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.

    Agri-food sector ABGi Consulting

    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.

    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

    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

    The experts at ABGi combine for you a deep knowledge of the industry, a forward-looking vision of the market and a thorough analysis of all the available opportunities.

     

    Christophe Aube, expert scientifique ABGi

     

    Christophe AUBE, Scientific expert 

    PhD in Organic and Supramolecular Chemistry and Electrochemistry and University graduate in Inventions Patents, he has been advising clients on research tax incentives for 9 years, specialising in industrial sectors. He also carries out, in collaboration with our specialist partners (industrial property firms), assignments on innovation strategy and identification of industrial property opportunities for companies (pre-patentability studies of our clients’ inventions).