manufacturing at 17%, beverage manufacturing at 16%, and other food manufacturing at 12%.[4]
Pricing
U.S. food prices were 2.5% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier; food-away-from-home prices rose 3.5% and food-at-home prices rose 1.8%. USDA forecasts average 2026 food prices to increase 2.8%, with food-away-from-home prices forecast to rise 3.5%.[72]
Trends, drivers & challenges
The U.S. food and beverage manufacturing sector is projected to add 130,000 jobs between 2024 and 2034, driven partly by demand for convenient baked products, snacks, beverages, and prepared foods. Cost pressures remain significant because energy, wages, processing, transportation, and retailing costs all contribute to final food prices.[4][72]
Consumer behavior & competition
U.S. food spending reached $2.51 trillion in 2025, including $1.41 trillion on food away from home and $1.10 trillion on food at home. Consumers spent 9.7% of disposable personal income on food, with food away from home accounting for 4.9% and food at home 4.8%.[72]
M&A
Food and beverage manufacturers accounted for 56.6% of U.S. food and beverage transactions in the third quarter of 2026, while distribution and retail represented 32.9%. Beverage-market median M&A EBITDA multiples reached 11.6x in 2025 through year-to-date 2026, compared with 10.2x for the broader consumer sector.[94][109]
Regulation
The FDA issued the 2026 Food Code in September 2026. The model code added or revised provisions covering employee illness policies, cooling processes, allergen cross-contact, mobile food establishments, food donations, specialty mushrooms, freeze-drying, vending machines, and inspection reports.[85]
Latest news
Recent 2026 industry developments include recovering but selective M&A activity, continued focus on supply-chain and category expansion, and regulatory attention to synthetic dyes and ultra-processed foods. PMCF reported that manufacturers represented 56.6% of U.S. food and beverage transactions in the third quarter of 2026.[94][110]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Food And Beverage Industry

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

Updated November 9, 2026 · Next review December 9, 2026

Verdict

Cargill leads Gitnux's 2026 food and beverage ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with revenue growth 6.5% backed by food products and ingredients supplied to manufacturers. The Coca-Cola Company is the highest-ranked non-alcoholic beverage company at 9.2, with operating margin 28.7% driven by a Coca-Cola system in 200+ countries and territories.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in food ingredients

    Cargill

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Food ingredients

    Why we picked it: It supplies food ingredients to manufacturers, foodservice, and retailers, matching the food-processing footprint.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cargill.com ↗

  2. Leader in non-alcoholic beverages

    The Coca-Cola Company

    US

    Ranked #2 · 9.2 · Non-alcoholic beverages

    Why we picked it: Its global non-alcoholic beverage operations span 200+ countries and territories through the Coca-Cola system.

    See in ranking ↓Visit coca-colacompany.com ↗

  3. Leader in meat processing

    JBS

    NL

    Ranked #3 · 9.1 · Meat processing

    Why we picked it: It runs 250+ units and sells food products in 180+ countries across 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 and beverage industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Cargill

Food ingredients · US

9.5
2

The Coca-Cola Company

Non-alcoholic beverages · US

9.2
3

JBS

Meat processing · NL

9.1
4

Mars

Snacking and confectionery · US

9.0
5

Nestlé

Food and nutrition · CH

8.7
6

McDonald's

Global quick-service restaurant operations · US

8.7
7

Grupo Bimbo

Global bakery and packaged baked foods · MX

8.3
8

Starbucks

Global coffeehouse operations and beverages · US

8.3
9

ADM

Agricultural processing, food ingredients and nutrition · US

8.1
10

Danone

Dairy, plant-based, water and specialized nutrition · FR

8.0

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 9, 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

Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Top 10 companies in the food and beverage industry. In Food And Beverage Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/food-and-beverage-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest food and beverage companies

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

Cargill$154.0B
Nestlé$101.1B
JBS$86.2B
ADM$80.3B
The Coca-Cola Company$47.9B
source-verifiedcargill.com · nestle.com · mediaroom.jbs.com.br · adm.com · investors.coca-colacompany.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI activity widened quickly: 54% of UK and Ireland firms were implementing AI in 2024, up from 12 months earlier, and 97% of firms were at least investigating AI in Q3 2024.

AI in the food and beverage industry

  • 54% of UK and Ireland food and beverage companies were implementing AI in 2024, more than double the proportion recorded 12 months earlier.[1]
  • 28% of UK and Ireland food and beverage companies were already using AI in 2024, compared with 6% at the end of 2023.[1]
  • 97% of food and beverage businesses were at least investigating AI in Q3 2024, while more than one-third were already using it worldwide.[2]
  • 50% of food, beverage and ingredient industry professionals said their companies planned to invest in AI as part of 2025 digital-transformation strategies.[3]
  • 35% of UK and Ireland food and beverage companies said automating routine tasks was a main benefit of AI in 2024.[1]
  • 10.4% was the predicted 2025 profit growth for food and beverage companies already using AI, compared with 8.4% for companies with no plans or still investigating AI.[2]

