IN Brief:
- UK food and drink manufacturing now contributes £42bn to the economy and supports 489,333 jobs, according to FDF figures.
- Production costs rose by 4.4% on average in 2025, reaching 5.3% for smaller businesses, while insolvency growth since 2019 outpaced wider manufacturing.
- FDF wants support on energy, skills, trade and R&D to help lift the sector to £50bn GVA over the next decade.
The Food and Drink Federation has renewed its call for stronger government support after publishing figures showing food and drink manufacturing contributes £42bn to the UK economy and accounts for 23.7% of total manufacturing turnover. The wider food and drink supply chain is valued at £172bn.
The figures underline the scale of the sector’s footprint across the UK, but they also arrive alongside a more difficult operating picture. According to FDF data, production costs rose by 4.4% on average in 2025 and by as much as 5.3% for smaller businesses. Over the same period, growth in food manufacturing insolvencies since 2019 was nearly three times that seen across manufacturing more broadly.
Energy remains a central concern. With power embedded in heating, cooling, freezing, processing, hygiene systems, warehousing and packaging, the federation is calling for food and drink manufacturing to be included in the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. The argument is that sustained energy volatility is limiting the sector’s ability to release capital for plant upgrades, technology adoption and productivity improvements.
FDF said the sector’s economic contribution extends across every region of the country. More than 12,000 food and drink manufacturers operate across the UK, supporting 489,333 jobs, with 43,833 jobs added since 2018. The industry is the largest manufacturing sector in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and represents around a third of manufacturing turnover in both Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The report also points to recent investment activity, including Kellanova’s £75m investment in Wrexham and HARIBO’s warehouse development in Castleford. FDF said the sector remains capable of attracting capital, but argued that repeated cost shocks and regulatory change are forcing many businesses to prioritise maintaining operations over longer-term investment in automation, reformulation, packaging change and process improvement.
Beyond energy, the federation is seeking action on skills, access to R&D support, uptake of trade opportunities and measures that reduce the risk for smaller manufacturers investing in new technologies. It has set out an ambition to lift the sector to £50bn GVA over the next decade, with investment conditions now at the centre of that case.
