The Future of North American Food, Beverage & Nutrition Exports

All businesses worldwide, whether they are manufacturers, exporters, importers or focused entirely on their home markets, were impacted by the supply chain issues over the past three years. The shortages in a variety of inputs including food ingredients, packaging materials, production equipment and others, coupled with huge increases in freight and energy costs, exposed the global trading system and revealed the fragility of a system that is weaker than we had previously assumed.1
However, the COVID pandemic is now seen as a “black swan” event, and the global food and beverage trade is expected to return to high growth. With consumer income rising in emerging markets such as the Middle East, Asia and Africa, demand for Western agricultural and nutrition products has increased. Post-COVID all consumers worldwide understand the health benefits of preventative care, and eat and drink healthier products and take vitamins and supplements regularly. North American brands have benefited from this trend and have seen export sales skyrocket in the past three years.
The global food and beverages market is expected to grow from $5,817.4 billion in 2021 to $6,383.49 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7%. The market is expected to grow to $8,905.5 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7%.2 The U.S. is not the largest food and beverages market. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the food and beverages market in 2021.Western Europe was the second-largest region of the food and beverages market.
The accounting and advisory services firm, Marcum, conducted a survey on the 2023 outlook, and found 69% of North American food manufacturers, distributors and retailers have a positive outlook on the industry over the next year.3 Nearly 70% of respondents said revenues were up in 2022 compared with 2021, including 48% who said revenues were up 10% or more. Approximately 70% of executives expect revenues to grow in the next 12 months, and 65% expect to grow their workforce by 5-10% or more.
One of the leading strategies food and beverage companies are utilizing for growth is geographic expansion, with 35% of executives planning to expand globally. “There is much optimism regarding the future of food and beverage companies,” said Louis Biscotti, national leader of Marcum’s food and beverage group. “With the peak of the pandemic behind us, food and beverage executives are eyeing the future.”
If you are considering global expansion and increased distribution in foreign markets, then please contact us. For more than 18 years AMI has assisted over 100 North American food, beverage and nutrition manufacturers scale their businesses and enhance brand awareness worldwide.
By Peter Guyer
Athena Marketing International www.athenaintl.com
1 “Fresh Fragility in Global Trade Set to Be Revealed in 2023,” Bloomburg.com, January 3, 2023.
2 “Food And Beverages Global Market Report 2022” – Globe Newswire, New York, June 9, 2022
3 “Food and beverage executives have a positive outlook heading into 2023,” www.foodbusinessnews.net, Sam Danley, December 21, 2022.