Automation in the food and beverage industry

  • 6.6% of U.S. food-manufacturing plants used robots in 2022, exposing nearly one-quarter of employees to robots.[4]
  • 40% was the reported potential increase in efficiency from automation for North American food and beverage companies.[2]
  • 56% of North American food and beverage companies planned to invest in technology to overcome supply-chain disruption in 2023.[2]
  • 48% of North American food and beverage companies still partly or completely relied on manual processes to trace products in 2023.[2]
  • 227.5% was the growth in the total robot stock in U.S. food and beverage manufacturing during 2010–2020.[4]
  • 34% of North American food and beverage processors, manufacturers and distributors planned to increase automation in 2024.[2]

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

  • 28% of food, beverage, and ingredient professionals reported positive effects from digital transformation technologies on food-safety preventive controls in 2024.[3]
  • 82% of food and beverage leaders said technology adoption was a strategic priority, while 6% reported fully integrated digital systems, in a 2025 survey.[5]
  • 40% of 423 food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their organization’s biggest operational barrier in 2026.[5]
  • 34% of food, beverage, and ingredient professionals said manufacturing process or assembly had been positively affected by digital transformation technologies in 2024.[3]

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

  • 23% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in mobile-app technologies in 2025.[3]
  • 31% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in robotics or robotic process automation in 2025.[3]
  • 50% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in artificial intelligence as part of their 2025 digital-transformation strategies.[3]
  • 22% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in machine-learning software in 2025.[3]

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

  • 52% of food processors and manufacturers were considering cloud technology, while 45% reported no cloud use, in a 2023 industry survey.[6]
  • 18% of food manufacturers were already using cloud-based manufacturing-execution systems, while 51% planned implementation, according to a 2025 industry survey.[7]
  • 30% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in cloud computing or enterprise resource-planning software and systems in 2025.[3]
  • 39.5% of EU enterprises in accommodation and food-service activities used paid cloud-computing services in 2025.[8]

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

  • 35% of food, beverage, and ingredient companies anticipated investing in big data and real-time analytics in 2025.[3]
  • 47% of food, beverage, and ingredient professionals identified gathering, analyzing, and leveraging data for data-driven decisions as a digital-transformation investment driver in 2024.[3]
  • 13% of food manufacturers were already using advanced-analytics or big-data platforms, while 44% planned implementation, in a 2025 industry survey.[7]
  • 24% of food-manufacturing respondents were very familiar with advanced analytics, while 34% were moderately familiar, in CRB’s 2025 survey.[9]

Blockchain in the food and beverage industry

  • 6% of food-industry companies surveyed reported that blockchain was already used in their businesses.[10]
  • 500+ food items were tracked through Walmart’s blockchain-based Food Traceability Initiative in the United States.[11]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data reliability and governance remain visible constraints: 40% of 423 professionals worldwide cited disconnected systems and data as the biggest operational barrier in 2026.

Business intelligence in the food and beverage industry

  • Food and beverage companies using industry-specific business intelligence reported 66% higher revenue growth than companies without BI software in Aptean’s survey.[6]
  • 54% of European food and beverage companies already had business-intelligence tools in 2023 research.[2]
  • 44% of European food and beverage companies planned to add an ERP system in 2024 research.[2]
  • 43% of European food and beverage companies planned to invest in electronic-data-interchange software in 2024 research.[2]
  • 40% of European food and beverage companies planned to introduce business-intelligence tools within 12 months in 2023 research.[2]
  • 41% of food and beverage companies planned to invest in business-intelligence tools over the following 12 months in 2024 research.[6]

Data analytics in the food and beverage industry

  • 25% of food manufacturers said data analytics provided the most value for automated inventory-reorder-point calculation in 2025 research.[7]
  • 85% of food retailers used data analytics in 2023, according to FMI’s food-retailing research.[12]
  • 94% of food suppliers used data analytics in 2023, according to FMI’s food-retailing research.[12]
  • 33% of food manufacturers said data analytics provided the most value for identifying production bottlenecks in 2025 research.[7]
  • 27% of food manufacturers said data analytics provided the most value for product-yield-loss tracking and alerts in 2025 research.[7]
  • 23% of food manufacturers said they did not currently use data analytics in 2025 research.[7]

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

  • 6.6 out of 10: Food, beverage and agriculture respondents rated data consistency as important in 2018.[13]
  • 6.4 out of 10: Food, beverage and agriculture respondents rated data timeliness as important in 2018.[13]
  • 22% of consumer-products companies reported that businesses lacked trust in data quality and validity in 2024.[14]
  • 6.4 out of 10: Food, beverage and agriculture respondents rated data accuracy as important in 2018.[13]
  • 77% of retail and consumer-products companies identified improving data quality as a priority in 2023.[15]
  • 7.0 out of 10: Food, beverage and agriculture respondents rated data completeness as important in 2018.[13]

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

  • 43% of consumer-products companies reported struggling to establish the right level of data governance in 2024.[14]
  • 90% of supply-management organizations agreed or strongly agreed that data governance was necessary in 2024.[16]
  • 61% of supply-management organizations had a dedicated data-governance function in 2024.[16]
  • 81% of supply-management organizations found their data-governance program useful in 2024.[16]
  • 22% of consumer-products companies planned to increase investment in data infrastructure and governance over the following 12 months in 2024.[14]
  • 47% of supply-management data-governance functions were housed in a center of excellence in 2024.[16]

