Feed the world while reinventing how it’s produced.

A Global Industry, Built for Innovation

The food and agri food sector is the world’s largest value chain, generating close to $9.7 trillion a year and employing over 1.2 billion people globally.

This scale spans every major hub:

France: the country’s leading industrial sector, with €250 billion in turnover and 520,000 jobs.
Spain: €75 billion in exports in 2025, the world’s 7th largest food exporter.
Poland: record exports of €58.4 billion in 2025, the EU’s 5th largest food producer.
Brazil: the world’s top net food exporter, with $169.2 billion in agribusiness exports.

Agri food companies share the same challenge: feeding a growing population while absorbing volatile costs and thin margins. This is where ABGi operates, helping companies secure R&D tax credits and innovation funding to power their transformation.

Key figures for the sector

$ 9.7T

Global food market annual revenue (2026)

€ 238B

EU agri food exports in 2025, world’s largest agri food exporter

1.2B

People employed in agrifood systems worldwide

19%

Of food produced globally wasted at retail, food service and household level each year

Key Strategic and Operational Challenges for the Sector

Sustainability and Circular Food Systems

Reducing carbon footprint across farming, processing and packaging, cutting food waste, and scaling regenerative and circular economy practices.

Digitalisation et automatisation

Deploying AI, robotics and predictive analytics to optimise processing lines, quality control, traceability and demand forecasting.

Food Safety and Traceability

Meeting increasingly strict health and hygiene standards (HACCP, IFS, BRC) while ensuring end to end farm to fork traceability.

SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE

Managing exposure to climate driven harvest volatility, single source raw material dependency, and rising input costs.

Competitiveness and Margin Pressure

Sustaining R&D and modernisation investment despite structurally thin margins and intense pricing pressure from retail negotiations.

Trade Tensions and Food Sovereignty

Navigating tariffs, export restrictions and shifting trade alliances while strengthening domestic production capacity and food security.

Focus on the 4 Strategic Levers

Innovation

Research and development of alternative proteins, fermentation technologies, and clean label reformulation.
Advanced food processing techniques to extend shelf life, preserve nutritional value, and reduce additives.
Development of new packaging materials that improve preservation while cutting environmental impact.

Operations & Performance

Optimising production lines and reducing waste across the plant to strengthen structurally thin margins.
Streamlining supply chains and logistics to manage raw material volatility and seasonal dependency.
Building leaner, more resilient industrial processes to withstand climate and geopolitical disruptions.

Technology

AI and predictive analytics to optimise quality control, demand forecasting, and yield management.
Robotics and automation to increase throughput, precision, and food safety compliance.
Blockchain and digital traceability across complex, multi tier agricultural supply chains.

ESG & Sustainability

Accelerating the transition toward regenerative agriculture and full scope decarbonisation roadmaps.
Circular economy approaches to food waste reduction and by product valorisation.
Scaling sustainable packaging and water stewardship across production and processing sites.

Our Food Industry expert

Our experts combine deep, sector specific knowledge of the Food industry with a forward looking view of the market across our footprint in Europe and the Americas, and a thorough analysis of the opportunities available to companies wherever they operate.

Valentin BLANCHARD, Scientific Expert

With a PhD in Medical Biology, Valentin has been helping companies secure funding for innovation for nearly five years. Drawing on his scientific expertise, he supports businesses in identifying and maximizing funding opportunities for their R&D and innovation projects.