Prepared, Packaged Food Market Gathers Investments

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The prepared and packaged food market spans a wide spectrum of products, including everything from snacks and frozen foods to baked goods and ready-to-eat meals. Given the modern consumer's emphasis on convenience and the proliferation of food delivery apps leading to a rise in online ordering, the market for these foods remains strong and continues to attract substantial investments.

In addition to traditional prepared food products, increasing focus toward wellness has led to a growth in demand for healthier food options like high-fiber crackers, protein bars and multi-grain breads. This ongoing trend has led to notable changes in product development with clean labels, reduced sodium and sugar and less artificial ingredients.

Innovations in sustainable packaging have also been taking the center stage, driven by the environmental impacts of single-use and non-recyclable food packaging. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), about 36% of all the plastics produced are used in packaging, including single-use plastic food and beverage containers. As a result, manufacturers are investing in eco-friendly packaging with paper packages, biodegradable plastics and edible packaging.

Industrial Info is presently tracking 11,684 prepared and packaged food plants globally, with a majority of them operating in the U.S. (2,777), China (849), France (454) and Australia (442). Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Food & Beverage Plant Database can click here for the plant profiles.

Industrial Info also is tracking more than 4,800 active capital spending projects, worth about US$70 billion, which are aimed at the manufacturing of prepared and packaged foods. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports.

These options have been catering to consumer tastes and ease, for not only human consumption but also for pets. It is also noteworthy that livestock feed and dog & cat food projects make up about 20% of the overall investment.

Asia and North America drive the most spending, owning a cumulative market share of about 67% with investment values of more than US$24 billion and US$22 billion, respectively, across 2,634 projects. They are followed by Europe with an investment of about US$11 billion across 936 projects and South America with more than US$7 billion across 812 projects.

By country, the U.S. leads the way with a total spend pipeline of about US$20 billion across 992 projects. It is followed by China, with an investment of more than US$14 billion, and Brazil with US$4 billion. Other countries with substantial investments include India, Canada, Ecuador, Nigeria and France.

With an aggregate project spending of about US$6 billion, Nestle S.A. (Vevey, Switzerland), MICT Nigeria Ltd (Awka, Nigeria) and Mars Incorporated (McLean, Virginia) are the top players in the market and have a combined market share of about 8%.

Grassroot projects account for about half of the total spending, while 30% of the investment is aimed at plant expansions. With 51% of the investment in the initial planning phase, 26% under construction and 12% in the latter engineering stages, most of these projects are anticipated to be completed from December 2024 through 2025, while the rest will reach fruition by December 2030.

With about 996 new plants likely to come up in China, the U.S. and Brazil by 2030 (many of which will be starting between 2024 and 2026), the market for prepared and packaged food remains promising with new and healthy flavors and developments in food packaging technology.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).