KPIs in the food and beverage industry

  • 6.5% was the food-retailing out-of-stock rate in 2023, down from 10.7% in 2022.[12]
  • 25% of food manufacturers used analytics for energy-consumption patterns and peak-usage alerts in 2025 research.[7]
  • 50% of food, beverage and ingredient industry professionals planned to invest in artificial intelligence in 2025.[3]
  • 8% was the historical food-retailing out-of-stock rate cited by FMI before the 2023 improvement.[12]
  • 21% of food manufacturers used analytics for equipment-failure prediction and prevention in 2025 research.[7]
  • 23% of food manufacturers used analytics for quality-defect detection and root-cause analysis in 2025 research.[7]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Category demand is reflected in deal flow: food and beverage deal value reached $149.9 billion in 2024 versus $83.1 billion in 2023.

Growth in the food and beverage industry

  • U.S. beverage-industry leaders planned to emphasize innovative and unique products, with 59% identifying this as a priority in 2024.[17]
  • U.S. supermarket grocery sales grew at a 6.0% CAGR from 2019 to 2023.[18]
  • U.S. warehouse-club grocery sales grew at a 9.8% CAGR from 2019 to 2023.[18]
  • New Product Pacesetter launches contributed 28% of overall store growth across food, beverage and nonfood categories in 2024.[19]
  • U.S. discount grocery sales grew at a 6.3% CAGR from 2019 to 2023.[18]
  • New food, beverage and nonfood product launches generated $8.4 billion in first-year sales in 2024.[19]

Differentiation in the food and beverage industry

  • 37% of U.S. consumers consider a restaurant with no global influence outdated.[20]
  • 67% of U.S. consumers view fusion cuisine as creative evolution, supporting differentiation through blended culinary concepts.[20]
  • 59% of U.S. consumers prefer global dishes faithful to their cultural origins, creating a differentiation opportunity through authenticity.[20]
  • 34% of U.S. Generation Z consumers order globally inspired restaurant dishes weekly or more often.[20]
  • 60% of U.S. millennials and Generation Z consumers are interested in global food mashups.[20]
  • 58% of U.S. consumers expect at least some globally inspired items on most restaurant menus.[20]

Mergers and acquisitions in the food and beverage industry

  • Beverage companies represented 33% of closed food and beverage deals in the second half of 2024.[21]
  • Food and beverage deal value reached $149.9 billion in 2024, compared with $83.1 billion in 2023.[22]
  • Mars acquired Kellanova for approximately $36 billion in 2024.[21]
  • Performance Food Group acquired Cheney Brothers for $2.1 billion in 2024.[22]
  • 412 food and beverage transactions were recorded in 2024 by Focus Investment Banking.[23]
  • Food-product companies represented 67% of closed food and beverage deals in the second half of 2024.[21]

Strategic partnerships in the food and beverage industry

  • 78% of restaurant operators purchased distributor-brand products in 2025, supporting private-label alliances between distributors and food manufacturers.[24]
  • 50% of restaurant operators said they purchased more distributor-brand products in 2025 than two years earlier.[24]
  • 91% of restaurant operators expressed interest in subscription-based ordering models in 2025, indicating strong openness to distributor partnerships built around recurring orders.[24]
  • 27% of restaurant operators said they would collect orders from a drop location if offered in 2025.[24]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce movement is material in foodservice: 247,792 food-service-manager jobs were recorded in 2025 in the U.S.

Hiring in the food and beverage industry

  • 247,792 food-service-manager jobs and 113,075 separations were recorded in the U.S. restaurant and foodservice sector in 2025.[25]
  • 375,000 U.S. restaurant employees was McDonald’s planned summer hiring target for 2025, its largest hiring push in years.[26]
  • 9,412,000 hires were recorded in U.S. accommodation and food services during 2025.[4]
  • 1,483,367 restaurant-cook jobs and 1,267,815 separations were recorded in the U.S. restaurant and foodservice sector in 2025.[25]
  • 2,318,490 waiter and waitress jobs and 3,026,933 separations were recorded in the U.S. restaurant and foodservice sector in 2025.[25]

Employee retention in the food and beverage industry

  • $5,864 was Cornell University’s estimated average total cost of frontline employee turnover in the restaurant industry.[27]
  • 39% of restaurant operators reported turnover rates of 0–10% at mid-year 2026, the highest reading in three years of Restaurant365 data.[28]
  • 35% was full-service restaurant management turnover in the third quarter of 2025, down from 41% in the third quarter of 2024.[29]
  • 92% was approximate full-service restaurant hourly turnover during the first three quarters of 2025.[30]
  • 79% of restaurants reported employee turnover below 25% in mid-2025.[28]

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

  • Across U.S. food and beverage businesses, 26% let employees choose to work in-person or remotely in 2025, while 73% require in-person work.[31]
  • In U.S. accommodation and food services, 1.7% of employees were able to work fully remotely in 2024.[32]
  • Among food-sector career starters globally, 36% were fully site-based during their first two years of work, according to a 2024 survey.[33]
  • U.S. accommodation and food-services firms averaged 0.1 work-from-home days per week from November 2024 through January 2025.[34]

