This brief looks at what the food and beverage manufacturing market is shaping up to be in 2026. Growth is driven by health, wellness, and functional foods; sustainability and environmental pressure; adoption of AI, IoT, robotics, and predictive analytics; e-commerce, omnichannel, and direct-to-consumer models; and M&A and portfolio realignment.
It details five major challenges — supply chain disruption and raw material volatility, labor shortages and the skills gap, regulatory and compliance pressure, cost inflation, and fast-changing consumer demand — and six opportunity areas: alternative proteins, smart and sustainable packaging, traceability and clean labelling, digitalization and AI-driven efficiencies, personalised products, and growth in emerging markets.
It closes with market forecasts and the focus areas for manufacturers: supply chain resilience and risk management, R&D investment, balancing cost pressure with value, automation adoption, and consumer trust built on genuine, data-backed transparency.
The full brief is available above as a PDF. For the three-page summary see the "Food and Beverage Fact Sheet 2026", and for the complete 16-page deck see "Food and Beverage Market Overview 2026: Growth Drivers, Challenges, and SAP Solutions" in the Resource Library.