The UK's ten largest food & drinks companies generate revenues of more than £22 billion. Associated British Foods, Boparan Holdings and Arla Foods are the largest players in the space, best known for products such as Kingsmill, Fox’s Biscuits, and Lurpack respectively.
The 30th annual Grocer’s Food and Drink survey byOC&C Strategy Consultants has analysed the latest available company accounts of the UK’s food and soft drinks companies to provide a detailed insight into the overall performance of the sector, as well as which firms are the largest in the market. Among the boldest findings of the poll, in collaboration with The Grocer, was the contention that Brexit is driving growth but not profit for the UK's food and drink industry.
According to the researchers, the revenue growth for UK’s top food and drink producers such as Nestle UK and Arla Foods grew on average by 7.5% in 2017 – the highest rate since 2009. The researchers suggested that this was likely due to an export boom riding on the weakened pound, with the UK’s currency taking a pummelling since the 2016 referendum. This led investors from overseas to treat the following transition period as an opportunity to purchase British products at bargain prices, leading to a 14% increase in exports by UK firms in the food and drinks sector.
While this unforeseen situation seems to have boosted the sector, however, there are a number of headwinds on the horizon which the industry may still have to face. At the moment, inflation in raw materials caused by sterling devaluation has contrarily squeezed producers' profit margins, declining by 0.5% points to 6.2% as they pay more for important constituent parts for their production lines. Meanwhile, post-Brexit trade rules and export tariffs will likely cause a fall in the trade which has recently buoyed the UK’s food and drinks industry.
Commenting on the analysis, Will Hayllar, a Partner at OC&C, said,“UK food and drink producers are beginning to feel the ripple effects from Brexit, which has been successful in boosting revenue growth. However, the inflationary environment has significantly impacted margins, which have fallen below the long-term average. With a great deal of uncertainty around labour provision and the regulatory environment, companies must be on the front foot and investing to boost productivity.”
The largest food & beverage company in the UK is Associated British Foods, owner of Kingsmill among a host of other household brands, with an annual turnover of£3.3 billion.Boparan Holdings, which famously produces Fox’s biscuits, follows closely behind with £3.2 billion, while Arla – the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia –records a UK turnover of around £2.5 billion.
The world’s largest sandwich producer Greencore Convenience Foods is the last member of the food & beverage top 10 to top the£2 billion mark, whileMüllerUK & Ireland, the producers of a well-known series of yoghurt and rice-based deserts, rounds off the top five witha turnover of £1.9 billion. Completing the top 10 are Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Bakkavor, Mondelez UK and Nestle UK.
FAQs
Unilever was the leading food company in the United Kingdom as of March 7, 2024, with a market capitalization amounting to approximately 123 billion U.S. dollars. Compass Group followed as the second largest food company in the country, with a market capitalization of over 47.7 billion U.S. dollars.
How big is the food and beverage industry in the UK? ›
The UK's food and drink industry is the country's biggest manufacturing sector by turnover, valued at £104.4 billion. It is larger than the automotive and aerospace industries combined.
How many food and beverage companies are there in the UK? ›
Food and drink manufacturing is uniquely present in every UK community. Our 11,675 businesses, and 468,000 employees can be found in every constituency across the country.
What is the largest F&B company in the world? ›
Nestlé is the largest food and beverage company globally, with headquarters in Switzerland. The company has been around since 1866 and operates in 191 countries worldwide. Nestlé's product portfolio includes baby food, bottled water, cereals, chocolate, coffee, culinary, dairy, and pet care products.
Who are the top 4 food retailers in the UK? ›
Grocery sales in the UK are dominated by Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons. These are known as the Big Four supermarkets.
What is the most popular food chain in UK? ›
popularity is the % of people who have a positive opinion of a dining brand. Find out more
- 1 Greggs74%
- 2 McDonald's63%
- 3 PizzaExpress60%
- 4 Subway60%
- 5 KFC58%
- 6 J D Wetherspoon56%
- 7 Costa Coffee56%
- 8 Domino's Pizza55%
In terms of value, the biggest-selling UK food and drink exports are:
- Whisky.
- Salmon.
- Chocolate.
- Cheese.
- Gin.
- Breakfast Cereals.
- Soft Drinks.
- Wines.
The services sector—which comprises many industries including finance, retail, and entertainment—accounts for 80% of the U.K.'s economic activity, while manufacturing and construction account for about 16%.
Is Nestle the largest food and beverage company in the world? ›
Established over 150 years ago, Nestlé is the world's largest, most diversified food and beverages company.
Who are the largest food distributors in the UK? ›
The largest food distributor in the UK is the Booker Group. As a part of Tesco plc since 2018, Booker provides services to over 503,000 catering businesses, 125,000 retailers, and numerous other businesses across the UK through its cash and carry and delivered wholesale services.
Largest companies
The Coca-Cola Co. PepsiCo Inc. Starbucks Corp.
What are the most popular food and beverage companies? ›
The five largest food and beverage companies in the U.S. and Canada remain PepsiCo., Tyson Foods, JBS USA, Nestle and Kraft Heinz. That's according to our annual reporting of the top food & beverage companies in North America. For an alphabetic list of all the companies, click here.
What are the 10 big food companies? ›
Only 10 companies control almost every large food and beverage brand in the world. These companies — Nestlé, Pepsico, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg's, Mars, Associated British Foods, and Mondelez — each employ thousands of employees and make billions of dollars in revenue every year.
What is the richest food company in the world? ›
The Switzerland-based Nestle SA is the world's leading Food company by market cap (as of Mar 31, 2023). The company reported revenues of $98,915 million for the fiscal year ended December 2022 (FY2022), an increase of 3.81% over FY2021.
What are the top 5 foods in the UK? ›
Top 10 Traditional Food in the UK
- Fish and Chips. First place naturally goes to Britain's 'national dish' Fish and chips! ...
- Sunday Roast. Sunday Roast, literally translated, is Sunday Roast. ...
- Full English Breakfast. ...
- Bangers and Mash. ...
- Beef Wellington. ...
- Pie and Mash. ...
- Chicken Tikka Masala. ...
- Apple Crumble.
Top 10 Supermarket Retail Chains In The UK
- Tesco is at the top of the list with an annual turnover for 2022 that amounted to €58.13 billion, according to Retail-Index.
- Sainsbury's ranks in second place, reporting a turnover of €33.79 billion in 2021.
Only 10 companies control almost every large food and beverage brand in the world. These companies — Nestlé, Pepsico, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg's, Mars, Associated British Foods, and Mondelez — each employ thousands of employees and make billions of dollars in revenue every year.