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

  • Among food-sector career starters globally, 27% worked in a hybrid arrangement during their first two years, according to a 2024 survey.[33]
  • Across U.S. food and beverage businesses, 26% offered employees the option to work in-person or remotely in 2025.[31]
  • In U.S. restaurant and bar businesses, 12% offered employees a choice between in-person and remote work in 2025.[31]
  • In 2025, 80% of hospitality and food-services employers said they were still struggling to get the balance right with hybrid working.[35]

Upskilling in the food and beverage industry

  • 71% of North American food and beverage companies had upskilled existing employees to reduce recruitment demands in 2023.[6]
  • 54% of non-general-manager restaurant-manager turnover costs were attributed to training costs in Black Box Intelligence’s analysis.[29]
  • 53% of restaurant general-manager turnover costs were attributed to training costs in Black Box Intelligence’s analysis.[29]
  • 59% of North American food and beverage companies had restructured working patterns to retain more staff in 2023.[6]
  • 35% of restaurant hourly-employee turnover costs were attributed to training costs in Black Box Intelligence’s analysis.[29]

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

  • Food-and-beverage organizations scored 7.91 out of 10 for employee engagement in the latest 2026 benchmark dataset.[36]
  • Food-service employees recorded 72.6% engagement in 2026, up 9.1 percentage points from the prior measurement.[37]
  • Among U.S. and Canadian frontline employees surveyed in 2024, 52% worked in foodservice, in a sample of 46,250 employees used to assess workplace engagement.[38]
  • Globally, 21% of employees were engaged in 2025, providing an economy-wide benchmark relevant where food-and-beverage-specific engagement data are limited.[39]

DEI in the food and beverage industry

  • 10% of the 50 largest U.S. restaurant chains by sales had women chief executives in 2022.[38]
  • 38% of U.S. restaurant executive-level employees were women in 2022.[38]
  • 22% of India’s food and beverage services workforce was female in 2025, representing approximately 2.6 million women.[40]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Customer repeat rates are tight: 4.1 million of 27 million active restaurant guests in 2023 returned in 2024, about 15% retention.

Customer experience in the food and beverage industry

  • 85 points was the 2024 full-service restaurant score for mobile-app quality in the United States.[41]
  • 84 points was the 2025 full-service restaurant score for mobile-app reliability in the United States.[41]
  • 92 points was the 2024 full-service restaurant score for food-order accuracy in the United States.[41]
  • 90 points was the 2024 full-service restaurant score for waitstaff courtesy and helpfulness in the United States.[41]
  • 84% of United States restaurant diners preferred seeing photos of food and drinks on a restaurant’s social-media page in 2024.[42]

Customer retention in the food and beverage industry

  • 64% of new restaurant customers in the United States who visited in their first month did not return during that year, based on March 2022–February 2025 transaction data.[43]
  • 4.1 million of 27 million active restaurant guests in 2023 returned in 2024, equal to roughly 15% retention.[44]
  • 58% was the average monthly loyalty-member retention rate among elite full-service restaurants in 2024.[45]
  • 62% was the average monthly loyalty-member retention rate among top-performing quick-service restaurants in 2024.[45]
  • 17% was the overall restaurant guest retention rate in 2024 among more than 68 million profiled guests.[44]

Customer acquisition in the food and beverage industry

  • 29% of Gen Z social-media users who discover restaurants preferred Instagram in Canada in 2024.[46]
  • 92% of first-time restaurant guests did not return in the following year in DataDelivers’ 2023–2024 cohort analysis.[44]
  • 10%–17% of restaurant purchases came from first-time visitors in the United States in 2022.[47]
  • 18% of Canadian social-media users who discover restaurants used Instagram, the leading platform, in 2024.[46]
  • 66% of global consumers said they had purchased a specific drink or food item after seeing it on social media or online in 2024.[48]

Customer loyalty in the food and beverage industry

  • 77% of United States restaurants offered loyalty programs to increase customer engagement in 2024.[49]
  • 52% of United States restaurants, coffee shops, snack places and delis had loyalty or rewards programs in 2024.[25]
  • 96% of United States loyalty and rewards customers said such programs were a good way to earn more value in 2024.[50]
  • 76% of limited-service restaurant operators with loyalty programs said the programs increased customer traffic in 2024.[25]
  • 28% of United States diners said restaurant loyalty programs influenced their dining behavior in 2024.[51]

Lead generation in the food and beverage industry

  • 27% of United States restaurant operators said influencer content drove the most bookings in 2024.[52]
  • 39% of United States restaurant operators said organic social posts drove the most bookings in 2024.[52]
  • 41% of United States consumers who follow brands on social media followed restaurant brands in Deloitte’s 2024 research.[53]
  • 39% of United States restaurant operators listed driving bookings or online orders as a top social-media goal in 2024.[52]
  • 33% of United States restaurant operators said paid social advertisements drove the most bookings in 2024.[52]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Social discovery and promotion matter in operator tactics: 90% of U.S. restaurants said social media was very or extremely important to their digital-marketing approach in 2024.

Marketing in the food and beverage industry

  • 35% of United States restaurant operators cut menu items or reduced inventory in response to food-cost pressure in 2024.[49]
  • $48.79 billion was projected 2024 United States digital advertising spending for the consumer packaged goods industry, including food and beverages.[54]
  • 63% of United States diners preferred general promotions and offers over personalized offers in 2024.[49]
  • 27% of United States restaurant operators reduced meal portions in response to food-cost pressure in 2024.[49]
  • $235.9 million was 2024 United States media spending for the food-and-beverage combo category.[55]

Digital marketing in the food and beverage industry

  • 48% of United States Gen Z diners said Instagram influenced their restaurant decisions in 2024.[56]
  • 60% of United States diners said social-media platforms did not influence their restaurant choice in 2024.[56]
  • 65% of United States consumers followed food and lifestyle topics on social media in Deloitte’s 2024 research.[53]
  • 82% of United States Gen Z food-and-beverage shoppers purchased a product based on an online influencer recommendation in the year to June 2025.[57]
  • 90% of United States restaurants said social media was very or extremely important to their digital-marketing approach in 2024.[53]

Branding in the food and beverage industry

  • 42% of global bartenders said brands with a strong social-media presence were best positioned to thrive in the 2024 Global Bartender Report.[48]
  • 39% of global consumers based their drink choice partly on how good it would look on social media in 2024.[48]
  • 38% of global consumers said documenting eating and drinking out on social media was very important in 2024.[48]
  • 21% of United States consumers had purchased a limited-edition product from a food brand in 2024.[58]
  • 41% of United States consumers who followed brands on social media followed restaurant brands in Deloitte’s 2024 research.[53]

Social media in the food and beverage industry

  • 335 billion food-and-beverage advertising impressions were viewed by adult social-media users between April 2020 and August 2021.[59]
  • 105% was the increase in food-and-beverage social-media advertising impressions across Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram during the study period.[59]
  • 182% was the increase in food-and-beverage social-media advertising expenditures across Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram during the study period.[59]
  • 94.4 billion food advertising impressions were viewed on Facebook between April 2020 and August 2021.[59]
  • 50.6 billion food advertising impressions were viewed on Twitter/X between April 2020 and August 2021.[59]

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

  • 69.3% of TikTok videos featuring branded food or beverage products had no brand-relationship disclosure, based on an analysis of 648 videos published in 2025.[60]
  • 49% of U.S. millennial food and beverage shoppers said they purchased from an influencer-founded or influencer-led brand in the previous year, according to a 2025 survey.[57]
  • 82% of U.S. Gen Z food and beverage shoppers said they purchased a prepackaged product based on an online influencer’s recommendation in the previous year, according to a June 2025 survey.[57]
  • 47.6% of TikTok videos featuring food products from top influencers included a branded product, based on an analysis of 1,360 videos published in 2025.[60]
  • 63% of U.S. food and beverage shoppers said they purchased a prepackaged product based on an online influencer’s recommendation in the previous year, according to a June 2025 survey.[57]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Automation adoption stays partial: 28% of North American food and beverage companies reported fully automated production-line control in 2025.

Process optimization in the food and beverage industry

  • 34% of North American food processors, manufacturers and distributors planned to increase automation in 2024.[61]
  • 37% of North American food and beverage companies used a mix of digital and manual production-line control in 2025.[7]
  • 55% of North American food and beverage companies used partially automated recipe or batch management in 2025.[7]
  • 28% of North American food and beverage companies reported fully automated production-line control in 2025.[7]
  • 14% of North American food and beverage companies reported fully automated recipe or batch management in 2025.[7]

Operational efficiency in the food and beverage industry

  • 11.4% of Canadian food manufacturing businesses had adopted robotics technologies in 2022.[62]
  • 20% of North American food and beverage companies reported fully automated warehouse management in 2025.[7]
  • 37% of North American food and beverage companies used partially automated maintenance scheduling in 2025.[7]
  • 3.6% of Canadian beverage and tobacco-product manufacturing businesses had adopted robotics technologies in 2022.[62]
  • 12% was the maximum reduction in operational costs reported as achievable through automation by surveyed North American food and beverage companies in 2024.[61]

Quality management in the food and beverage industry

  • 91% of U.S. food and beverage recalls from 2002–2023 were attributed to product contaminants.[59]
  • 48% of U.S. food and beverage recalls from 2002–2023 involved biological contamination.[63]
  • 13% of North American food and beverage companies reported fully automated food-safety monitoring in 2025.[7]
  • 48% of North American food and beverage companies used partially automated food-safety monitoring in 2025.[7]
  • 11% of North American food and beverage companies reported fully automated quality testing and documentation in 2025.[7]

Supply chain in the food and beverage industry

  • 36% of North American food processors, manufacturers and distributors identified supply-chain visibility as a priority technology goal in 2024.[61]
  • 13.2% of food was lost globally in the supply chain between farms and retail in 2024.[64]
  • 22% of North American food and beverage companies reported mostly manual supply-chain and supplier management in 2024.[6]
  • 14% of North American food and beverage companies reported completely manual supply-chain and supplier management in 2024.[6]
  • 46% of North American food processors, manufacturers and distributors wanted to improve inventory-level management in 2024.[61]

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

  • Among food and beverage CPG companies globally, 47% worked with up to 10 co-manufacturers in 2023.[65]
  • Across food and beverage CPG companies globally, 52% planned to expand their international footprint in 2023, including North America, EMEA and APAC expansion.[66]
  • Among United States and European food-services and facility-management buyers, 91% expected outsourcing budgets to increase over the five years following 2024.[67]
  • Across food and beverage CPG companies globally, 55% outsourced more manufacturing in 2023 than three years earlier, according to a survey of 287 industry leaders.[65]
  • Among food and beverage CPG companies globally, 36% used co-manufacturers for finished-product manufacturing in 2023.[65]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Price pressure is ongoing: U.S. food prices were 2.5% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier.

Pricing strategy in the food and beverage industry

  • 25% of surveyed U.S. food businesses adjusted menu prices to mitigate rising food costs in 2023.[68]
  • Food prices in the United States remained approximately 25% above pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2023.[68]
  • 33.7% was the median food and nonalcoholic-beverage cost ratio for U.S. full-service restaurants with less than $2 million in annual sales in 2024.[50]
  • 5.7% was the decline in U.S. wholesale food prices from the beginning to the end of 2023.[68]
  • 31% of surveyed U.S. food businesses expected food costs to remain flat in 2024.[68]

Cost reduction in the food and beverage industry

  • 12.5 million tons of surplus food were generated by the U.S. foodservice sector in 2024.[69]
  • More than 75% of turnover could be consumed by combined labor and cost-of-goods expenses at many Australian hospitality businesses in 2025.[70]
  • $122 billion was the estimated value of U.S. foodservice food sent to landfill in 2024.[69]
  • More than 40% of turnover was consumed by labor costs at Australian hospitality businesses in 2025.[70]
  • 9.73 million tons, or 78.4% of U.S. foodservice food waste, went to landfill in 2024.[69]

Profitability in the food and beverage industry

  • More than 40% of surveyed U.S. food businesses expected profit margins between 5% and 10% in 2024.[68]
  • $157 billion was the estimated value of surplus food generated by the U.S. foodservice sector in 2024.[69]
  • $26.9 billion was the value of lost sales from unsold food among reporting U.S. Pact retailers in 2024.[71]
  • 14% of U.S. foodservice sales were represented by surplus food in 2024.[69]
  • 2.90% was the unsold-food rate among reporting U.S. Pact retailers in 2024.[71]

Financial planning in the food and beverage industry

  • 13% of food that could have been donated in the United States was actually donated in 2024.[69]
  • $762 per person was the estimated annual U.S. consumer spending on food that went to waste in 2024.[69]
  • 15.0% of U.S. manufacturing value added came from food and beverage manufacturing in 2021.[72]
  • About 20 cents of every U.S. food dollar went to foodservice labor costs in 2022.[72]
  • $380 billion was the estimated value of total U.S. surplus food in 2024.[69]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Product development investment is high: 83% of food and beverage companies increased new-product-development investment in 2025.

Product development in the food and beverage industry

  • 83% of food and beverage companies increased new-product-development investment in 2025, according to a survey of industry businesses.[5]
  • Over 70% of food and beverage manufacturers handled concept ideation, ingredient selection and recipe formulation in-house in 2024.[5]
  • 45% of food and beverage respondents cited reducing ingredient and manufacturing costs as a top innovation driver in 2025.[5]
  • 46% of food and beverage respondents cited cost reduction as a reason for increasing product-development investment in 2024.[5]
  • 51% of food and beverage respondents cited remaining competitive as a reason for increasing product-development investment in 2024.[5]

Product lifecycle in the food and beverage industry

  • 35% of global consumer-packaged-goods launches were genuinely new products during January–May 2024.[73]
  • 73% of new food and consumer-goods items were close-in line extensions in NIQ’s launch analysis.[74]
  • 65% of global consumer-packaged-goods launches were renovations rather than genuinely new products during January–May 2024.[73]
  • 42% of global consumer-packaged-goods launches were innovations in 2019, compared with 36% during January–May 2024.[73]
  • 29% of U.S. consumer-packaged-goods launches were genuinely new products during January–May 2024.[73]

After-sales in the food and beverage industry

  • 75% of Millennial food-delivery customers contacted customer service in the survey, averaging 3.3 contacts per year.[75]
  • 30% of food-delivery customers increased their use of the app to contact customer service after the pandemic break.[75]
  • 44.1 hours was the average email response time for food-and-beverage companies in Netomi’s retail and consumer-goods benchmark.[76]
  • 13% of food-delivery customers tried new channels to contact the brand after the pandemic break.[75]
  • 17% of food-delivery customers used more self-help options after the pandemic break.[75]

Value proposition in the food and beverage industry

  • 22% of Gen Z consumers prioritized convenience as a foodservice value factor in 2024 research.[77]
  • 53% of consumers willing to pay more for sustainable packaged food and drinks would pay up to 10% extra, across 17 markets in 2024.[78]
  • Nearly one-third of consumers associated good food value with high quality in 2024 research.[77]
  • 28% of Gen Z consumers prioritized quality as a foodservice value factor in 2024 research.[77]
  • Around 50% of global consumers said they were willing to pay more for sustainable food and drink in 2024.[79]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

ESG policies are widespread: 83% of surveyed food and beverage manufacturers had an ESG policy in place in 2024.

Sustainability in the food and beverage industry

  • 83% of surveyed food and beverage manufacturers had an ESG policy in place in 2024.[9]
  • 75% of surveyed food and beverage manufacturers used tax credits to support ESG implementation in 2024.[9]
  • 9% of water used in EU manufacturing was consumed by the food and drink industry.[80]
  • 58 million tonnes of food were lost or wasted in the EU in 2023, equal to about 130 kg per inhabitant.[80]
  • 71% of EU food and drink businesses had set emissions-reduction targets in 2024.[80]

ESG in the food and beverage industry

  • Only 11% of benchmarked food and beverage companies disclosed at least partial first-tier supplier lists.[81]
  • 83% of surveyed food and beverage manufacturers reported having an ESG policy in 2024.[9]
  • 49% of benchmarked food and beverage companies disclosed some sourcing-country information for raw materials.[81]
  • 75% of surveyed food and beverage manufacturers reported using tax credits for ESG implementation.[9]
  • 97% of European food and beverage companies by market capitalization reported sustainability information.[82]

Ethics in the food and beverage industry

  • 16% of food and beverage sites reported having no climate-related targets in Sedex data.[83]
  • 46% of food consumers rated animal welfare as medium-high or high in importance.[7]
  • 8% of audits at food and beverage sites found business-ethics issues in Sedex data.[83]
  • 84% of benchmarked food and beverage companies disclosed sourcing beans or cattle products, the highest commodity coverage reported.[81]
  • 35% of food consumers rated ethical sourcing as medium-high or high in importance in the 2025 survey.[7]

CSR in the food and beverage industry

  • 46% of surveyed food consumers rated animal welfare as medium-high or high in importance for food companies.[7]
  • 38% of surveyed food consumers rated locally sourced ingredients as medium-high or high in importance.[7]
  • CSR efficiency was assessed across food and beverage manufacturers in Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia-Pacific for 2011–2018.[84]
  • 83% of surveyed food and beverage manufacturers reported an ESG policy, a principal vehicle for corporate responsibility programs.[9]
  • 35% of surveyed food consumers rated ethical sourcing as medium-high or high in importance for food companies.[7]

Circular economy in the food and beverage industry

  • EU food waste totaled about 58 million tonnes of fresh mass in 2024.[8]
  • More than 11 million tonnes of food waste came from EU processing and manufacturing in 2024.[8]
  • 19% of EU food waste in 2023 occurred at the food and drink industry stage of the supply chain.[80]
  • Food services generated 15 kg of food waste per EU inhabitant in 2024.[8]
  • Food and beverage manufacturing represented 20% of measured EU food waste in 2024.[8]

Carbon footprint in the food and beverage industry

  • 16% of food and beverage sites in Sedex data reported no climate-related targets.[83]
  • Waste management accounted for 1% of EU food and drink industry emissions, or 5.74 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent.[80]
  • Distribution accounted for 5% of EU food and drink industry emissions, or 36.04 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent.[80]
  • Scope 1 and 2 emissions represented 12% of total EU food and drink industry emissions.[80]
  • Scope 3 emissions represented 88% of total EU food and drink industry emissions.[80]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

M&A footprint is broad: North America accounted for 39.2% of global food and beverage M&A activity in 2024.

Globalization in the food and beverage industry

  • Asia-Pacific accounted for 21.0% of global food and beverage M&A activity in 2024.[94]
  • Europe accounted for 36.8% of global food and beverage M&A activity in 2024.[94]
  • North America accounted for 39.2% of global food and beverage M&A activity in 2024.[94]
  • Africa and the Middle East accounted for 1.2% of global food and beverage M&A activity in 2024.[94]
  • $149.9 billion in food and beverage M&A deals closed globally in 2024, compared with $83.1 billion in 2023.[22]

Cultural adaptation in the food and beverage industry

  • 67% of U.S. consumers view fusion cuisine as creative evolution rather than dilution of culinary traditions.[20]
  • 69% of U.S. Generation Z consumers want more global foods and beverages at nearby restaurants.[20]
  • 59% of U.S. consumers prefer global dishes that remain faithful to their cultural origins rather than Americanized versions.[20]
  • 54% of U.S. consumers prefer globally inspired dishes from specialist restaurants rather than generalist restaurants.[20]
  • 72% of U.S. millennials want more global foods and beverages at nearby restaurants.[20]

Supplier management in the food and beverage industry

  • 91% of restaurant operators expressed interest in subscription-based product ordering in 2025.[24]
  • 78% of restaurant operators purchased distributor-brand products in 2025.[24]
  • 89% of restaurant operators surveyed in 2025 reported satisfaction with their primary foodservice distributor.[24]
  • 30% of U.S. food and beverage companies planned to add more suppliers in 2024.[2]
  • Restaurant operators used an average of 3.1 foodservice distributors in 2025, up from 2.8 before the pandemic.[24]

Stakeholder management in the food and beverage industry

  • 89% of restaurant operators identified food costs as a top challenge in a 2025 foodservice survey.[24]
  • 57% of restaurant operators said artificial intelligence makes distributor sales representatives more efficient in 2025.[24]
  • 28% of food-away-from-home operators described distributor interactions as purely transactional in 2025.[95]
  • 500 restaurant operators participated in the 2025 survey of distributor strategies and operator needs.[24]
  • 10% of food-away-from-home outlets described their distributor interactions as collaborative in 2025.[95]

Distribution channels in the food and beverage industry

  • Global food and beverage e-commerce sales were projected at $211.8 billion in 2023.[96]
  • U.S. food and beverage store e-commerce sales were $29.846 billion in 2022.[97]
  • Global food and beverage e-commerce was forecast to grow at a 9.0% CAGR from 2023 to 2028.[96]
  • U.S. food and beverage e-commerce volume increased 10.4% year over year in 2024.[98]
  • Global food and beverage e-commerce sales were forecast to reach $325.9 billion in 2028.[96]

16 Statistics

Regional markets

Regional scales diverge widely: Japan’s food-products manufacturing industry had 1,208,251 people working across 28,518 establishments in 2022.

The food and beverage industry in South Korea

  • 19,457 Korean-food restaurants were recorded in South Korea’s franchise sector in 2024, representing 16.5% of franchise-industry sales.[99]
  • 6,833 food-product manufacturing establishments operated in South Korea in 2024, up 4.1% from 2023.[99]
  • 277 beverage-manufacturing establishments operated in South Korea in 2024, down 0.4% from 2023.[99]
  • 7,608 coffee shops and other non-alcoholic beverage places were recorded in South Korea’s franchise sector in 2024, up 12.8% from 2023.[99]

The food and beverage industry in Japan

  • 1,208,251 people worked in Japan’s food-products manufacturing industry in 2022, across 28,518 establishments.[100]
  • ¥236.1 trillion was the estimated nominal scale of Japan’s food business in 2024, including manufacturing, distribution and food services.[101]
  • ¥40.98 trillion was the estimated nominal business scale of Japan’s food manufacturing industry in 2024.[101]
  • 833万人 were employed across Japan’s food industry in 2024, equal to 12.3% of total employment.[100]
  • ¥101.48 trillion was Japan’s food-industry domestic production value in 2024, equivalent to 8.2% of all economic activity.[100]

The food and beverage industry in Malaysia

  • RM99.0 billion was the gross output of Malaysia’s food-and-beverage-services sector in 2022.[102]
  • 16.3% was food-and-beverage serving services’ share of Malaysia’s tourism-industry gross value added in 2024, equal to RM47.7 billion.[102]
  • 11.5% was the food, beverages and tobacco subsector’s share of Malaysia’s manufacturing net capital stock in 2024.[102]
  • 136,453 food-and-beverage-service establishments operated in Malaysia in 2022.[102]
  • RM43.8 billion was the value added generated by Malaysia’s food-and-beverage-services sector in 2022.[102]

The food and beverage industry in Singapore

  • More than 60,000 workers were employed by Singapore’s food manufacturing sector in 2023.[103]
  • More than 1,500 food manufacturing companies operated in Singapore in 2023.[103]
  • S$11.2 billion in sales was generated by Singapore’s food manufacturing sector in 2023.[103]
  • 65% of Singapore’s food manufacturing sector sales were exported to international markets in 2023.[103]

Key questions about the Food and Beverage Industry

How large is the food and beverage market in 2025?
Global retail food and beverage sales exceeded $5 trillion in 2025.
What growth outlook applies to food and beverage processing through 2030?
Allianz Research expects food and beverage processing to reach approximately $10 trillion by 2030, with the broader agriculture and food system growing about 7% annually from 2025 to 2030.
Which companies lead the food and beverage industry?
Cargill leads Gitnux's 2026 food and beverage ranking with an Overall score of 9.5, with revenue growth 6.5% backed by food products and ingredients supplied to manufacturers. The Coca-Cola Company is the highest-ranked non-alcoholic beverage company at 9.2, with operating margin 28.7% driven by a Coca-Cola system in 200+ countries and territories.
What technology shifts are most visible in 2024–2025?
In Q3 2024, 97% of food and beverage businesses were at least investigating AI, and 82% of leaders reported technology adoption as a strategic priority in 2025.
How is the U.S. food and beverage manufacturing sector structured by sub-industries?
In 2024, animal slaughtering and processing represented 26% of sector employment, followed by bakeries and tortilla manufacturing at 17%, beverage manufacturing at 16%, and other food manufacturing at 12%.
What are the biggest risk and compliance signals entering 2026?
The FDA issued the 2026 Food Code in September 2026, and 45% of global organizations cited food safety and health as a top risk in 2026.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Food And Beverage Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/food-and-beverage-industry-statistics
MLA
Catherine Wu. "Food And Beverage Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/food-and-beverage-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Catherine Wu. 2026. "Food And Beverage Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/food-and-beverage-industry-statistics.

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